Jo Clayton
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hi there and thank you for stopping by. I am excited to be available for face to face, online and telephone appointments after a leave of absence. I work with individuals over the age of 16 and offer relationship counselling to couples. Please let me know if you would like a free initial consultation, with no obligation to book.
What I Can Offer
Seeking out any type of therapy can be a daunting prospect, so it may help to know what to expect. As a Person-Centred counsellor and psychotherapist, I believe we can all reach our true potential, given the right conditions. However sometimes, when we encounter difficult or painful life experiences and relationships, we lose our way. I believe there is an explanation for how and why we find ourselves at certain points and places in our lives. By understanding key events and looking at our relationships we can start to make sense of our own story, accept and grow.
" The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I change." (Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person: Therapist's View of Psychotherapy)
The therapeutic relationship is at the heart of my practice. I will offer you acceptance, warmth and understanding and try to see things from your perspective. Having the time and space to explore our history, relationships and feelings can often help us feel we have been seen, listened to and heard. Your experiences are valid and you are important.
As a person-centred counsellor, I work with the person rather than a particular condition or diagnosis because I recognise that we all experience things in our own way and have different needs. Therapy is not a straight line of progression; the natural Ebb & Flow can sometimes feel like one step forward and two steps back. As your therapist, I will be by your side to support you, offering a compassionate safe space. I have watched many clients flourish, have faith in yourself and the therapeutic process.
I will be honest and genuine with you. However your story unfolds during our work together, there is no judgement. Sometimes life gets messy; we make mistakes, we hurt ourselves and we hurt others. This is the nature of the human condition. I feel privileged to be able to do this work and often find myself humbled and in awe of my clients. It's probably worth mentioning that Counsellors are not experts on your life; we too are just people, making mistakes along the way as we try to figure things out in our own lives and relationships. Most counsellors consider personal counselling to be a professional requirement.
I am qualified in both counselling and psychotherapy and there is often some confusion about how they are different. I'll try to briefly differentiate the two without bogging you down with wordy definitions!
Counselling: assisting the client to unpick and explore their material. This may be short term work and focuses on information the client holds in their conscious mind, or what is spoken/known (we call this explicit information).
Psychotherapy: digging a bit deeper and peeling back the layers to uncover the unspoken/unknown material bubbling away in the subconscious mind. This is often longer-term work (we call this implicit information).
As a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), I follow their Ethical Framework and I am bound by confidentiality.
Why Seek Out Therapy?
There are many reasons for seeking out therapy, although we often associate counselling when coming to terms with trauma, sadness, anger, loss or difficult events or emotions. However, therapy can be so much more than that:
- At times we may experience feeling 'stuck', repeating circumstances or conversations in our mind on a loop, or notice events or dynamics repeating themselves within different relationships. Sound familiar? By exploring our story in a safe, confidential space, we can begin to unpick what might be holding us back, process, heal and move on. By seeing things from a slightly different perspective, we gain understanding, raise our self-awareness and move towards acceptance.
- Implementing life changes can be tricky and may require some preparation for them to take hold. Counselling could help you to explore why the change is important, the difference it could make to your life and barriers you may encounter. By exploring these issues, perhaps we can move closer towards a positive outcome and implementation.
- At times we may experience a general feeling of dissatisfaction we don't understand. We tell ourselves we 'shouldn't' feel this way, yet we spend so much of our lives twisting ourselves out of shape, trying to live up to ideals and values of others, sometimes lose our way. Therapy can help us to explore our feelings, needs and behaviour so we can relearn ourselves and find our way back to authentic living.
- Perhaps you want to invest in yourself? Therapy can be about self-exploration and self-care. How well do you know yourself and what you stand for? What makes you tick? Maybe there is something specific you wish to explore, a decision you are struggling with, or an area of personal growth you're keen to make. Therapy can be more than something you seek out when you're struggling, it can enlighten and enhance too. Although I can't give you advice or tell you what to do, I can support you and facilitate your exploration.
- Accepting life transitions that are out of our control: changes in our relationships, bereavement and loss, illness, career worries, adolescence, infertility, pregnancy, menopause, and getting older are just a few examples of challenges that may impact our lives or those we care about
In these difficult and unprecedented times, mental health is a hot topic. We have a real opportunity to work towards de-stigmatising mental health conditions, services, treatments and therapies. It's ok to reach out. Please take that as an invitation to get in touch if you're struggling, feeling isolated, or thinking about personal growth and well-being. Therapy is an investment in yourself. We don't have to put our lives on hold until we have lost that weight or got that promotion or whatever it is we tell ourselves we need to be happy. There is another way, and it starts with you. Your needs and wellbeing are important and so are you, so please get in touch.
Considering the outcome or goal of therapy you would like to achieve and the positive effect this could have on your life could help to focus the sessions and promote therapeutic change. I encourage clients to regularly review their goals
Who do I work with?
I'm happy to work with everyone. The question is... am I a good 'fit' for you? Remember, I'm not 'the expert' on your life. My role is to assist, support and facilitate you. We work collaboratively (we figure things out together in a safe, compassionate space). During our sessions, I'm here only for you.
I'll try to give you a flavour of some of my client work. I seem to do well with clients experiencing low mood/depression and sometimes this includes self-harming and suicidal ideation.
I often work with survivors and sometimes perpetrators of domestic abuse (which includes parent alienation and family estrangement). Many of my clients are survivors of sexual abuse and violence.
I will work with sexual offenders or anyone who might be experiencing distressing or intrusive thoughts or worried they might hurt another person.
I get a lot of enquiries from clients wanting to explore sexual issues. I have not specialised in this area, but I'm comfortable doing this work and will do my best to put you at ease.
Many of my clients come into therapy to explore relationships and how they connect to others. It's not uncommon to have shakey boundaries in our relationships, particularly if we are lacking in confidence or feeling insecure, lonely or unloved.
Sometimes, due to the healing nature of the therapeutic relationahip, we might come to an understanding that learning to connect to another person is 'the work'. It may be subtle at first, but it's not unusual for clients to comment how much more at peace they are, because they feel listened to, respected, significant, and cared for.
I enjoy working with couples, but it's important to recognise that although relationship counselling can enhance and improve our relationships, we might also come to realise that our differences are unreconcilable. As your therapist, I'm not here to choose sides, but support all parties to unpick and explore their feelings and behaviours, and offer therapeutic intervention when communication becomes difficult.
I am keen to welcome those experiencing health difficulties, disabilities, and terminal illness to my practice. I have personal insight of learning to live with a chronic long term health condition and I understand that (at least for me), acceptance has been a bumpy road. I am comfortable doing this work with you. I appreciate my experiences may be very different to yours. The focus will remain with you and your process, however that unfolds.
My Background:
I was born and raised in Cornwall, although I haven't always been a counsellor. I started my career working with elderly men with special needs and complex mental health issues.
A few years later I relocated to London to work for an NGO advocating for sexual and reproductive health, family planning, abortion, gender and gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, STI/HIV/AIDs and youth rights.
As my family grew, I returned home and spent several years as a stay-at-home mum and then several more juggling single parenthood whilst working for small businesses here in Cornwall. I decided to retrain as a counsellor after watching the difference it made to the life of someone I love and I feel truly blessed to do this work.
I am comfortable to work with all ages, genders and client groups, everyone is welcome at Ebb & Flow. My practice is overseen by a clinical supervisor, as per the BACP Ethical Framework.
Pricing
Individuals:
I offer a 60 minute session for £50
N.B: Most therapists work to a 50 minute 'therapeutic hour'. Personally, I've always felt if you pay for an hour, you should be offered an hour!
If you would prefer a 50 minute session, that's fine, although the fee will remain the same.)
Couples:
I offer a 1 hour 15 minute session to couples, the fee is £70.
I'm afraid prices will be inceasing in January 2025 for new clients (I will hold my prices for my existing clients until June 2025).
If you would like to find out more, please get in touch.
Thank you.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Menopause Awareness Training
- The Fundamentals of Working with Couples (COSRT)
- CPCAB Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling L5
- CPCAB Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling L4
- Agency work, Counselling for Social Change (present)
- Agency work, Georgia's Voice
- Internship at Lifetime Therapy, Cornwall's premier psychotherapy and counselling practice
- CPCAB Counselling Studies L3
- CPCAB Counselling Skills L2
I am a member of the BACP and therefore my practice is overseen by a clinical supervisor.
I seek out regular opportunities for continued professional development and have my own personal counsellor which facilitates self awareness and personal growth. I am a self reflective practitioner.
I have contributed to the Huffington post, Patient Link and The Daily Mail and welcome further enquiries from the press and media.
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£50.00 - £70.00
Free initial telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I offer a free initial telephone conversation to anyone wondering what working together might be like. There is no obligation to book further sessions. Please feel free to get in touch for a chat.
Individual counselling (60 mins) - £50
Couples counselling (75 mins) - £70
When I work
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