Elizabeth Pollard
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Much of what we do we do without knowing why. Psychodynamic therapy can help when things go wrong and you find yourself in yet another mental cul-de-sac. Sometimes life seems full of wrong turns and troubled relationships and you wonder, 'why me?' I can help you explore your deeper unconscious motivations and work with you to find a new way forward. It may not feel like it right now, but life can get better.
I also offer supportive counselling to help create a calm, confidential environment in which to think. Often, this is for the times in life when you just need someone to come alongside you while you live through a period of sadness or loss. This may be the death of someone you love, the break-up of a relationship or the everyday anxieties of growing up or living in a competitive world. Through all this I can provide a reassuring presence when you are troubled by unspoken tensions that are difficult to share with family or friends.
Training, qualifications & experience
I began my informal training in counselling skills 30 years ago as a volunteer with Central London Samaritans. Subsequently I volunteered with the mental health charity MIND and Barnado's Support4Parents scheme.
I worked for 7 years as a counsellor at Child Bereavement UK supporting both adults and children learning to cope with the death of someone important to them. From 2013 I also worked as an honorary counsellor for two low cost services in the community and also in a school in Oxfordshire.
More recently I have been working with patients in an Eating Disorder Unit using a range of therapeutic interventions including DBT.
I currently supervise and work in private practice and as a counsellor at Oxford University.
My formal training was initially in Psychology and arts at Leicester University and I subsequently gained a Post Graduate Diploma and Masters Degree in Psychodynamic Practice at University of Oxford. I now practice as a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor, Accredited by the UKCP and am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
Member organisations
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Attachment difficulties
Existential/life crises
Therapies offered
Fees
£45.00 - £50.00
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Sliding scale based on ability to pay
When I work
Evenings 6-8pm Daytime 10 am - 4pm. Please contact me to discuss current availability
Further information
Short and long term contracts available
