Jess Whitehead
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I’m a qualified Integrative Counsellor, available on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday daytime online anywhere, or in person in Stroud.
You may be facing any combination of relationship problems, anxiety, stress, trauma and loss. Managing these inevitable parts of life can be alarming and frightening. Compassionate and open-minded therapeutic support, beyond friends or family, can help you to see your way through. When we work together, your well-being and experiences are the most important things to me. I listen to, respect and cherish your uniqueness, explore what is contributing to your discomfort and how you would like to live.
The therapeutic relationship between us is crucial in working together to understand what’s challenging you, what relational patterns you may have outgrown and wish to change, and explore how to take steps towards a fuller life. I trust deeply that you have the knowledge within you and I would be honoured to navigate the ups and downs alongside you.
Whatever your challenges are, I offer an empathic, non-judgmental and supportive space. Being person-centred and trauma-informed, I value your whole self and what you choose to bring to our sessions, working at your pace. I also believe our childhood relationships and experiences can shape our ongoing understanding of ourselves and the world, so I draw on psychodynamic and attachment therapy approaches.
I offer weekly 50-minute sessions, on an open-ended basis, or shorter term if you prefer.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have experience working with relationship difficulties, relational trauma, anxiety, depression, stress, low self-worth, abuse and loss.
I hold a BACP-accredited Diploma in Integrative Counselling from the Minster Centre (September 2020), a leading integrative therapy training institute. My training and experience enables me to draw on a range of therapeutic approaches (relational, humanistic, psychodynamic, attachment) and adapt my approach to your particular needs.
Alongside my private practice, I provide low-cost counselling at The Listening Post in Stroud and previously at Help Counselling and the Minster Centre’s Psychotherapy and Counselling Service in London. I have earlier career experience advocating for refugees, asylum seekers and people in need of support from public services.
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Additional information
My fees are £60 per session, paid weekly or monthly, but I have a small number of concessionary sessions, so please ask me about this if money is a concern for you.
The assessment session fee is £50.
When I work
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I offer daytime sessions, with a limited number of evening sessions on a Tuesday.
Further information
Making the decision to find the right therapist for you can be both daunting and exciting.
After you email me, we can arrange an initial assessment session at a time that works for us both. If you would like a short call we can arrange this, to give you an initial sense of whether you are comfortable to go ahead.
At the assessment session we would get a feel for whether we would like to carry on working together, and to understand what brings you to therapy. We can discuss your hopes, fears, expectations and any other questions you might have. You would also have space to consider whether I am the right therapist for you. This session is a reduced rate of £50.
As a registered member of BACP, I adhere to its Ethical Framework and Professional Occupational Standards, including continuing my professional development and undertaking regular supervision and training.
