About me
I'm an experienced, accredited psychotherapist, having worked full-time in private practice since 2014. I see clients in person at my practice room in the centre of Bridport and I also offer online sessions.
Individual counselling / psychotherapy
You may well be seeking psychotherapy because a difficult life experience has brought things to the surface. Perhaps this is a conflict, a loss or a relationship difficulty. You may be experiencing feelings you don’t understand or that seem out of balance – whether anger, sadness, anxiety or numbness. Maybe your physical health is being affected by your emotions. It may be that you’re aware of painful patterns that seem to keep repeating. Perhaps you simply feel you’re deeply lacking something in life or are simply curious to embark on a journey of greater self-understanding.
My approach to psychotherapy is relational. By this I mean that having a healthy inner relationship with ourselves in key to finding peace in life and having satisfying relationships with other people. We will explore your internal dynamics and work to grow more satisfying ways of relating to yourself. To this end I often work with a process I call ‘internal resourcing’ which can be deeply heartfelt, healing work.
I work very integratively, drawing on approaches from gestalt therapy, internal family systems, NVC (non-violent communication) mindfulness, body based practices, and a range of approaches to working sensitively and deeply with trauma, including that which arises from childhood experiences of emotional neglect or abuse.
As a humanistic psychotherapist I’ll be genuine in how I respond to you, and patterns that surface in your relationship to me can be explored where helpful.
Couples / relationships
I work with couples seeking to improve their relationship. You may have hit a crisis and are questioning your partnership, want to work on patterns that keep surfacing between you, or want to bring richer communication and intimacy into your connection. A particular event or life change may have brought challenge into your world that is impacting how you are together. I also work with couples wanting to explore how to form an amicable ending.
Sessions are a chance to explore questions and conversations that may have become too difficult to raise together, an opportunity to learn to manage conflict and difference in more satisfying ways and a place to reconnect with how you can be a source of soothing and support for each other.
As well as working with couples, I also work with relationship difficulties between siblings, friends, work colleagues and between parents and adult children.
My approach to relationship work is framed within the Imago model created by Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt, and underpinned by David Schnarch's concept of 'differentiation' (deepening connection through emotional disentanglement).
Work with artists / creativity
I have a background in the arts, and specialise in working with artists and other creatives who want to increase confidence, productivity, authenticity, depth and joy in their practice. I also work with arts partnerships / collaborations where emotional and / or relational difficulties are hindering creative flow. Find out more at www.fionagodfreyart.com.
Experience
I have experience in working with addictions, ADHD, affairs, ageing, anger, anxiety, attachment, bereavement, boarding-school history, burnout, childhood emotional neglect, communication skills, chronic fatigue, creativity, cult-involvement, depression, dissociation, domestic abuse, family dynamics, forgiveness, gender, infidelity, intimacy, loss, menopause, miscarriage, money-issues, parenting, relationships, self-esteem, sexual abuse, sexuality, sibling relationships, trauma and work-related issues.
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold a Certificate in Psychotherapy and Counselling (2014) from Spectrum in London (www.spectrumtherapy.co.uk) This was a five-year training and I began working with clients in 2013. The majority of my work has been in private practice. I've also worked as a bereavement support volunteer for Cruse. Spectrum's training included modules in Working with Anger, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Clinical Skills and Sexuality. I also hold a Certificate in Counselling Skills from the Iron Mill in Exeter and a Certificate in Awareness in Bereavement Care (Cruse).
I have an advanced certificate in couples therapy (Juliet Grayson - Interaction Training - CORST approved) and I continue to engage in regular professional development and supervision. Recent training experiences that inform my practice include 'Working with Ex Boarders' (Nick Duffell), 'Internal Family Systems' (IFS) therapy (Alexia Rothman) and 'Towards the Dialectical Self' (Gordon Barclay).
Before training in psychotherapy, I worked for many years in the arts and education and trained as a coach and action learning set facilitator. I've always been passionate about supporting people to learn, change and flourish.
I'm happy to talk to those interested about the theoretical frameworks that underpin my practice, which integrates person-centred approaches with Gestalt techniques and Formative Psychology. I've been involved in my own self-development for over 15 years and regard my commitment to my own psychotherapeutic journey as core to the quality of my work with clients.
I'm an accredited member of the BACP and comply with the BACP's Ethical Framework in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
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.
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
Creativity
Artist's block
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£75.00 per session
Additional information
Individual sessions
£75.00 - standard 50 minute session.
£100 - 75 minute session.
Couple sessions
£90.00 - 60 minute sessions
If you think you might be interested in working with me, I offer a free, no-obligation 20 minute (30 mins for couples) conversation to explore what you're looking for and how we I may be able to help.
When I work
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Further information
My main practice is in Bridport, where I offer sessions in person from Tuesday to Friday each week. I work in Axminster on a Wednesday afternoon and also offer online sessions via Zoom.
