Fiona Goldman
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
How are you? A simple question that must be asked millions of times a day. I wonder how many times it gets a true and honest answer. And then, how many times that true, honest answer is really listened to and really heard. Especially when it’s anything other than ‘fine’.
Life can be difficult for everyone. Sometimes that difficulty is fleeting and can be resolved by chatting with someone who cares. Sometimes, the difficulties are more entrenched and we may start to ask ourselves whether anyone cares that much.
If you’re on this site, chances are you are looking for someone who will really listen to you and hear what you have to say. It can be difficult to decide who the right person will be, so here is a little information to tell you a bit about who I am.
I am a BACP registered, integrative counsellor working from a humanistic, person-centred base...
This means that my work starts with you, and where you are; after all, there can be no greater expert on you, than you. If you have anxiety, it may be similar to others’, but it won’t be the same; if you’re depressed, that depression will affect you in ways that are unique to you. So, you direct where we go, and what we look at. I make observations, connections and suggestions of things that you may not have noticed or thought about before. And I may use different 'techniques' that come from various modes of therapy.
I believe that deep within yourself, you know what you need, although you may have become confused about how to find that knowledge or feel that you are still getting nowhere. And that is where talking, and really being heard, can be powerful tools in helping you to progress with your life in a way that feels best for you.
Relationships are fascinating, and the relationship you have with your counsellor is an integral part of the counselling process. For it to work best, there needs to be trust and openness. These may be things that you find difficult at first, but from the right counsellor you will be able to sense those things being offered. And in time, the counsellor may help you to become more open and trusting, too.
In March 2020, like many, I started working remotely using Zoom online and that means that wherever you are in the UK, we can work together. For clients local to the Swansea area, I have now also started working face-to-face again, for those who wish to experience a more traditional mode of counselling.
I offer a free first session to give you a chance to check out whether I could be the right person to ask you how you are, and to really listen to your honest answer, whatever that may be. I’m hopeful that will give you as little as possible to lose, and plenty to gain.
Training, qualifications & experience
Qualifications:
- MA and post graduate diploma in counselling: The University of Manchester
- Certificate in Supervision: Macclesfield Counselling & Training Centre
- Certificate in Couples & Relationship Counselling: Macclesfield Counselling & Training Centre
Experience of counselling:
- Trafford Psychological Therapies: an NHS service in which I met a variety of people, with a diverse range of difficulties in their lives
- Men’s prison in UK: a year's voluntary placement
- Private practice: Previously in Fallowfield Manchester, giving me plenty of experience of working with counselling trainees, students and young people, as well as academic, university and hospital staff
Other experience:
I have worked as a midwife, which gave me a privileged view into the lives of people at an important time of change in their relationships and lives. This taught me to value individuals’ confidentiality and right to privacy. Having worked as an administrator to various organisations, I also know about the importance of data protection, and I manage clients' details with respect and appropriate security.
I am registered to practice with the BACP and I work within their Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. With a genuine fascination for the subject, I engage in continuing professional development and training on a frequent basis.
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
- Student life/leaving home
- Empty nest
- Mid-life, menopause and issues of ageing
- History of imprisonment and "offending" behaviour/crime
- Existential and death anxiety
- Physical illness
- Personal development
Therapies offered
Fees
£50.00 per session
Free initial online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
My standard fee for counselling is £50 per 50-minute session, with concessions negotiable for no/low income, whatever the reason. If you would like to discuss a concessionary rate, please do ask.
I charge for missed appointments and cancellations with less than 48 hours’ notice.
I offer counselling supervision at £40 - £45 per hour.
When I work
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If meeting on Zoom, please consider when and where you can talk; you may want to find a time and place, when others who share your living space, are unlikely to overhear your conversation.
Further information
I am very pleased to have recently started working face-to-face again, from a room in central Swansea. Unfortunately, the room is on the first floor, so not accessible to all. I also, however, still offer Zoom counselling, and this includes all first sessions. Telephone appointments may be available for those who prefer to work in that way, once we have established a working relationship.
