Debbie Inkpen (MBACP) Dip.Couns

About me

I do understand  that taking the first step in talking to a counsellor about your thoughts and feelings can feel like a big step to take. It may be something that you have been putting off doing for a while and now may feel like the right time for you.

In the busy-ness of our lives it can be easy to try and ignore the way we are feeling, to try and work through things and carry on without realising that our mental health is suffering.  We may feel we don't want to burden others with our problems or that they will go away.

This in turn can affect our mood, behaviour and impact upon our relationships, work and other areas of our life. This can lead to feelings of anxiety, stress, depression and low mood all of which can feel overwhelming at times.

How can counselling help?

Counselling offers a different way of talking and a different way of being listened to. The therapeutic relationship between client and therapist offers a safe and trusting space to talk about the things that are troubling you.

In working as a person-centred counsellor I will take my lead from you as to what you want to talk about in sessions, working with you in a non-judgemental way that offers the core conditions of empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard.

How will I work with you?

Firstly, You need to like your therapist and feel that they are the right person for you. This is something I check out with clients in our first meeting to let them know that they are not committed to come back and see me if they don't feel that I am the right person for them.

I will work with you at your own pace, in a calm and gentle manner and provide a safe and confidential space for you to explore your worries and concerns no matter how big or how small you think they may be. Together we can work to make sense of difficult thoughts and feelings and unhelpful patterns of behaviour in order to help you move forward to find your own answers and way of being.

I believe that talking things through in a therapeutic relationship helps clients to discover their own ability to know what feels right for them, to find their own answers and to feel more empowered to make positive changes that they are seeking in their life.

My experience

I have over twenty years experience of working therapeutically and peripatetically with children and their families in a variety of settings to include schools, home, the wider community and Children's Services.  This therapeutic work has involved working collaboratively with families, working in individual 1:1 sessions, facilitating parenting groups for parents and support groups for carers (foster carers, kinship, connected person and special guardianship).

I have been seeing clients at The Banbury Therapy Centre for over four years where I also worked for the Children's Voice service within Oxfordshire Family Mediation. The Children's Voice service offered counselling support to children of families who were going through a separation or divorce.

I also work as a school counsellor working with children and young people aged 11-18.

Children and Young People

Children and young people do not always have the words or language to express what they are thinking or feeling and will often express themselves in their behaviour and mood.

They may be experiencing stress and anxiety for a variety of reasons which for example may relate to  problems in school with their peers, disruption in home life such as a family break up, loss of a close family member or change in family dynamics.

Some children and young people struggle to adapt to change and transitional periods in their lives such as starting in a new class, change of teacher or moving schools.  These factors and life events can all play a part in how they impact on a child's emotional well-being.

My training in Counselling Children and Young People through the organisation TICPlus (Teens in Crisis) covers all the necessary BACP competencies to counsel and work with children and young people. Working with this young client group can involve working more creatively to help them express how they are feeling which can include using creative techniques to help in the counselling process.

Below are listed a range of client issues that I work with:
Depression, stress and anxiety
Isolation, loneliness, bereavement, loss
Self- harm, suicidal ideation
Relationship difficulties
Work related stress, trauma
Domestic abuse, emotional, physical, sexual abuse
Family issues, divorce and separation
Parenting issues
Gender identity

This is not an exhaustive list and all enquiries are welcome.