Gillian Cowley Mcphee
Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
If you have had a bereavement, or are dealing with anxiety or depression as a result of your loss, I can offer a safe, welcoming space where we can think together about navigating your world without your lost loved one. I am a qualified, experienced psychodynamic counsellor and psychotherapist. I offer a comfortable, non-judgemental space in my consulting room at home. I believe that being able to share our concerns with someone who is trained to listen can enable us to draw upon our own internal resources, even in the wake of grief.
Loss and grief can feel bewildering and we can feel as if our world has been turned upside-down. Loss can leave us feeling out of kilter and can make everyday tasks feel unmanageable or even impossible.
I would like to invite you to come and talk in a safe, non-judgemental space where we can think together about the impact of your loss. With time, and support, it can be possible for us to discover an inner resilience and be able to piece back together our shattered souls.
I can offer a supportive space where we can make this journey together. Reflecting upon the way in which we communicate unconsciously, as well as how scenarios from the past can replay in the present, can lead to further insight and bring us back to ourselves in a way which can lead to transformation and growth.
Working psychodynamically, I can also help you to think patterns laid down at a very young age which can continue throughout our lives and affect our relationships and how we manage difficult situations. Reflecting on our internal world can help us to understand how we might communicate unconsciously, as well as how scenarios from the past can seem to replay in the present.
I'm a registered member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy and am registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council. I abide by both of their codes of ethics.
Training, qualifications & experience
I did my Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy training at Wessex Counselling and Psychotherapy in Frome, Somerset, where I also supervise trainees and qualified counsellors.
I have experience of doing pre- and post-bereavement work at a local hospice, being a private practitioner in a GP surgery, offering pastoral work in a secondary school, doing sessional agency work, carrying out clinical assessments at a local training organisation and supervising trainee and staff counsellors.
I have done a psychodynamic/psychoanalytic supervision training at Severn and Thames Psychotherapy Network in Bristol.
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 British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) is a professional association, representing the profession of psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
The organisation is itself made up of fourteen member organisations and BPC accredits the trainings of its member organisations. An individual who qualifies from one of these trainings is then eligible for entry into the BPC's register.
BPC registrants are governed by a code of ethics, a policy of continuing professional development, a statement on confidentiality and a complaints procedure. The BPC is a Member Society of the European Federation for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the Public Sector (EFPP). 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.
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.
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
I work with a wide range of issues and find that they can often be traced back to an experience of loss. This might be a loss through bereavement, divorce or separation, leaving/moving away from home, retirement or redundancy, losing one of our physical or mental functions, disappointed dreams, losing the future we anticipated or hoped for, loss of self-confidence or self-esteem or loss of a sense of who we are and where we belong in the world.
A particular interest of mine is working with people affected by life-threatening illness and their families/relatives, as well as those affected by bereavement.
Therapies offered
Fees
£50.00 per session
Additional information
For therapy, my fees are £40 for an initial assessment and £50 thereafter per session.
For supervision, my fees are £50 per hour.
When I work
Weekdays up to 6pm
Further information
I am happy to discuss concessionary rates for counselling sessions and am sensitive to the different financial situations people find themselves in.
