Hannah Ford
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I’m experienced in supporting people recovering from domestic abuse and struggling with identity following major life changes.
Putting into words how we feel can be daunting. We can find ourselves worrying that we won’t be understood, feeling safer to keep things bottled up. Therapy can be an opportunity to help find the words, confront beliefs we hold about ourselves or our experiences, and explore new ways we want to live our lives.
Often narratives embed themselves in our relational patterns with others. You may feel like you’re never good enough, like you can never let your guard down, trapped or longing for real connection but feeling unseen in your relationships. Carrying these beliefs around alone can be incredibly isolating and within them - we can lose a sense of who we are.
I’ll be curious about where you learned these narratives and the emotional impact they have on you. You may have learned them from your family, an important figure in your life or wider society and culture. I believe we make meaning from troubling experiences but sometimes these narratives limit us - we may have internalised something that needs to be put into a context bigger than ourselves.
There are some experiences that you may have never put into words and this is often the case with trauma. I’m passionate about working in a way that allows you to express yourself fully, for some this can mean sharing drawings and writing or through metaphor in a session. Although I’m not a somatic practitioner, I believe in a holistic approach that integrates the felt senses in your body for a trauma-informed practice. Does your body tense up at the mention of a certain topic? Has your breathing become shallower? These are all messages we can learn to listen to.
To engage in therapy, a trusting relationship is a vital foundation and sometimes this takes time. Learning to trust again after painful experiences can be therapeutic in itself. Collaboratively, I’ll do my best to find a pace that works for you, aware that this may be something that changes throughout our work together. I’ll meet you without judgement and with compassion.
Training, qualifications & experience
I’m a fully qualified and insured therapist; having gained an MA in Integrative Counselling at Leeds Beckett University with Distinction. As a registered member of the BACP, I abide by their ethical framework.
As an Integrative Counsellor, I combine a few different approaches, but I am primarily humanistic as I value your autonomy and believe counselling is a chance for self-exploration. Narrative and existential approaches influence me as I believe we seek to make meaning in life but sometimes feel stuck or like the days are void of it. We each live within a social context, and I feel it’s important to acknowledge how this impacts us.
I’m experienced in working with people recovering from domestic abuse and struggling with identity following major life changes, with considerable experience counselling parents and carers. I have a background in supporting women fleeing domestic abuse and gender-based violence, including stalking and so-called honour-based abuse from my time working in refuge services.
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
- Identity
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£50.00 per session
Additional information
- I offer a free 15-minute introductory phone or video call
- Counselling sessions are for 50 minutes
- Initial sessions are also 50 minutes, at the same rate as counselling sessions
When I work
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Please note: for in-person sessions, I'm available on Thursday evenings and weekends in Leeds.
Further information
Our first session is a chance to see if I’m a good fit for you with no obligation to continue therapy with me. The first session may feel more conversational than the following, as I’ll ask quite a few questions. You’re also welcome to ask me anything – but this is always the case.
