Geraldine Hughes

ABOUT ME

Hello, welcome to my profile.  As an experienced and highly qualified counsellor, accredited by RELATE, I work with individuals and couples to bring about positive change in their lives, by providing confidential therapy in a caring, supportive and safe space. 

Based in Sale, I have over 10 year’s experience of working with individuals who are tired of feeling anxious and couples who are struggling with the challenges which being in a relationship can sometimes bring.  It’s a cliche but life isn’t a dress rehearsal. We only get one shot at this and I welcome the opportunity to work with people who want to find a better way forward, that feels kinder to themselves and those close to them. 

I use an integrative approach to counselling which combines different types of talking therapies and techniques. This allows clients to benefit from a wide range of psychodynamic, systemic and person-centred therapies to successfully help address their concerns.

THERAPY

INDIVIDUAL COUNSELLING FOR ANXIETY

Life can feel like a bumpy ride at times and struggling with feelings of anxiety is more common than you might think. For some, anxiety is a longstanding issue and for others it may feel like it has come out nowhere. 

• Maybe you wake up or go to bed feeling anxious? The churning sensation, often felt in your stomach, can be overwhelming and debilitating.
• Do you feel scared to let yourself feel happy? Afraid that something bad could happen?
• Do you find yourself overthinking situations? Excessively worrying about what could go wrong or what others might think of you?
• Do you feel on edge a lot of the time? A sense of being on high alert for dangers or threats, causing you to live in a state of indecision? 
• Have you made an unconscious connection that worry and anxiety keeps you safe? Have you developed repetitive habits which are unhelpful but hard to stop?

The good news is therapy can help you successfully deal with these issues. 

In a safe, judgement-free setting, we can work together to discover the roots of your anxiety, find different perspectives to serve you better and identify the tools to help you escape this exhausting way of life. In short: we will find an alternative path which is kinder, gentler and more fulfilling for you and those around you. 

COUPLES COUNSELLING AND RELATIONSHIP THERAPY
Relationships can be difficult to navigate at times and sometimes we can reach a point where our internal resources aren’t sufficient to cope with the challenges that we are facing:

• Are you finding that you are having the same argument over and over or struggling to feel any closeness in the relationship where sex and affection has diminished?
• You may feel that your partner seems unaware or unable to meet your needs, which can lead to you feeling insecure, unloved or ‘not enough’.
• Maybe you try to communicate how you feel but your points get lost in translation, leaving you feeling misunderstood and frustrated.
• Have you gone into a relationship hopeful that it would be more successful than the relationships that you observed growing up and then found that history is repeating itself?
• Has the trust that you had in the relationship diminished due to an affair or do you simply just find it hard to trust your partner because you find being vulnerable difficult?

These are just some of the issues that we can work through together in couples counselling and relationship therapy

For change to happen, we have to start doing something different and couples counselling can be very effective at helping clients decipher what needs to be different for the relationship to flourish again.

APPROACH

During therapy, we will work together to explore the issues that are causing concern, help to identify the underlying reasons and start to find some alternative perspectives and solutions to allow you to move forward.

I use an integrative approach to counselling which combines different types of talking therapies and techniques to provide an approach that’s tailored to the client’s needs. This allows clients to benefit from psychodynamic, person centred and systemic therapies to help address their concerns.

FIRST STEPS

The first step is to get in touch either by email or phone call. I can answer any questions that you may have about counselling. If you would like to go ahead, we can arrange a convenient time for your first session.

Making that first step and contacting a counsellor is really significant and can often seem like the biggest hurdle. If you are on this site, considering counselling, you may be finding it hard to choose a counsellor. However, those that do, are often able to enjoy the benefits of counselling and the positive impact it can have on their life and relationships, sooner rather than later. So, I hope that you are able to get in touch with me soon.

YOUR NEXT CHAPTER Is waiting to begin…

Sessions are 50 minutes long.

Some clients find that they only need a few sessions and others may continue for a period of months. There is no obligation to have a fixed number of sessions. Together, we will review progress as we go along to help you determine how many sessions would be helpful.

My standard fees are as follows:

£55 individual sessions

£65 - £90 couples sessions

Currently  - Daytime appointments available only. My private practice is based at the Blend Centre which is a very short walk from Sale Metro station and 5 minutes drive from M60.