About me
PLEASE NOTE: ANY ENQUIRIES RESPONDED TO OVER EMAIL MAY BE SENT TO YOUR JUNK/SPAM FOLDER. PLEASE MONITOR THIS FOLDER FOR MY REPLY TO YOU.
Hi there!
Looking for help, knowing where to go, who can provide it – it all gets so complicated and confusing! Please take a breather here; you are already taking a huge step in reading this right now.
Allow me the chance to show you who I am as a therapist and what my practice looks like.
Introduction of my practice
My name is Jay, and I am a BACP Registered Integrative Psychotherapist who has set up shop in creating Next Quest Counselling & Psychotherapy.
I wanted to provide a space for people that truly captures who I am as a person, a big lover of Role-Playing Games, video games, and all things quirky!
As a queer (gay man) person, I am familiar with how difficult it can feel to know if a place feels safe to be truly open about who we are and live authentically. Not being able to show your true colours can leave your world feeling grey and bleak. I can’t say for sure that I’ve shared your experiences, but I am absolutely certain that those experiences are valid and welcome in my practice, in praise of how you identify!
I believe strongly that we are products of our environment and our upbringing. If we have experienced complications in these, it can breed doubts, fears, and insecurities within us. It is part of my approach to work with you to recognise the impact of this on that core part of YOU, and together, we can decipher what is yours to identify with and what you would like to do with all of the rest.
Next Quest is named after my love for Dungeons & Dragons and symbolises how we seek to “level up” and advance our characters by completing quests along the journey of our lives. As we persevere, we may need to take a short or long rest, allow ourselves to accept our weariness or that we’ve lost our way, or possibly to pause and consider our uncertainty in the upcoming steps. This is the chance to stop, breathe, and re-centre. To consider the road already travelled and the anguish and joy felt along the way. Then, when you’re ready, you can continue on with your Next Quest.
A practice rooted in that next venture beyond our time together.
Training, qualifications & experience
My training and qualifications
I completed a Master's in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy in 2023 at the University of Derby. Before this, I completed my Undergraduate Degree in Psychology at the same university. In both degrees, I had focused my final year project on exploring queer identity and how it relates to specific areas of difficulty - body image & same-sex intimate partner violence.
As an Integrative Psychotherapist, I have training that integrates the following theories and forms of therapy:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Compassion Focused Therapy
- Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
- Person-Centred Therapy
- Attachment Theory
It’s possible that it all may all sound like a lot of jargon, and you’re just really wanting to know what this all means... not to worry! Fundamentally, my practice and work centres around being with you, in the moments of our sessions, so that we may hold what comes up (all feelings welcome) together and take time to understand it. Having the safety to truly sit and process what you’re going through may be a luxury ungranted in your world presently, and so I aim to be that small pocket in your days where you can have that room to breathe. The technical term for my practice is that I work relationally, which means being physically and emotionally present with you throughout our time together, and noticing anything that may come up in our interactions that may indicate something more may be going on under the surface. There are no expectations on how we show up in those sessions, whether that’s to make space for past or present pain, animate unexpressed anger, sit in silence in honour of our suffering, or to even celebrate those wins and victories. The only expectation is that you show up (or, let me know if you can’t – more on that in our contract!).
Along the way, and as we get to know each other better, I may offer my own observations and interpretations of our conversations that will be guided by the therapies mentioned above. The aim here is to help us bring new light and understanding to something well-trodden, or challenge a behaviour/thought/pattern/cycle to see if we can shift some of its tether on us so we have more flexibility in our lives.
My experience and therapeutic areas of interest
I have been practicing as a psychotherapist since 2020 and have worked in specialist charities and organisations that focus on supporting individuals with eating disorders & disordered eating, and self-harm & suicide. Additionally, I have a personal and professional interest in providing a supportive, therapeutic space for the LGBTQIA+ community. A perk or benefit of my experience is that I have developed a greater understanding and awareness of the intersection between the areas mentioned above – how the Queer community can be predisposed to experience such difficulties as self-harm, suicide, and eating disorders. Additionally, I have experience working with people who have offended and completed prison and probation sentences through working with the National Probation Service and HMPPS as an Offending Behaviour Programme Facilitator. Though these are areas of interest and experience, I greatly welcome (and have experience with) those looking for support for any of the following:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Low self-esteem/self-worth
- Self-critical thinking
- Perfectionism
- Fear of failing
- Identity-related concerns (LGBTQIA+)
- Body image dissatisfaction
- Guilt and/or shame
- Loss & Bereavement
- Academic-related anxiety and pressures
- Family & relationship concerns
- Self-harm and suicide
- Eating disorders / disordered eating
- Panic attacks
- Burn out
- ADHD / autism (non-specialist)
I want to also take a minute to let you know the other end of the table: that is, those presentations and/or conditions I am not able to work with. If these match what you want to work on in your time in therapy, then I thank you immensely for taking the time to read my profile and wish you the very best in finding that therapist who meets your needs (much love to you):
- PTSD
- Personality disorders (specialised)
- OCD
- Addiction
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 per session
Additional information
Session fees
Counselling & psychotherapy sessions (50 mins): £50 (online, in-person). Please enquire for discounted block-purchasing of sessions.
Initial Contact
I offer a free initial contact of 15 mins where we can have a good chat about any questions you may have about my practice and the way I work, and to consider what you are looking for in the therapy space. This can be a great way for us to get a feel for each other and if we'd like to take the next step and schedule the first session.
If we agree to committing to working together, I would then look to send across my therapy contract and privacy notice. Once received, please take some time to read through these ahead of our first session together.
First session
Our first session will be where we can truly open up and explore your goals and aims for the time we shall have together, and what difficulties and/or barriers you may be currently facing. I may ask some questions to further help me have a full picture of your present day-to-day and significant life experiences, which can help me to understand any possible links to your presenting issues.
Further sessions
I typically look to work open-endedly with my sessions (no designated ending), where I will look to complete reviews every 5 sessions to check in how we are together, how we're feeling with where we are presently with what we are working on, and to consider any blocks / barriers to our work (if applicable). Should we want to consider ending our time together, I ask that we look to have 1 further session (if possible) to ensure we are happy with this decision and for us to appropriately have time to come to an end.
When I work
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early morning | |||||||
| Morning | |||||||
| Early afternoon | |||||||
| Late afternoon | |||||||
| Evening |
Further information
Being a human alongside being a psychotherapist
Though I wear my psychotherapist hat with pride and love, I accept that I am also a human being just like everyone else (no superpowers here, sadly!) and, as such, I am prone to making mistakes. Mistakes are innate to our humanity, and I endeavour to check in regularly to ensure I am still on your wavelength and being fully present with you. I proudly welcome you to correct me on any mistakes that may occur, and will wholeheartedly look to realign myself back to your experience. We are in this together.
You made it to the end, huge win!
If you have read the above and felt that we could work well together, take some time to reflect and then reach out. I eagerly look forward to being along for the journey of figuring out your Next Quest!
BACP Membership: 00952816
BACP Reg: 401952
