Heather Colman

I am an experienced and compassionate therapuetic counsellor accredited with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

I have a particular interest in supporting people to heal from trauma and negative experiences and I offer a safe, confidential place to process events.  External influences such as abuse can erode our sense of who we are, leading to a loss of self confidence and feelings of anxiety.  My aim is to support people to believe in and accept themselves so that they can lead fulfilling lives and experience healthy relationships with others.  Taking the time to heal from difficult external influences means we can start to embrace who we are and begin to live the lives we choose.

Why Counselling?

People enter into therapy for lots of different reasons:

Present Day Situations

You may have experienced a trauma; you may have a dilemma or challenge you need to explore or you may be facing a change in your life which feels frightening to you.  You may be feeling anxious, stressed or unable to cope with situations. Even something which others deem positive, such as marriage, moving home, pregnancy or retirement, can feel overwhelming and challenging.

I will provide you with a safe and confidential place for you to explore your situation and will help you to deal with anything which, at the moment, feels too daunting or difficult to overcome.

Past Experiences

It’s not only things that are happening today that can cause problems. Past experiences can also have an effect on the way you feel and they can continue to influence your present day situations, even when the events are over.

You may have experienced something in the past, such as trauma, which has caused you to have a negative view of who you are,  creating difficult feelings such as shame or guilt; or you may be aware that you are using unhealthy coping mechanisms to get you through each day.

Negative messages from others may also have helped to form the way you feel about yourself, eroding your self confidence and stopping you from achieving your full potential,

I will support you to resolve the past, allowing you to recover and move forward without being negatively affected by previous events.

Self Exploration

You may be questioning who you are or what you believe. You may be feeling that life could be different and more fulfilling. There may not be a specific event or situation which has caused you to question things and you may not know what you want to change but somehow you simply know you would like things to be different.

I can help you to explore unanswered questions and provide clarity so that you can make decisions which support you to live a life you choose.

Relationships

As relational beings, we thrive on experiencing supportive and trusting relationships. However, it is very easy for communication to break down or for differences to occur.

If you are experiencing difficulties in a relationship or perhaps in many relationships, then I can help you to explore your feelings and help you obtain clarity on what is causing the rift(s).

Parent/Carer/Teacher Support

Caring for others can be challenging and it is vital that you remain well enough to be able to continue providing the much needed support. Looking after children can also be difficult, especially if the young person is experiencing problems themselves.  As a parent, carer or teacher you can be under enormous pressure on a daily basis which takes its toll.

I can support you to build resilience so that you feel better equipped to deal with the daily pressures and provide the best possible support for those you are caring for.

Confusion and Distress

Of course, at this moment in time, you may not even be able to understand why you want support...but somehow know that you do! Your emotions may feel overwhelming and out of control and you find yourself crying, getting angry or hurting yourself and/or others.  There is no wrong reason for deciding to obtain support and I believe that if your situation is important to you, then it is.

My Approach to Supporting You

Each counselling session with me will give you the opportunity to explore anything which feels important to you in a confidential setting without fear of being judged.

I aim to help you to explore your feelings, emotions and behaviour and to support you to understand why you are feeling certain things or behaving in certain ways. I do this by understanding what you are experiencing from your perspective, without judgement and with genuine compassion.

To be completely heard and understood is therapeutic in itself but once you understand more about yourself and your experiences, you can then decide whether or not you want to make any changes...and if this is what you choose to do, then I will support you to achieve this.

What happens next?

If you feel I might be the right person to support you, I usually suggest that we have an initial appointment together.  This gives you ample opportunity to meet me, to ask any questions and to experience a counselling session with me (I advise you allow up to 75 minutes for this initial meeting).  If after this, you decide you would like to work with me then we can arrange another appointment but you are under no obligation to do so.  Subsequent sessions will normally be weekly or fortnightly and will last 60 minutes.

Appointments can be on a fixed day at the same time or, if this is difficult for you due to shift patterns or family commitments, I can work flexibly.  Evening and weekend appointments are available if you can't make daytime sessions.