About me
Hello and welcome to my page, please allow me to introduce myself as Gill. I am a very experienced integrative counsellor/therapist who works with children from the age of 4-years, young people and adults. Areas I work with include: anxiety and depression, low mood, low self-esteem and confidence issues, mental wellbeing and childhood issues, stress and workplace stress, bereavement and loss, anger, bullying and school related issues, family issues, relationship difficulties, life’s transitions and suicidal ideation. My experience also includes working with clients looking for empowerment in their quest to overcome abusive and/or cohesive relationships, past or present. I offer face-to-face, online via Zoom and telephone appointments from my practice in Co-Durham. If you are feeling overwhelmed with feelings of desperation and helplessness then I am the therapist for you.
I understand that taking the time to find the right therapist that fits your needs can be overwhelming and exhausting as it takes careful consideration. It all begins with courage and you have now tapped into your inner strength by looking at my profile and contemplating entering into therapy. Now, together, let’s take that a step further by building a relationship enabling you to feel safe to share and talk without fear of judgement. You will be welcomed with a honest and genuine understanding, and positive regard.
I would like to share with you this piece of feedback that I received recently. It may help you decide whether to contact me:
"My therapist Gillian Barton is a credit. She assesses plans implements and evaluates care during sessions. Her natural relaxed ability to connect enabled me to feel easy and comfortable talking to her. She is very understanding, empathetic and listens which enabled me to get feelings out and address coping. I would highly recommend her to anyone."
I originally trained in Person-Centred Theory (Humanism) and still firmly believe in the fundamentals of trust and relationship building. Through experience, I now integrate Psychodynamic Theory as this acknowledges a client’s life experiences that have influences on who they are and decisions that have been made. Further, I have an interest in Cognitive Behavioural Theory and Solution Focus Theory; and when working with children and young people I combine child-centred Play and Creative Theory. If you would like to know more about this we can discuss further when we meet.
First Session
We cannot change the things that have already happened to you, but we can work through them and acknowledge your thoughts and feelings associated. This then allowing you to decide what it is you need from therapy.
A lot of clients have weekly sessions to begin with; however, fortnightly, three weekly and monthly sessions are available and maybe more affordable. We can discuss and explore these options together when we meet.
Regardless of the circumstances for entering into therapy, we can take the time you need to meet and get to know one another in order for you to make an informed decision as to whether I will be the right therapist for you.
I am not authorised to use ‘magic fairy dust’ and I do not claim that entering into therapy is not going to be overwhelming or in any way easy. However, I can say, from a personal and professional viewpoint – It certainly helped me!
Training, qualifications & experience
Over the past 15 years I have accrued over 9,490 clinical practice hours working with hundreds of clients. I have previously been employed in a variety of organisations and diverse settings including Primary and Secondary schools, as a counsellor/therapist in children’s, young people’s and adult services. Alongside this, my career has included lecturing in Higher Education at BA (Hons) level for 10 years. Nowadays, I work in private practice alongside being an associate counsellor/therapist and supervisor in multiple agencies.
I am BACP registered MBACP.
BA (Hons) in Counselling (1 year)
Foundation Degree in Counselling (2 years)
Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
Certificate in Counselling Supervision
Certificate in Mediation & Advocacy Supervision
Place 2Be - Foundation Course in Counselling Skills for Working with Children
Cruse Bereavement Care - Awareness in C&YPs Bereavement Care
Diploma in Counselling for Bereavement and Loss
County Durham Rape & Sexual Abuse Training Programme
Mental Health First Aid, Suicide Alertness & ASIST
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
Exam/Academic Pressure
For professionals and organisations I offer clinical supervision.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
Concessions offered for
Additional information
My fee is £70 per 50-minute therapy session for adults and £70 per 45-minute therapy session for children and young people.
My fee is £95 per 60-minute session for working with couples.
My supervision fee is £95 per 90-minute session and £70 per 60-minute session.
I offer a concession rate of £45 to student trainee counsellors.
When I work
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Further information
I have 17 years experience of working in mental health support.
I hold an enhanced DBS.
I am registered with the ICO.
I hold professional indemnity insurance.
I offer 50/60-minute sessions, 90-minute sessions and 120-minute sessions to adults and couples.
My preferred method of contact is via email as due to work commitments, I am not always able to take calls. However, if you would prefer to contact me by telephone please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
I can accept you on a waiting list if I am full.
Payment
You will be required to make full payment at the point of accepting and booking your appointment. If you decide to continue with therapy all further bookings are to be paid 2 days (48 hours) before your scheduled appointment via bank transfer.
Cancellations
A cancellation notice of 2 days (48 hours) prior to your appointment time enables me to reuse the appointment by offering it to another client. Therefore, you need to inform me within the above stipulated time frame otherwise the full fee for your appointment is payable.
In addition, if you are more that 20 minutes late for your appointment, the appointment will be forfeited and you will be liable to pay the full cost of the appointment.
In Crisis
I do not offer crisis contact.
- If you feel in crisis you can call 111 or if you or someone is hurt call 999.
- You can go to any A&E to speak with a mental health professional
- Contact your GP and request an urgent appointment.
