Elliot Downs MSc MBACP (Registered)

About me

I am a person centred counsellor, offering counselling in Herefordshire and the surrounding areas.

I am registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and fully abide by their Ethical Framework.

I work with my clients in a safe, confidential and empathic environment, free from judgement.

I have a clinic in Hereford, not far from the city centre.

What can I offer you?

I offer counselling and psychotherapy to adults and adolescents. My priority has always been to ensure that you feel safe to explore whatever you feel you need to explore. I have a calm, empathic and engaging presence, which I hope will enable you to discover new avenues of thinking and of being. Giving you the confidence to change how you experience your life.

What can counselling offer you?

​I have extensive experience in the private mental health sector, as well as the voluntary sector. Working in such environments has given me the opportunity to understand the personal experiences that can cause pain and suffering. My role as counsellor is to help you understand these experiences, in a safe environment, in the hope that it will inform a deeper understanding and enable you to experience your life in a more engaging and fulfilling way. Your role as a client is to fully commit to the process of healing, which I will support you with throughout your journey.

​My Approach to Counselling

​My approach to counselling sees you as the expert of your own experiencing. I place a value in you as an individual, trusting the way in which you experience your own life. This therapeutic modality, coined the Person Centred Approach encourages you and I to explore your own understanding of your life experiences. This approach allows you to bring to our sessions, anything that is causing you emotional distress. Working through such experiences together, I hope that I can help you to understand them at a deeper level and move forwards with confidence. At times, I may bring in different ways of working, dependent upon what is being discussed in our sessions.

​Why people choose counselling?

​My previous experience has led me to understand that people attend counselling for a variety of reasons. Some of the difficulties that my clients have come to seek help for include, anxiety and depression, work-related stress, previous childhood trauma, bereavement, anger management and relationship issues, as well as many other causes of personal distress.

​The importance of the therapeutic relationship

​Finding the right counsellor is important. It is vital that you and I are able to work together. To help make this decision, I offer a free 30-minute consultation. This gives you an opportunity to decide whether on-going counselling, with me, is the right thing for you.

Please note, I am unable to offer couples counselling. I offer counselling on an individual, one-to-one basis only.