Kate West
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I am an experienced Integrative Psychotherapist and I use a combined approach, drawing on attachment focussed, systemic, psychodynamic, EFT, person centred, CBT, and sensorimotor psychotherapy. This allows me to tailor the way I work to your individual needs and circumstances.
I'm certified in Emotionally Focussed Therapy (EFT) and particularly specialise in relationship work, whether this be with couples, families, adult siblings, or individuals struggling with their relationships. EFT is an experiential attachment-based and systemic approach that focuses on accessing and healing emotions and strengthening relational bonds by facilitating new ways of talking and responding to significant others.
The goals of EFT for couples are to go within and between to process the emotions that drive each partner's habitual responses, and facilitate bonding conversations that redefine the relationship as safe and secure. Emotion is the key agent of change as we are driven by emotions and intellectual insight isn't enough to create lasting change - EFT has such high efficacy through it being an experiential process rooted in our attachment needs. It’s also effective in working with individuals and their relationship with self as well as those around them.
Research studies find that 70-75% of couples receiving EFT move from distress to recovery and approximately 90% show significant improvements.
For more information on EFT have a look here: https://iceeft.com/what-is-eft/
EFT is a particularly good model for de-escalating conflict and working with couples that are either ambivalent or have lost hope that they could restore the emotional safety and connection they once felt. But there are of course many reasons people seek help with their relationships. Initially we'll meet for a session where I'll get a better understanding of what you'd like from the process and I can talk to you more at that stage about how I propose to help you.
I work with family relationships as a family therapist - if you'd like to talk more about family therapy then do please contact me and we can talk about the process as it varies depending on the presenting problem. I work with multiple family members usually meeting at first altogether but then we'd typically break in to smaller dyads and triads. I also work with adult siblings, or with friendships.
I'm also trained as a Family Consultant - family consultants work as part of a team alongside lawyers and mediators to support couples wanting to separate.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have over 15 years experience, beginning with training at ChildLine in 2006 before then going on to study for a Post Graduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Therapeutic Counselling at The University of Brighton. I'm also certified in Emotionally Focussed Couples Therapy (EFT), have a Certificate in CBT from the Wimbledon Guild, a certificate in Relationship Counselling from the Tavistock Centre for Couples and Relationships, completion of the full EFT training, as well as EFT for families level 1&2, and EFIT. Most recently I've completed Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Training Level 1 (CCTP): Working with the Neurobiological Legacy of Trauma and combine some principles of sensorimotor psychotherapy and Internal Family Systems in working with couples, families and individuals.
I'm a trained supervisor and supervise the work of therapists working with individuals and/or couples.
I’m an Accredited member of the BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists: www.bacp.co.uk) and adhere to the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions - this can be viewed by clicking this link (and includes detail on principles around confidentiality): http://www.bacp.co.uk/ethical_framework/
I'm committed to continuing professional development and regularly attending CPD days as well as completing additional training in more specialised areas.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Couples, families, EFT
Photos & videos
Fees
£65.00 - £95.00
Free initial telephone session
Additional information
Please contact me for information around fees as it depends on individual couple or family work, the duration of session (whether it be 50 minutes or a longer intensive session of 75 minutes). I operate a sliding scale of fees subject to a minimum and maximum depending on how much you can afford to pay. I charge in this way to try to make therapy as accessible and affordable to as many people as possible. I do offer a number of low cost slots too.
When I work
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I offer a mixture of face to face sessions and online.
Further information
Next Steps
I offer a free short phone consultation as a first step. This provides you the opportunity to ask any questions and to see if we would feel comfortable working together. Then if moving forward in the process we'd meet for an initial consultation.
Sessions are normally 50 minutes in duration for both individuals and couples. I also offer 75 minutes to couples who want sessions of longer duration (where I'm able).
Counselling can seem quite daunting and the relationship between counsellor and client(s) is key to the success of the work. The initial session will provide the opportunity for you to see if you feel I'm a good 'fit' for you. From here we’ll discuss how to progress forward and hopefully be able to book a regular weekly session. I’ll aim to provide some guidance in the initial session as to how many sessions I feel will be required, but this is also something that we’ll review as we go.
The assessment process for couples typically takes 3 sessions, the first altogether, then I recommend an individual session each.
Please also see www.therapyclinicbrighton.com
If I don't have available space I always recommend that couples look at www.beftcentre.org for further resources as well as a directory of trained EFT therapists. Most will offer online sessions which makes them more accessible and not restricted by geography. For help with issues around sex then have a look at https://www.cosrt.org.uk - there's a directory on here too.
Couples often benefit from reading Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson
