Gabrielle Forshaw

Whether you are experiencing a life crisis or transition, anxious, depressed, or wanting to understand difficult past experiences, I will offer you confidential,  accepting and professional support. I'd like to help you find more clarity and peace of mind so that you can move forward with greater confidence in yourself and a deeper understanding of how you can live a meaningful life. We will work with what feels relevant and helpful to you.

If you decide to contact me I hope that you will experience me as a warm, sensitive and down-to-earth person from our first meeting and that you will feel listened to deeply and understood.

I work with adults of all ages and from many different backgrounds. They come with a wide variety of issues such as stress and anxiety, depression, life transitions, bereavement, low self-esteem, identity, suicidal thoughts, relationship issues, parenting and unhelpful patterns of behaviour. These might be the result of current circumstances that are distressing or connected to past experiences which feel unresolved.

My approach: I work in an Integrative way with Person-centred theory at the heart of my practice. This means that I see my clients as unique individuals whose needs vary and so I use a variety of therapeutic methods to meet each client's individual needs.

I have also trained in a Humanistic and  Integrative approach to Sandplay therapy with Kenneth Rabone (also known as Sandtray). It is one of the creative approaches that I offer clients who are drawn to a more symbolic approach to working with their therapeutic process. During a sandtray session, miniature figures, objects and symbols are used to create movable scenes in a large box of sand. By using visual objects for self-expression, the clients' unconscious feelings and attitudes become conscious and are reflected within the safe boundaries of the sandtray box onto the characters or objects they choose to use. Whatever needs to be worked on in the present moment by the client is projected onto the chosen figures and Sandtray world that they have created. Many clients find this approach to be calming and meditative; for others, it can feel cathartic and dynamic. The insights gained can be surprising, enlightening and healing and the process can shed light on a life situation or internal conflict which can then be actively worked with through ‘talking therapy’, if appropriate, in subsequent sessions. However sometimes this work involves only a few words, or, might be silent, which might enable to client to work more intuitively and actively with their imagination.

As well as my therapeutic training I have a first-class BA (hons.) in Mixed media art and textiles and have many years of experience working with children exploring their creativity. I also have a certificate in Person-centred creative art counselling, having trained with the Association for person-centred creative arts (APCCA)  so there is always the opportunity for clients to explore through therapeutic art expression if they decide this might be helpful for them.

I work in private practice in a comfortable room within my home in Glastonbury and can offer both brief short-term and long-term open-ended counselling to individuals.

I offer a reduced fee of £25 for the initial 1-hour meeting which allows you to meet me and for us to decide if we would like to work together.

My background: I have a background in the Visual Arts with a BA (hons.) in Mixed media textiles. Rich experiences throughout my life such as travelling and living abroad when younger; becoming a mother and an eclectic work history before studying as a mature student has helped me to feel comfortable relating to people from all walks of life. Some of this experience was working with adults with disabilities and SEN and also children affected by domestic violence (for Women's Aid). I was a counsellor within the voluntary sector at a local branch of the charity MIND for 3 years, where I also held the position of counselling co-ordinator for some of that time.

What to expect at our first meeting:

During our first introductory meeting, you will be able to share some of how you are at this time and what you hope to get from counselling. You may have a clear idea of something specific you'd like to work with, or it may be something currently more difficult to pin down, a feeling of unease or dissatisfaction with your life or a spiritual crisis, which you would like to explore. Whilst the meeting has boundaries it is also informal and my hope is that you feel it is a space where you can comfortably ask me about my way of working and what you can expect.

Please note that there is no obligation if you decide you do not wish to go ahead.

If you decide that you would like to make a commitment for us to do counselling work together we will make an appointment, usually for the following week, and I will give you a 'counselling agreement' to take away with you to read before meeting again. I generally suggest that we try to work together for 6 weeks, then review how things are going for you, however it is always up to you whether we continue.

Alongside my private practice I am also employed as a treatment support counsellor by a national Cancer support charity which works in partnership with a private health-care service, providing short term counselling as part of 'whole-person' approach to Cancer patients who are undergoing Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy.

Some of these clients then decide that they would like to continue seeing me privately for longer term counselling.

My fee is £40 / hour, payable on the day either by cash or bank transfer.

Concessions: If you are feeling under pressure financially I do offer a limited number of sessions per client at a reduced rate so please ask.

Please contact me for further information.

Location:

I am based approximately 10 -15 minutes walking distance from the centre of Glastonbury. There is free parking space on the road near the house. Access is good, however for anyone with mobility issues, there are 2 small steps on the path which leads up to my front door which might need to be taken into consideration.