Gillian Watts
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
I am a fully qualified, experienced counsellor, psychotherapist and accredited member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I have many years experience of working with adults and young people within a GP practice, as well as Heads Together, a youth counselling organisation. For 3 years during my time with Heads Together I set up and facilitated the counselling service within the Yehudi Menuhin School in Cobham, Surrey. Now I dedicate all my time in private practice.
Feeling overwhelmed and unable to think straight will have a huge impact on how you live your life and build relationships. While our minds are preoccupied dealing with stress, it is very difficult to make good decisions. Counselling is a great way for you to make sense of your experiences and help you to find more manageable ways of coping.
I have a private practice located in the beautiful grade II listed, Fetcham Park House. There's plenty of parking and the opportunity to enjoy a coffee while you wait. My room is very close to a side entrance if you would prefer to come and go without having to come through the main entrance.
I work short and long-term (reviewed every 12 weeks). This is based on your needs.
Walk and Talk Therapy
In addition to meeting clients at Fetcham Park House, I also offer a walk and talk service. I understand that sitting in a room with a counsellor, for many people, can be too intense. Taking a walk can increase mental alertness, energy and positive mood.
We would meet first at Fetcham Park House and then decide if this service is suitable.
Youth Counselling
Young people are under an enormous amount of pressure at school, home and with friends. This is all usually well managed but if we add, parental divorce, illness, abuse, bereavement, sexual identity issues, bullying, relationship issues and anxiety, to name but a few, this becomes overwhelming. Young people often retreat to their room, put their head phones on and stop talking. Without the right sort of help they may turn to harmful ways of coping, making the situation even more complicated.
Statistics taken from the Mental Health Foundation indicate that 70% of young people who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.
It is often very difficult for a child to talk about their difficulties; this can result from not understanding what exactly is happening to them, and therefore not being able to articulate it. I work towards helping your child become more self-aware, leading to better self-care and in the process, learning the language needed in order to talk to those who can help them outside of the counselling room.
How We Would Work Together
We would have an initial session to discuss whatever it is that you would like to achieve as a result of having counselling. I am able to work psychotherapeutically and help you to explore your past experiences, this helps to make sense of the difficulties you are facing today. I can also use Solution Focused Therapy to focus on your strengths, enabling you to problem solve effectively and move forwards. I am also able to draw upon Sensorimotor Psychotherapy which helps us understand how our bodies responded in order to survive and to become more conscious of our choices when responding to a new experience.
Many of my clients do not know what they want from counselling or what it is they are experiencing. All they know is that they feel sad all the time and would like something to change.
Please email, or text if you would like to discuss this further before meeting me.
Testimonials
"I am delighted to be able to say I am proud of how much my attitudes to various things have changed over the course of 2018, and would like you to know how much your support has been valued by myself and my family".
"I would just like to thank you for helping me improve my life. Your calm, friendly and sometimes humorous approach made it easy for me to open up about my problems."
"Thank you for your care, comfort and friendship over what has been the toughest year of my life. Whatever time I have left will be all the richer for the time we shared".
"Gillian, Thank you for everything! You really saved me!"
"Thank you for everything. Seeing you really turned my life around and I wouldn’t be where I am today without you."
"You have been totally amazing and transformed the way I think about myself...I can never thank you enough for listening, laughing and helping."
Training, qualifications & experience
BA Honours Degree (First) in Integrative-Relational Counselling; Middlesex University
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for Trauma Themes, Level 1
Solution Focused Brief Therapy; Surrey Counselling Training
First Class Honours in Early Childhood Montessori Teaching; St. Nicholas Montessori College, London.
Additional Training:
Working with People Who Self-Harm
Suicide and Young People at risk
Anxiety Management
Asperger Syndrome
Trauma and Disclosure of Childhood Sexual Abuse
Anger Management and Self-Esteem
Working with Young People
Additional Information:
I attend fortnightly supervision, have professional indemnity insurance and adhere to the BACP's Ethical Framework for Good Practice.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
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.
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
Fees
£65.00 per session
Additional information
My Fees are:
£65 for each 50 minute session.
When I work
I work day time and evenings although the evenings are usually fully booked. Please enquire and I will do my best to accommodate you.