About me
Hello, and welcome to my page.
- Are you feeling unsure about which direction to take, feeling lost, 'stuck' or alone?
- Do you find yourself repeating the same patterns or unhelpful behaviours?
- Do you need a sounding board, a 'mirror' or somewhere safe to ‘try things out’?
- Friends and family well meaning but too involved in the issue?
- Feel like you've lost the 'old you?'
There are many reasons you may be seeking counselling, it is a unique relationship which can really benefit when feeling confusion and hurt. It is a real investment in the 'self' that can have far reaching benefits. Counselling although sometimes hard, can bring about change to the way you view yourself, your worth and therefore impact upon personal and working relationships for the better.
*'Baby friendly' settings now available.. parents and young babies welcome in the session*
I am a qualified and registered counsellor and member of the (BACP) British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists. I studied at the Iron Mill, Exeter, with placements within a self referral centre and Children's centre, working with parents. I am currently practicing within the city centre of Exeter. I have always been passionate about mental health and wellness to be exact. I have worked within mental health for the last 8 years before training as a counsellor, and have had the privileged of meeting many diverse and different people. My training was extensive and also insisted on each therapist having their own therapy, as I am sure you will agree makes for a healthy and empathic therapist having sat in the 'clients chair'. I received monthly supervision in order to best support my clients and assist with change and insight.
I am an integrative therapist, this means I can draw on many styles and techniques to suit you and the concerns you have . No (one size fits all approach). The relationships is paramount I promise confidentiality, respectful and non judgement in order to trust and heal. It is my hope that it will enable you to feel heard and safe enough to explore what is really troubling you, at a pace that is comfortable and safe.
It takes a vast amount of courage to come to the conclusion that something has to change, you need help or you want to take some control back and enquire about counselling. This is something that is always my consideration- it may be my 500th session but it could be your 1st. I pledge to work alongside you to help raise awareness and for you to gain some clarity or perhaps a new perspective. I have experience counselling many different issues including:-
- Abuse
- Grief
- Rape
- Loss
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Phobias
- OCD
- Attachment
- Work issues
- Redundancy
- Debt
- Miscarriage
- Infertility
- Trauma
- Self harm
- Relationship issues
- Low self esteem/ confidence
- Bullying
- Parenting challenges
- Stress
- Separation and divorce
- Sexual problems
- bereavement
I hope that you find the right counsellor for you and that you can find peace and acceptance with your situation, or the strength to change things for the better, helping your general wellbeing improve.
Training, qualifications & experience
Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling (Iron Mill Exeter, 450 hours)
Certificate in Counselling ( Iron Mill Exeter, 90 hours)
BSc (Hons) Psychology 2:1 (University of Portsmouth)
Voluntary counselling ( 150 hours)
CPD
WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan)
Autism awareness
Sand tray CPD
Bereavement counselling
Dealing with distress- working with suicide and self harm
Working with relational trauma- Dealing with disorganised attachments
As well as my academic training I have sought experience with many different client groups including younger /older adults on the Autistic spectrum, the elderly and those with physical disability. My previous career includes working within mental health recovery centres, supported housing as a support worker and carer. I believe this diverse experience working alongside many different people has helped broaden my knowledge of the issues and challenges that individuals can face from a real person to person position other than just what can be learnt from study.
Member organisations
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
BACP is one of the UK’s largest professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy. Therapists registered with the Association fall into a number of different membership categories such as Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP and Registered Member MBACP (Accred), each standing for different levels of training and experience. MBACP (Accred) and MBACP (Snr Accred) members have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by the Association.
Registered members can be found on the BACP Register, which was the first register to achieve Accredited Voluntary Register status issued by the Professional Standards Authority. Individual Members will have completed an appropriate counselling and/or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but will not appear on the BACP Register until they've progressed to Registered Member MBACP status.
All members are bound by a Code of Ethics & Practice and a Complaints Procedure. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
*Working in children centre settings provided me with valuable insight into the issues parents face; parenting, education, housing, debt problems, gender roles and relationship difficulties. Being a parent of 2 also helps!
I particularly enjoy this work as it has far reaching benefits, happier and more stress free parents means happier children. I am non judgemental and want parents to feel supported and encouraged not providing 'perfect ideals'.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
Concessions offered for
Additional information
My fees are £40 for a 1 hour session. I can offer a limited number of concessionary sessions for those on a low income and student counsellors ;I believe counselling should be on offer to all.
Availability
Client hours Monday- Friday 9.30-9pm potential for some Saturday appointments.
Further information
Testimonials
John
"Jo made me feel at ease from the first session, and as someone who doesn't often open up to anyone, this was so important for me. She helped me with things I've been struggling with for years, and I never felt judged or wrong for voicing my thoughts and feelings. Now I've finished sessions, it's comforting to know that there's an open door and I absolutely wouldn't hesitate to see Jo again should I find myself feeling lost or unsure."
Sadie
”I would recommend Jo to anyone. Jo gave me the time and space to explore my situation, thoughts and feelings in an emotionally safe, non judgemental environment.I always felt listened to and accepted by her and gained self awareness and confidence which continues to help me to this day. "
Helen
"I just feel more peaceful, the situation has not changed particularly, I just feel the way I think about it and handle relationships has changed".
Our work together can be for an open ended amount of time, or for a set period of time/number of weeks. We will meet weekly or fortnightly, however this could be more frequent if we felt appropriate.
I am able to offer some evening appointments if this is required to fit around your work/family commitments.
I am hoping to be able to add online counselling to my service soon.
Please feel free to email or call with any questions or queries, I look forward to hearing from you.
