Hannah Duncan
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
Becoming our "true self", or recovering from what has been done to us in our pasts, can be a sticky, messy and scary business. Sometimes trauma leaves residues of fear, shame and immobility... and yet in overcoming these residues, there can be an intensely satisfying and rewarding process. Behaviours and patterns (and even the story that we tell about what has happened to us) - things that have perhaps held us back from a deeper or healthy experience of the world can become redundant as we grow and develop. It's tough going, but ultimately about doing more than surviving. We all deserve to thrive and find out who we really are.
Practicing from both East Devon and Nationally/Internationally online, I sat down with my first client over 22 years ago and my first supervisee 15 years ago. I have extensive experience of working with individuals and groups and am an accredited member of BACP. I have experience working with couples, hold a Certificate in Trauma Therapy, which incorporates working with EFT and offering Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), hold a Certificate in Psychosexual Therapy and Certificate in Embodied Practice. I continue to study in the areas of Trauma, Abuse, Sexuality and Compulsive behaviours to keep up to date with the latest evidence-based approaches. I work in a hands-on way with Trauma, Attachment and Depression/Anxiety, grief and psychosexual issues.
I am an "Integrative Relational" therapist - which for me means that I integrate theoretical models from a variety of orientations to work in a way which is real for me and (I believe) helpful to my clients. (These orientations would mainly be Person-Centred theory, Gestalt and Transactional Analysis and some CBT, Mindfulness and Psychodynamic theory). I also like to work in a creative way with other media and believe in listening to the body and somatic experience in the room.
The most important thing for me as a therapist is being real, being utterly honest and transparent and not sitting on my hands and waiting passively for a penny to drop. I feel I aim always to be prepared to be in a real relationship with my clients. I guess this typifies who I am as a therapist - I am prepared to take risks relationally with my clients, to work safely with great care and (I hope) non-judgement and kindness. Of course, I allow my clients space and time to explore themselves and they direct where we go and what we look at. However, I am not willing to pay only lip service to the process and will only work with clients where there is a two-way commitment to the work and where change is truly sought and desired. I am always happy to be challenged by my clients and enjoy working collaboratively and with passion.
I hold Certified Clinical Trauma Professional status(CCTP) and can work with a wide variety of presenting issues including PTSD, CPTSD, Addiction (including alcohol, narcotics, other drugs, sex, pornography, gambling), Depression and Anxiety, Eating Disorders and the impact of Abuse. I am proud to truly believe in equality for all genders and sexualities and am a feminist.
I usually work in longer-term relationships as I find this work rewarding. However, I do enjoy focused and committed short-term work.
Training, qualifications & experience
In my professional roles, I have several hats: as a supervisor I have supported individuals working for The Donkey Sanctuary, One25 (a Bristol women's charity working with marginalised women), and also The Swan Project, (an addictions charity, also in Bristol). I formally ran this latter agency as Project Leader for many years, supervising many trainee and qualified therapists here and its compassionate and inclusive value system has underpinned my therapeutic practice since I began first working with clients there in 2004.
Previously I was proud to offer Reflective Practice/Group Supervision for the staff at Bristol Drugs Project from 2014 to 2022, whose staff work with a wide range of addiction issues with great integrity and skill.
I have had a private practice for 18 years and have worked with a wide variety of presenting issues. Within my practice, I supervise the private practice of other professionals and see one-to-one clients. I have been working with couples/families since 2019.
I am an accredited therapist with BACP, I hold a degree in English Literature, an Advanced Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling and a Certificate in Counselling Supervision. I also have a Certificate in Working with Couples and Other Relationships, a Certificate in Trauma Therapy (including using EFT and Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD) and a Certificate in Embodied Therapy. I hold Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist (CCTP) status. I also completed a Certificate in Psychosexual Psychotherapy (2022) and am currently studying for a Certificate in Embodied Practice (2023).
I am working towards my British Sign Language Level 2 and though I am not fluent yet in this beautiful language, would look forward to working with clients using BSL in the future (Deaf/deaf or HOH). However, given the complexity of this language, I do not feel this is a sufficiently robust level to work with those who use BSL as their first language.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Where my skills/attitudes and knowledge are appropriate, I wish to support people from marginalised communities. This might be those who are visually impaired, Deaf/deaf or Hard of Hearing for example, as well as those who are of minority racial groups, queer, non-Cis Hetro or who don't identify in the gender they were born to. It is important to me to own my own power as a white, middle classed, educated woman in the therapy room and I love having an inclusive and wide practice of delicious human beings who continually get me to not take anything for granted!
Fees
£110.00 - £120.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
From 2025 I will become VAT registered, therefore VAT is included in my fees at 20%, as a requirement by HMRC.
Couples therapy is chargeable at £120 per session. Individual therapy is chargeable at £110 per session. As part of my commitment to inclusivity and access to therapy for wider demographics, I hold 3 concessionary spaces which are available at £45 per session (currently full).
Supervision is chargeable at £105 per session with a minimum frequency of an hour per month.
Group Trauma Therapy is not currently being run (As at December 2024), but when the programme is running, it is offered from £45-£85 per group session. An initial intake meeting to look at C/PTSD symptoms is offered free of charge. This also checks that group is safe/supportive space for each individual member. If you are interested in group, feel free to still contact me, as it will run again with sufficient interest and I have diary availability.
When I work
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I work Nationally and Internationally on Zoom and also see people face-to-face from my garden therapy room in East Devon.
Further information
It's important to me that I am the right therapist for the people I work with. I tend to use the first session to do a full assessment and then see if we both feel we can work together, see if I have the right skills and experience and to create a safe space. I also like to review the work we do together regularly, to make sure it is meeting the needs of my clients. Therapy should work! It's a serious investment in yourself and there should be a good return on that investment!
From 2025 I will become VAT registered, therefore VAT is included in my fees at 20%, as a requirement by HMRC.