First Steps ED
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About us
First Steps ED is a leading eating disorder organisation, passionate about providing hope, opportunities, and choices to lives impacted by eating difficulties and disorders.
Our Psychotherapists can work with you to help address difficulties around food, focusing on troublesome thoughts, emotions, behaviours or beliefs, and therefore improving your mental health. Psychotherapy can equip you with the skills and strategies to overcome your eating disorder.
Eating disorders are often a response to trauma, difficulties with coping, or dealing with difficult emotions. Addressing your eating disorder in therapy will give you insight into the function of the eating disorder and why it developed. With your therapist, together you can learn who you could be without the eating disorder, challenging those thoughts and reduce behaviours associated.
Whilst parts of you may be worried about addressing this, or unsure what life would look like without the eating disorder, you just need a part of you willing to explore. Psychotherapy does require a degree of openness, but don't worry if this takes some time. You are the expert of your experience, and the therapist will come alongside you to unpick this in a safe space.
Testimonials:
"My treatment was trauma informed and helped me develop skills I needed to heal myself"
"Thank you for the best counselling, advice and support I have ever received. Going from feeling hopeless and suffering to hope and someone feeling proud of me and encouraging me has been wonderful"
"I was originally optimistic but felt instantly at ease in the first session given how quickly the support was tailored towards me as an individual. My counsellor was very knowledgable and approachable which made me feel supported and understood."
"I felt so encouraged by my therapist. It was such an empowering experience and I now know what I need to do to keep progressing."
"Having that structure of weekly sessions, the fact it wasn’t heavily focused at all on weight or eating and more rounded looking at all of me rather than just the eating disorder was extremely helpful"
"I’ve really appreciated being able to access the service and feel so much more positive after my sessions. Thank you!"
"So grateful I found First Steps. Therapy has really given me the confidence and support to pursue recovery and heal"
About First Steps ED:
Established in 2004, our multi-disciplinary team works with all ages, genders and backgrounds impacted by body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and eating disorders (all presentations).
First Steps ED understands what it takes to reach out for support and is here for you every step of the way. Our dynamic team has experience delivering both online and in-person support, providing confidence in this chosen service for your recovery. Our eating disorder-informed and qualified Psychotherapists know that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to recovery so, working against NHS and NICE standards, we are here to provide a service and support unique to you.
Our one-to-one therapy is recognised and respected by our commissioners as person-centred and outcome-focused, offering people and their parents/carers the real possibility for eating disorder recovery.
Training, qualifications & experience
All of our Counsellors and Psychotherapists are members of the BACP and receive regular clinical supervision. We offer sessions with trainee counsellors and qualified counsellors.
Member organisations *
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.
The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society
This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations.
In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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.
Areas of counselling we deal with
Other areas of counselling we deal with
Body image
Body dissatisfaction
ARFID
Weight management
Weight stigma
Undiagnosed eating disorders
Eating difficulties
Over-exercise
Therapies offered
Fees
£20.00 - £45.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
We offer in person counselling with trainee counsellors at £20 per session. This can be accessed at £10 per session for those experiencing financial hardship.
Counselling with private, qualified counsellors are £45 per session and can be in person or online.
When we work
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If you would like to access Psychotherapy outside office hours, please get in touch and we may be able to accommodate.
