Heather May

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BACP Reg. Dip Couples Therapy.Dip Supervision with Soul
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

Brighton, East Sussex, BN1
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

I am an integrative and relational psychotherapeutic counsellor working face to face near the Fiveways area of Brighton, and at times on zoom. I am also a qualified couple therapist and clinical supervisor. I believe in the healing power of the therapeutic relationship and you are likely to find me an approachable and soulful human being. I warmly welcome each person as an individual and encourage you to determine the pace at which we work.

We can all have times in our lives when we need support to face current difficulties, or to talk though issues from the past. Deciding to start counselling can be a really courageous commitment, and can also be one of the most generous gifts we give ourselves.

Working with the right counsellor can enable us to face those aspects of ourselves that we might have feared, or which have perhaps caused us profound unhappiness in our lives and exploring such feelings in a safe and non-judgemental space can help us develop more meaningful and fulfilling lives.

If you would like to book an initial session to get a sense of what you might feel like working with me, please do get in touch. I will do everything I can to put you at ease.


Within the past twenty years I have supported people who have worked on a wide range of issues. These have included;

  •  Low self esteem

    • Identity issues

    • Relationship issues, sexuality, gender, intimacy

    • Abuse, trauma

    • Loss, bereavement, dying, suicide

    • Work related issues

    • Loss of meaning or direction

    • LGBTQ+ issues


    COUPLE THERAPY

    Crisis in relationships can often leave partners feeling stuck or powerless to find a way though what can often feel like chaos.

In times of stress and conflict in our relationships we can easily find ourselves revisiting the same conflicts or experiencing the same patterns of what happens in our arguments, and in our culture where there is less wider community support for relationships and more emphasis on the small family group or nuclear family, relationships and what is expected of them can come under enormous strain.

Often the conflict that erupts with what can feel like extraordinary pain, and which may touch into feelings such as an acute longing to be heard and understood by the other can become a power struggle, and this struggle can at times feel impossible to bear.

In embarking on couples therapy and by trusting that your relationship can be held in a safe containing space, couples can begin to explore the depth of feelings and responses that may have given rise to such painful conflict and can begin to explore some empathic understanding.

It is important to explore the patterns and to find ways of coping from day to day when the struggle feels overwhelming, but it is invariably by taking time, paradoxically, to go deeper into the feelings that the relationship can emerge into a new and much more fulfilling place.

Please do call me if you and your partner are interested in an initial session of couple therapy.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Training, qualifications & experience

BA (Hons) Social Sciences (Open University)

Tavistock Certificate in Applied Systemic theory.

PG DIP Person Centred Counselling (University of Brighton)

Advanced Certificate in Couple Counselling (Time2 Relate)

Diploma in Couple Therapy using the Arts (Time2Relate)

Diploma in Supervision with Soul (Re-Vision)

I am a registered member of BACP,  and as well as working in my established private practice, I have worked at Brighton Women's centre and for some years at Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard’s counselling service. I am a clinical supervisor for Mindout and for Cruse.

I have extensive experience of working with people who feel alienated and marginalised in our society including working with people who identify as LGBTQI .

Member organisations

BACP
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

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

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
Accredited Register Scheme

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.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

Fees

£55.00 per session

Additional information

Individual sessions are £55 for 50 minute sessions

All couple sessions are £80 for 60 minute sessions

Introductory meeting with individuals £25 for 30 mins

Concessionary places for individuals are also occasionally available.

When I work

Daytime availability and some weekday evenings.

Brighton, East Sussex, BN1

Type of session

In person

Types of client

Adults
Older Adults
Couples

Supervision

In person

A space where reflection and the creative imagination can flourish, so that what emerges can best serve the clients.

View supervision profile

Heather May
Heather May