Jon Bell
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hello, I'm Jon. I’m an integrative counsellor and sports psychotherapist with a speciality in men's mental health. I have a home-based clinic in Acomb, York.
I am a person-centred practitioner, which means that I will prioritise you and what you need. Our sessions will be an opportunity for us to work to uncover the barriers and challenges you’ve faced.
Having completed my Masters research into the issue of vulnerability in rugby league, as well as personally spending time in the game at an elite level, I have first-hand experience and clinical understanding of how striving for authenticity in the toughest of sports can present athletes and non-competitors alike with a template for happier, wholehearted living.
I am an Accredited Registrant of The National Counselling Society with an Enhanced DBS check in place.
Counselling
Trauma, loss, and fears about our vulnerabilities and purpose are all experiences that can lead us to believe that we are not worthy of a life that is wholehearted and happy. Whatever our lived experiences, a personal sense of shame can mute our ability to reach out; by working together, we’ll be challenging that shame from the very start.
Clients can often arrive feeling depressed, anxious, and certain of the bleakness of their life. By working together we’ll question those certainties and invite choice and possibility back into your way of thinking. As George Bernard Shaw said: “Those who can’t change their minds cannot change anything”.
Sports Psychotherapy
For a sports person, maintaining your mental health can be complex. Performance – the part that others see – is the tip of the iceberg, with the unseen stresses of form, injury, athlete identity, retirement and loss of purpose playing a significant role in shaping your world. My specialist sports psychotherapy service is here to help you navigate these challenges.
Understanding the world of the sportsperson is critical to creating the unique therapeutic support that an athlete can trust and engage with. I have spent a number of years in and around elite sports, representing both England and GB in youth rugby league and playing semi-professionally in both codes, and now as a therapist and researcher.
I recently completed my MA thesis on the issue of vulnerability in professional rugby league, a research piece that uncovers so much about the perception of modern athletes and how the pressures impact upon not just our performances as a competitor but as a human and in our wider lives.
We will work carefully and always confidentially, creating a therapeutic plan that is mindful of your athlete and daily life personas, inviting balance and control into your world and aiming to provide your inner competitor with the space and freedom to perform at their highest level, on a more consistent basis.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a fully qualified Counselling Psychotherapist (PG Cert) with a Master’s Degree (pending April 2021) in Psychotherapeutic Practice. I have recently completed my MA thesis into the issue of vulnerability in professional rugby league. I specialise in integrated practice, meaning that I work across a number of modalities (methods) depending on what works for the client. My primary modalities are humanistic approaches – Gestalt, Person-Centred and Emotion-Focussed – but from time to time, aspects from other ways of working (such as Neuroscientific, CBT and Existential methods) may be brought in. Remember, although this may sound wordy, complex and perhaps daunting, I will explain what these things mean during your initial conversation. Essentially, they’re just ways in which they help you to explain and discover what you are feeling and grow your understanding and acceptance of your experiences. In its simplest form, therapy, or counselling if you prefer that word, are structured conversations – the modalities help to ensure you get something from these encounters.
I have additional training in the following areas: Trauma, Bereavement, Anxiety, Depression, Loss of Identity & Purpose, Men’s Mental Health, Addiction and Suicide.
I am constantly updating my training and the list above is just a sample of the additional work I have done in support of my practice.
Member organisations
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society
This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations.
In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
When I work
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I am flexible with my appointment date and times. If you have particular needs or limited availability, I can aim to work to these within reason and the realms of possibility!
Further information
I also offer outdoor and nature-based therapy. If the idea of outdoor therapy is of particular interest to you, or you are concerned about therapy indoors as a consequence of Covid-19 or any other concerns you might have, don't hesitate to let me know.
