About me
Struggling with life issues and feeling overwhelmed? Or feeling stuck with where and what you are doing now and in the foreseeable future? I help adults who are struggling to deal with issues that are bringing them down, holding them back. I help in working out what is going on and assist them to find answers and solutions which allows progress and growth.
About me
Hello, I’m Ian, I offer face-to-face & on-line therapy for individuals in South Manchester and Northeast Cheshire.
I'm professionally qualified and registered with the BACP having completed a MSc in Counselling & Psychotherapy. I also previously trained and practiced as an Executive Coach.
I help adults who are struggling to deal with issues that are bringing them down and holding them back, helping them to work out what is going on and to assist them to find answers and solutions to help them progress and grow, rather than be stuck and overwhelmed by life events.
As a counsellor I have experience of working with a number of challenges, these include:
- Experiencing anxiety and feeling fearful, struggling to cope with life
- Life threatening illness, such as cancer, dealing with the thoughts of mortality and coping with the treatment process for yourself or a loved one
- Bereavement - grieving for the death of someone
- Loss - of a life, a relationship, a job, a future plan
- Relationships that are not what they were or what you want now
- Lack of confidence and low self-esteem, imposter syndrome, in a work or social environment
- Career/work matters - promotion, change, objectives, redundancy, stress, retirement
Feeling worried and struggling with what to do, being angry, fearful, hiding away, using unhelpful means of distraction are reactions we all experience at some point in our life. Life is sometimes hard. At these times it might be worth considering getting help to work through these things. I can help you make sense of what's going on and assist you to become ‘unstuck’.
My approach
My approach is fundamentally grounded in person-centred counselling. I believe that each person is unique, and they have the answers they are looking for when in distress, these answers are sometimes buried deep and help is needed to find them. The issues mentioned above may be universal, but you are unique. My role is to ‘hold a mirror’ that enables you to become more self-aware and to work with you to figure out what you want and how to progress.
The relationship we build is critical. I seek to provide a safe, welcoming environment where trust can be carefully built. Clients say that what they appreciate is that I am a good listener, and they feel comfortable opening up to talk about important personal matters. I seek to be non-judgemental, and they appreciate the relationship which forms that enables compassion, challenge, empathy, genuineness and humour to be present.
There are also times when you may be looking for guidance and assistance, in work and career matters for example, where you may want a more direct approach. This is something that I am comfortable with and, by exception, can bring my coaching experience to bear.
Please get in touch and we can have a free 30 minute talk, online or by phone, to see if I am the right fit for you. Assuming you wish to progress, we will arrange a mutually convenient day, time and place to meet for 50-60 minute sessions. My counselling room in Didsbury is a comfortable, private space. Typically the sessions will be face to face, however, we can also work together on-line using Teams or similar for some or all sessions if this is preferred/the only way you can work. We would normally meet weekly or bi-weekly. The number of sessions we would have is determined by you. I aim to be as flexible as possible in order to support you.
Training, qualifications & experience
Who am I?
I spent 30+ years of my working life in mainly large international businesses in management and as an Associate Partner in an international advisory business. Towards the end of this career, I trained and worked as part of my management role as an Executive Coach working with new partners and partner candidates seeking promotion. At retirement I completed a Counselling Skills course at Manchester College and then a Counselling and Psychotherapy MSc at Keele University.
Over the last 4 years I have been mostly based in Wythenshawe, Withington and Trafford hospitals as a volunteer counsellor working with clients referred to a cancer charity (Macmillan). Previously I also volunteered with a mental health charity (Mind) in Ashton, and with a young person’s charity in Macclesfield (Just Drop In) working with 17-24 year olds.
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
Coaching - Helping to make plans, set goals, achieve objectives, overcome issues, make decisions in student life, working career and/or general life.
Working with young adults - 18-24.
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I am open to offering concessionary rates to key workers, students and trainee counsellors. I accept payment by bank transfer. We can arrange the details when we first speak.
When I work
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These are my core hours but I am sometimes available at other times, particularly for online appointments, so please do not hesitate to contact me if you have a specific requirement.
