Dorothy Thompsett
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Are you struggling with something? Difficult relationships, at home, college or at work? Or addictive patterns or compulsions that are beyond your capacity to control? Maybe you are experiencing emotional distress in the form of anxiety, depression, suicidality or panic attacks; or perhaps you or someone close have received an autism, ADHD or other diagnosis and would like a space to make sense of it all? You may not even know what really brings you to find a therapist, just a feeling of being stuck or that life is missing meaning or purpose.
Some of the benefits of therapy include increased self-esteem, stability and calmness, and a reduction in social anxiety and the need to “people-please." Less fear of abandonment, and a growing ability to share intimacy. Better choices of friends and intimate partners based on mutual respect and equality (rather than familiar roles). More fun and playfulness, more spontaneity and more feelings of genuineness. Better ability to set healthy boundaries and limits, less fear of failure, healthier choices and behaviours.
How Does it Work?
As our sessions become a trusted space that is reliable, consistent and warm, you will feel increasingly soothed and regulated. You will learn about yourself and why you have developed certain characteristics, strategies and behaviours. You will begin to free yourself from shame and pain which are carry overs from the past, and be more aware and have more mastery of your reactions and actions in the present. You will develop a compassionate interest in yourself and care less about what other people say or do. Over time, you will internalise the unconditional positive regard that you experience in therapy, and build tolerance of a broad range of difficult feelings. Learning to to focus on and understand what is happening internally will enable you to design a life that is correct for you.
Each session will provide the opportunity to dive into experiences, memories and feelings, so that you can gain a clearer picture of yourself and how things in your life have shaped you and continue to impact you. With your therapist in dialogue, your self understanding will increase as you engage in the process of sharing and reflecting. As explanations and connections are uncovered, you can increasingly free yourself from the internal prison cell inside and use your newly released feelings to navigate the complexities of life now and guide you to make better choices.
About Me
I offer long and short term psychotherapy and counselling. I work both face to face from my consulting rooms in Eastbourne and Lewes, and online. What you bring to our sessions is confidential, and your anonymity will be respected at all times. Sessions are weekly and I charge £60 for a 50 minute session. As well as traditional talk therapy, I include expressive arts counselling as part of my offer. This includes drawing, painting, image work and other types of play done purely for its own pleasurability and expressive nature (in other words, there is no requirement to 'be good at' anything.)
You, the client are in the driving seat all of the time, determining the route, the pace and the content of our interactions. My job is to observe, to really listen, to provide and hold a predictable and safe space and to gently support you to clarify what is going on for you and to make your own connections. As our relationship progresses and deepens, you may find yourself feeling more relaxed and able to unmask in the knowledge that I won’t try to fix, advise, or diminish your experience in any way.
Training, qualifications & experience
I’m both experienced and well qualified, with a Masters and Ph.D as well as my professional counselling and therapy qualifications, and I am registered by the BACP (the counselling and psychotherapy professional body). I am insightful, real, focussed and present. I care a lot about my clients and my profession, and am professional at all times. I keep up to date with innovations in my field by undertaking continual professional development and am trauma informed and twelve step informed. I am trained in child development, attachment theory, IFS and I am experienced in working with neurodivergence, depression and anxiety, abuse, codependency, panic attacks, addictions, and self harming behaviours.
Please email me to set up an initial free 30 minute remote consultation where I can answer your questions and give you a sense of how I work, so that you can decide if you feel comfortable to proceed with me as your therapist.
Member organisations
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
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
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
When I work
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In Eastbourne I am available Friday afternoon and evening only.
In Lewes I have availability on Wednesday afternoons and Thursdays
