Deborah Whalley
About me
I am a qualified Person-Centred Counsellor/ Psychotherapist. I have spent over 30 years working within the caring professions across youth work, nursing, midwifery, women’s aid and bereavement support. I believe that supporting people is what life is about and it is a privilege to do the job I do.
Right now, obviously the Covid-19 outbreak makes face to face counselling more difficult. I am available to conduct sessions through Skype, FaceTime or by telephone if we are unable to meet in person.
I am a warm, caring, empathic and experienced therapist who believes in empowering the individual to find their own way to develop skills to cope with whatever they are going through.
What is spoken about depends upon the individual. I understand that it can be difficult to talk about personal and sensitive issues. I am here to listen without judging, and to provide you with a safe place to explore and process your own thoughts and feelings in your own time.
I work with all age ranges from children as young as 4 through to people in later life.
I am enthusiastic and passionate about raising awareness of mental health issues in children and young people. As an Integrative Therapist I employ different methods of therapy with this age group appropriate for individual needs including creative play, arts, crafts and mindfulness in order to create a safe and welcoming space for the child or young person to talk, explore and express what is concerning them in their own unique way.
Adults suffer no less with their mental health, although they can have greater barriers to seeking help arising from feelings of embarrassment, failure, or vulnerability. If you’re suffering from anxiety, feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope then I am trained to listen with empathy and respect to help you to explore your way of thinking in order to find a way forward.
It is important that you find a Counsellor that you feel you can work with, that you can trust and be open and honest with. I offer a 40 minute initial consultation in which we can see if you would like to work with me and I can offer you the support you need.
Training, qualifications & experience
Qualifications
- Person-Centred Counsellor & Psychotherapist (Dip Counselling 2015)
- Cruse Bereavement Support (2015)
Experience and Continuing Professional Development
- School Counsellor - Denbighshire Young People’s Counselling Service
- Cruse - Experienced in working particularly with children and young people with autism and how they process death and loss.
- Solution-focused therapy (Cruse 2017)
- Mindfullness (Breathworks 2016)
- Working with trauma and abuse (Women’s Aid 2010-2012)
- Child protection and safe-guarding (Educare)
- Self-harm, suicide (BACP and MindEd)
- Eating disorders (BACP)
- Supporting LGBTQ children and adults (BACP)
- Sexual abuse, trauma and dissociative disorders (PODS)
- Domestic violence
- PTSD and OCD conditions
- Hidden harm - supporting children and young people living with a parent / guardian with alcohol /drug addiction
Member organisations
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
BACP is one of the UK’s largest professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy. Therapists registered with the Association fall into a number of different membership categories such as Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP and Registered Member MBACP (Accred), each standing for different levels of training and experience. MBACP (Accred) and MBACP (Snr Accred) members have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by the Association.
Registered members can be found on the BACP Register, which was the first register to achieve Accredited Voluntary Register status issued by the Professional Standards Authority. Individual Members will have completed an appropriate counselling and/or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but will not appear on the BACP Register until they've progressed to Registered Member MBACP status.
All members are bound by a Code of Ethics & Practice and a Complaints Procedure. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
Accredited register membership
Accredited Register Scheme
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Initial 40 minute consultation - £40
50 minute session - £60 for an adult or £45 for 18 and under.
If you wish to cancel an appointment I request a minimum of 24 hours notice. If you do not give the required notice or fail to attend an appointment then a fee of £30 will be charged.
Payments can be made by cheque or cash at the end of each session, or by bank transfer. I do not have any card payment facility. Receipts are issued on request.
Availability
Appointments are available in central Oswestry and Shrewsbury Tuesday to Thursday 9am-7pm.