Felicity Spinks
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I understand how daunting it can be when reaching out and looking for a counsellor for support with our mental health. My role as a therapist is to provide you with a safe, non-judgmental space for you to feel comfortable and ready to share.
I will never force you to go to places you don't feel comfortable with or not ready to go to. I fully believe that when you are ready and you trust me and the space we share, that you may begin to explore these paths.
In our community, there is still a stigma around a person's mental health but I feel our emotional wellbeing is as important as breathing. Just because we can't see a person's mental health struggles, it doesn't mean that they aren't real.
I began my counselling training in 2018 and since supported my clients with drug and alcohol addiction, bereavement, trauma, depression, anxiety and many other struggles they have faced.
I am a qualified integrative counsellor which means I offer a safe, non-judgemental space for you to explore your struggles and offer various interventions to support you. I am not here to to tell you what to do or what is 'best' for you. I feel that it is important to have someone to walk alongside you on this journey for guidance and support. I have completed Level 5 in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, if I feel it may benefit you we can incorporate it into sessions together. I can also offer a supportive space to work with traumatic experiences you have faced either in your childhood or adulthood and work through them at your pace, while offering an understanding of the impact of trauma on our bodies.
I also work creatively with sand, stones, figures, pens, paints, paper, stickers, dough if that is something that interests you.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a registered member of the BACP, NCPS and BABCP. I have full therapeutic counselling insurance and have regular supervision from a highly qualified supervisor to support me and my private practice and adhere to the above ethical framework's.
My qualifications include:
- Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills - CPCAB Accredited
- Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies - CPCAB Accredited
- Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling - CPCAB Accredited
- Level 5 in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - CPCAB Accredited
- Online and Telephone Counselling Certificate - The Counselling Tutor
- NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Safeguarding and Prevent
- Certificate in Trauma-Informed Practice - Counselling Tutor
- Solution – Focused Therapy - I.C.T Therapy
I have also completed my BBE Teacher Training and have been approved to teach CPCAB counselling students on the journey to becoming a qualified counsellor for Level 2, 3 and Level 4.
I have been in private practice for 2 years now and have my own room that is in a quiet residential area of Strood. It is calm, spacious but also cosy for my clients that wish to have face to face sessions. I also offer video and telephone sessions from the same space.
I have worked as a volunteer counsellor at Kenward House, which is a residential rehabilitation programme for people struggling with addiction and substance misuse. I have also worked alongside Kenward House with The Lodge residents who are also struggling with addiction. I feel passionate about offering support to people struggling with addiction.
The Bigg Project - My role has been a volunteer counsellor on placement and have stayed until March 2023 as I really enjoy supporting my clients with their recovery. I have worked with many different clients working mainly with addiction, substance misuse and childhood trauma. I have worked face to face, via zoom and over the telephone. Clients were offered open ended sessions and could end their sessions when they feel ready and explore their own autonomy.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I offer a safe, welcoming space for you to work through any difficulties you have been carrying around. We would look at what you are hoping to get from sessions together and have regular reviews to see if your needs have changed. I offer short or long term therapy. This is totally dependant on what you need from counselling sessions with myself.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£50.00 per session
Free initial online session
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
Meeting a stranger can be very challenging and finding a suitable counsellor even more so. My main objective is for you to feel safe and listened to without judgement.
I offer a free 30-minute video session for me to find out a bit about you, life's challenges, a brief overview of your medical history that I may need to be aware of and what you are hoping to get from sessions together.
It is a good time for us to connect and see if I'm the right counsellor for you. If you decide you would like to continue, we would book a time that suits you for your first session. If I don't feel I can support you I will offer some alternative options for you to look into.
There is no obligation to give me an answer as to whether you want to start your counselling journey with me during our initial session. I will always encourage you to go away and have a think about it and then get back to me.
If you do want to book in a further session, we can then look at booking in your first 50 minute session at a time that works for us both.
When I work
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I have availability from 8am until 7pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 7pm being my final session of the day. I have limited availability Thursday/Friday morning. My days start at 8am.
Further information
I am currently opening up my diary to new clients for face to face and remote video/telephone sessions on Monday's and Tuesday's.
The hours I can offer for face to face sessions are from 8am on the days above and the last session I can offer at the moment is 7pm
I do have regular self-care breaks every 6-8 weeks which are 1 or 2 weeks in length. I do always give good notice of this when this is due to happen.
Any referrals I receive, I will always try and reply to you via email and/or text. Sometimes my emails may go into your 'spam' folder and unfortunately I have no control over this. So I will always try and send a text message as well over a telephone call as it may not be a suitable time for you to talk to me over the phone. If for privacy reasons, you don't want me to make that initial contact via text then please don't add your telephone number and I will know to just contact you through email.
I endeavour to contact you back within 24 hours unless referrals are received over the weekend or after 7pm. I will then either contact you on the Monday or the following day. If I am away on leave I do put an away message on my Whatsapp and any emails I receive while I am away. This contains dates that I am unavailable.
