Elaine Bennett
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This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
Bridge Counselling Norfolk
I am an integrative counsellor trained to use different counselling approaches depending upon your needs. I offer a safe, non-judgemental space, where the client is at the heart of the therapeutic relationship, to enable an exploration of those issues brought to counselling. I am trained to use creative methods such as art, soft toys, puppets etc, therapeutically with adults and young people, and to use art and play materials working within a play room setting with children.
If you are wondering why I call my service Bridge Counselling it is because - metaphorically - a bridge can represent a journey from one point to another, for example from despair to hope, from brokenness to wholeness from darkness to light. A bridge can provide a vantage point to stop and look strategically at what is going on around us and counselling can help to give you the opportunity to see things from a different perspective.
Bridges can also be the structures to help people across choppy waters and a walkway to connections between people where relationships may be problematic.
I believe it is important that in counselling the client retains autonomy and I will be alongside you as you explore what you need in a way which is beneficial to you. Hopefully counselling will encourage you to gain insight into your circumstance and discover how best to move forward.
At the present time I am working online or via the telephone or Wats App. An initial assessment is free and if you decide you would like to work with me we can discuss when might be a suitable time to meet.
As a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy accredited register I work within their Ethical Framework. Please email if you wish to make an enquiry. I am registered with the Information Commissioner.
Training, qualifications & experience
BA (Hons) Counselling - University of Roehampton
Master of Education (Child and Adolescent Psychotherapeutic Counselling) - University of Cambridge
Certificate in Attachment, Neurodevelopment and Psychopathology (Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust and Family Relations Institute) taught by Patricia Crittenden and Andrea Landini who developed the Dynamic Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation
MBACP Registered Member
Fellow of the Association of Christian Counsellors
Member of the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health
I undertake regular CPD which has included
Introduction to Working With People With Eating Disorders and Body Dysmorphia (Oct 21-Jun 22) Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust
Mentalisation Based Therapy Basic Training (Nov 21) Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
I have a private practice and also counsel in schools. I was a Senior Associate Counsellor at a College of Further Education in London and have also worked with children in schools including with Place2Be, Surrey Care Trust Steps Counselling service for young people, Big C Cancer Charity, 4Cs in Norfolk and a post-natal depression service. My experience covers anxiety, relationship difficulties, bereavement, depression and postnatal depression, stress including work related stress, abuse, domestic abuse, phobias, OCD, self-esteem, spirituality, transcultural counselling, anger, panic disorder and eating disorders. I have an enhanced DBS.
I counsel young people who may want to make sense of life, identity, growing up and want to talk about their relationships, family issues, experiences, self-esteem, anxiety, stress, education issues to name but a few. I have worked with children for example who have been bereaved, are anxious, when families have split up, who find school difficult, have been bullied or have insecure attachments.
I have also worked with a number of young people who are on the autistic spectrum who have used counselling to help them make sense of their world and relationships and to manage stress.
Prior to training as a counsellor I worked in local government and was also a trained mentor and worked with students in secondary schools.
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
£40.00 per session
Free initial online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
£40 for 60 minute session
I offer a reduced rate of £30 to students undertaking a counselling course.