Hannah Paton
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
My specialism and passions lie in helping people to reach their personal goals with regards to their drink and/or drug use, and working with people who have experienced trauma, to help them to rebuild their lives.
I believe we've each experienced some level of trauma from something that has happened to us, whether that be a one off incident, such as a car accident or more complex trauma related to our relationships as we were growing up, and any complicated human connections we experience along life’s journey.
I qualified as a Counsellor in 2013, and have been trained to use an Integrative approach to counselling. This means I value our relationship, and accept that each person is unique. I draw from a number of therapeutic models in which I have been trained, collaboratively integrating those which I believe would be most helpful, with the aim of enhancing your personal growth.
At the heart of my Counselling practice is my passion for building a safe, nurturing, therapeutic relationship in which to enable your personal growth, as you make sense of your life.
I offer both short and long term open ended counselling via the remote counselling platforms of Zoom and telephone counselling. Since starting to work using these platforms at the start of the pandemic, I have developed a passion for this way of working, and have gone on to complete significant training in this area, that has evolved to my now holding a membership with ACTO: The Association for Counselling and Therapy Online. I can bring your therapy to your own safe space, where you feel comfortable, and without the pressure of journey costs and commuting pressures.
If you are looking to access a focused time limited counselling approach, with a desire to make behavioral changes, I offer a short term evidence based approach known as Motivational Enhancement Therapy over 4 sessions using Motivational Interviewing. This is known to be effective in helping people to make changes to their drug or alcohol use, and is also applicable to anyone looking to make other lifestyle changes.
Within the long term therapy that I offer, we can explore motivational work, if you wish, as well as getting to the deep rooted underlying causes, and problems, that may have led you to self medicate and/or adopt unhelpful coping strategies. Through a longer term approach, we can look at these life experiences in order to gain insight and understanding around patterns of thinking and behavior that may no longer be helping you and for you to become the person you are truly meant to be.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am an Accredited member of the BACP. This means that my practice has met the higher standard as a competent, ethical and independent practitioner.
I have worked in the field of substance misuse since 2010, working with people experiencing difficulties around their alcohol and/or drug use, and seeking ways to make the changes they desire. I have found that our past experiences have an effect on how we think and what we believe about ourselves. Some people turn to alcohol and other drugs as a way to manage their life's difficulties.
I have extensive experience and training working in the field of Trauma Counselling, where I find a real passion, helping people process past traumatic experiences and the impact of complex relationships. Working in a trauma informed way with clients, I understand the importance of providing a safe therapeutic environment, so that within our trusting relationship you will be able to safely explore and piece together what can feel like shattered/ fragmented parts of yourself.
I have a real thirst for knowledge and a curiosity for understanding, which I bring to my practice through significant continual professional development training. I hold a Coaching Certificate in Motivational Interviewing, am a Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional (CCATP) and a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP). This training gives me a firm base for understanding the latest neuroscience research, which I can integrate into our work together if this is of interest to you.
I have helped people to work through, and make sense of their experiences. This includes, but is not limited to depression, anxiety, trauma, abuse, relationship issues, loss and grief, personality disorders, low self-esteem, guilt and shame, understanding identity, self-harm, suicide, eating disorders and addictive behaviors.
I am a Level 2 trained Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapist, having completed my training with IFS UK. I continue to regularly increase my knowledge, understanding and practice of this model with regular additional training and development in this area.
IFS is a gentle, non-pathologising way of building relationships with parts of ourselves that may have adapted and taken on burdens, in response to past experiences and trauma's. Through the process, we are able to build relationships with these parts, which can help them to change, and become their improved versions.
If what you have read about me and my approach sounds of interest to you, please follow the link to my website, where you can find out more about me and see if you feel that we might be a good fit to work together.
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.
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Additional information
My initial consultation will take place over the phone, which will help us establish if we feel comfortable to work together.
Thereafter, I charge £60 for a 50 minute weekly counselling session.
If we choose to work together I will ask that you pay for sessions at least 24hrs before their start time. This can help to give you a sense of control, as you will not be contracted into a set number of sessions.
When I work
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These are the times that I currently have availability.
