Ingrid Koehler, Counsellor, BA (Hons), RN, MBACP

About me

It takes courage to decide you want to try counselling. Many more people these days are coming to a point in their lives when they recognise and acknowledge that they need help because they are in distress and need to deal with a problem that they can't work out for themselves. Counselling can be one way to get help. Distress takes many forms, ranging from feeling stressed and anxious about things in life that feel out of control, to feeling fear or anxiety or a sense of being overwhelmed or confused, depressed or sad, or feeling hurt or vulnerable, angry, frustrated, desperate, or needy or feeling highly emotional and acting out, or feeling a sense of shame or regret, or having physical pain, chronic ailments and poor health. All these can have an effect on our well-being and relationships of all kinds.

More is known now about the long-term effects of trauma, whether it be from emotional abuse and protracted neglect, or by being shocked, horrified or terrified. We can be impacted by a particular event, which may even be in the distant past. And we hear more about the effects of long-term grief and loss and how this affects our long-term wellbeing. For many people, these signs of distress can bring them to what's generally called these days, a 'breakdown'. But also for others there is simply a feeling of unease or dissatisfaction with life or with not reaching our potential, or with meeting the expectations of others.

With the help of someone who can listen carefully and feel empathy and compassion, counselling gives us an opportunity to gently and safely explore these difficulties. My aims are to provide unconditional acceptance and understanding of all that you are and want to talk about, at your pace and according to your level of comfort and to create an atmosphere of trust, confidentiality and safety with a non-judgemental, supportive and caring approach. One of the most useful things counselling can do is to bring new insights and awareness of our problems, behaviour and distress. And it can help us to develop compassion and empathy for ourselves.

I have had a private counselling practice in Totnes since 2011. I have worked with a variety of individual adults and teenagers in short and long-term counselling, with issues ranging from anxiety, panic attacks, depression, stress, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, loss, grief, bereavement, bonding and attachment issues, trauma, low self-esteem, low confidence, sexual, mental, emotional and physical abuse, eating disorders, borderline personality disorder, bi-polar disorder, cancer and other medical and health issues, as well as relationship issues.

My particular passion is helping both women and men understand one another in order to create partnership. I work with individuals in order to help them to look at relationship issues and problems, using the newest breakthrough information and material which is emerging and developing in a post-feminist world. I believe that understanding the differences between women and men is critical in order to resolve relationship issues. The focus of my interest is on how women and men are biologically different, because of our hormonal system, and how this affects our interactions with each other.

I have a background in nursing in the NHS having worked the specialty of cancer for many years. I work in central Totnes.

Thank you, I appreciate you looking at my profile.