Emma Biggin
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This professional is currently not accepting new clients and may not respond to general enquiries at this time.
This professional is currently not accepting new clients and may not respond to general enquiries at this time.
About me
I am a BACP registered psychotherapeutic counsellor practicing in Henley and Wallingford. I provide a safe, supportive and confidential environment for you to explore whatever you bring, at your own pace. I believe that, given the right environment, we all have an inbuilt ability to grow and flourish. Seeing my clients change as they gain new energy and purpose is a huge privilege.
Some of my clients come with difficult or painful life experiences, some sensing that they have patterns that are habitual and difficult to get out of that are making them unhappy, some clients feel low and just don’t know why. Others want to embark on a journey of exploration that will allow them to find a richer, more fulfilling way of being in the world. If any of this feels like you do get in touch and see how I can help.
I have had success supporting people with issues such as: anxiety, depression, addictions, eating disorders, issues related to neurodiversity, bullying, bereavement, life transitions, menopause, gender, sexuality, issues related to relationships, and trauma recovery.
I provide short-term and open-ended therapy. I see short-term as a relationship that has a specific focus - often a difficult life event. Open-ended therapy is a longer term relationship that enables you to explore deeper patterns of behaviour and relating that may have developed early in life but which are limiting you or causing you distress in the here and now.
Alongside my private practice I work for a low-cost counselling service. I have worked with people from diverse communities and backgrounds with a wide range of issues.
I am constantly up-grading my knowledge by attending workshops, online trainings and clinical discussion groups. I have regular supervision by supervisors aligned to my values.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have a Diploma in Integrative Counselling from The Minster Centre (Middlesex University). I also successfully completed one year's training there on the Advanced Diploma/Masters course in Psychotherapy concurrently with the final year of the Diploma. This means that I have a depth of understanding and reflection to bring to my work.
My training is 'Integrative' which means that I blend core ideas from different modalities - there are many overlaps between them but historically these have often been seen as conflicting rather than complementing each other. For example, I find that aspects of body psychotherapy, mindfulness, and psychodynamic theories work well together to understand and treat behaviours associated with loss and difficult transitions. These can manifest as anxiety with irrational fears, and/or compulsive, controlling behaviours like OCD, addictions, and other forms of self-harm.
An integrative approach seeks to create an holistic approach that supports work with the whole person: thoughts, belief systems, emotions and how these may be experienced in the body (or not). Much scientific research is now showing how interconnected these aspects are and this knowledge is incorporated into my practice.
I adjust my style to the needs of each client, however it may be useful for you to know a few things about the way I work. I have a relational approach. This means that I believe that making satisfying connections with other people and the wider world is central to our well-being – it can sometimes be helpful to look at where our patterns of relating may be getting in the way of our true potential for fulfilment. We are all making choices constantly to cope with life in the best way we feel able. Sometimes these choices support us, and sometimes we are using strategies that worked once, perhaps when we were young or vulnerable, or to cope with a particularly difficult event in adulthood, but which are now out of date and stop us getting what we really want from the world. If we can identify these fixed patterns we can make new choices that give us new possibilities. I use a gentle, relational approach - I believe that our relationships with others shape who we are and who we become.
I am committed to questioning my own assumptions, and making my practice accessible to all backgrounds, communities and identities. I aim to create a practice that is welcoming and safe to people of any race, ethnicity, culture, sexuality, relationship style, gender expression, neurodiversity, age, class, disability or spiritual background.
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
£65.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I offer a free exploratory phone call of up to twenty minutes to see what it would be like to work with me and for me to get an idea of what you are looking for. If you would like to take the next step we can arrange an initial session (an hour) which is charged at the same rate as ongoing sessions which are fifty minutes.
When I work
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Further information
From initial contact I aim to offer you a space where you feel able to choose what feels right for you.
After receiving your email, I will offer you a free phone call of about twenty minutes if you would like this. This is a chance for us to make contact and for you to share a little of what brings you to therapy, If you would like to have an initial session, we will then arrange this.
This session is slightly longer than ongoing sessions and lasts for around one hour. It is an opportunity for us to get to know each other and see how it would be to work together. Talking about yourself and about the reasons you are seeking therapy at this point can understandably create feelings of anxiety, especially if you have never done anything like this before. My aim is to make you feel comfortable - it is fine for you to go at your own pace and to decide how much you want to tell me. You can expect me to listen carefully to what you say and to ask for confirmation that I have understood you correctly. You can expect a safe, accepting environment in which I will support you with whatever brings you to therapy and what you hope to gain from it.
If you decide to continue working together, we will arrange a day and time that is set aside just for you and we will meet weekly for 50 minutes.
