Deborah Wilson

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she/her
MSc. MBACP MBPsS
Limited availability
Limited availability

This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.

Reading, Berkshire, RG1 4SQ
Limited availability
Limited availability

This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.

About me

As a pluralistic therapist, I provide a person-centred, non-judgemental and safe space for clients who need to explore and talk about their feelings in a warm and supportive environment. I work with clients in the belief that they have the self-awareness to understand themselves, and that they know what issues are affecting them, and have ideas around how they want to change aspects of their life. A pluralistic way of working enables me to bring in ideas and theories from psychology and psychotherapy that best fit individual clients. In our sessions, I help clients to identify and express their thoughts and feelings, and explore the experiences that may influence them. We can then look at plans and strategies for managing and living with these, as we address the behaviour and self-beliefs that we can change.

Working through pluralistic therapy, I use the person-centred approach as a framework for integrating aspects of other theories, such as:

  • Psychodynamic theory - how our personal history affects our adult lives and relationships, how our unconscious thoughts and feelings can influence our actions, and how the way we learn to deal with things when we are younger stop being useful once we are living adult lives. This is particularly useful for people living with personality disorders and adaptations, or some of the traits that can lead to troubled relationships (being emotionally volatile, impulsive, feeling overwhelmed or abandoned by those we love and who love us)
  • Attachment theory - how our experiences of childhood relationships with parents and key figures estabish our patterns and habits of relating to others as adults, and how we can change these with awareness and practice
  • Trauma therapy - working with trauma combines awareness of what goes on in our bodies when we experience and recall trauma, with how this affects our thoughts and feelings. There are evidence-based strategies for working with trauma symptoms, which work with the hard-wired links between our brains, our bodies, and how we deal with feeling threatened, anxious or stressed
  • Life coaching - working together to identify what you want to change in your life, and do it in a manageable and sustainable way.

I bring in ideas and themes from these theories if I feel they may be of use to a client, and if the client finds them relevant, we can use them as tools to understand and move through their issues.

As a psychologist, I integrate into our work my knowledge and experience of how we develop and form relationships based on our childhood development and patterns of behaviour, and how psychology and neuroscience can help us understand our selves and those close to us. I also use neuropsychology to help abused clients understand their response to trauma, their symptoms and their pathways to recovery. I also bring in ideas from social, clinical and behavioural psychology where they may be of use to the client.

For clients who prefer online therapy (via email, messaging or video call) I offer a safe space via end-to-end encrypted programs.

If you would like to find out more about the therapy I offer, please email me or give me a ring on the number above. We can discuss ways in which I can help, and arrange for a first session. This session is for you to talk through your issues, so that we can look at the way forward.

Training, qualifications & experience

  • CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Integrated Therapy
  • Certified Cyber Therapist (Online Therapy Institute)
  • BSc. (Hons) Psychology
  • MSc. Development and Psychopathology
  • Making Life Better - life coaching (accredited by the Association for Coaching)

I support adults dealing with issues such as relationships, life direction and changes, loss and self-harming behaviours. I also work with clients who have experienced crime, trauma and abuse of all kinds.

I also work with clients living with psychological disorders such as bipolar disorder, anxiety and stress, panic attacks, depression, OCD, BDD and personality disorder.

Experience: I have over thirteen years' experience of supporting clients in all life issues, and those dealing with issues around sexual abuse and rape through Trust House Reading and SARC Slough. As an approved counsellor with Victims First (Thames Valley) I support people who have been victims of crime.

I have supported young people aged 14-24 at No5 Youth Counselling Service, dealing with issues such as family and relationships, self-harming and body image, abuse, life changes, choices and loss.

Member organisations

BACP
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred).

Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).

Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision.

Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training.

All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.

Accredited register membership

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
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.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

Other areas of counselling I deal with

Online counselling via email, messaging and video available for clients at any location.

Fees

£50.00 - £65.00
Free initial telephone or online session

Additional information

Face-to-face sessions cost £65 per hour.

Online counselling sessions are available at £50 per hour.

When I work

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

Online sessions: Monday, Wednesday and Friday

In person sessions: Tuesday and Saturday

Further information

As an online therapist, I have completed a recognised professional qualification, to enable me to deliver online therapy safely, ethically and effectively. I am qualified to offer video therapy using a secure and confidential platform, e.g. Bluejeans, MS Teams. I am also able to offer email therapy that is tailored to suit the way of working that best suits each client. I also offer therapy using WhatsApp messaging, based on a 50-minute hour.

Some clients prefer a more hybrid way of working, and I am happy to accommodate clients who need to move between different therapy environments depending on their situation.

Mind Garden Therapy, 56 London Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 4SQ

Type of session

In person
Online

Types of client

Young people
Adults
Organisations

Key details

Wheelchair user access
Wheelchair user access

Wheelchair-accessible premises should have step-free access for wheelchair users and individuals who are unable to climb stairs. If a Counsellor's premises aren't step-free, they may offer alternative services such as telephone/web-based appointments, home visits, or meeting clients in different location, so you can choose the option that suits you best.

You can contact the Counsellor to discuss the options available.

Under the Equality Act 2010 service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access their service. You can read more about reasonable adjustments to help you to access services on the CAB website.

Mind Garden - Ground floor rooms are available, and an access ramp is available for access through the front door. As an online counsellor I am also accessible to clients who prefer to have their sessions at home.

Online platforms

Zoom