Kathryn Leigh-Suddens
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Welcome! My name is Kathryn, and I'm an accredited professional Counsellor & Clinical Supervisor, working with both individuals and couples. Whether you are living with a difficult situation which is causing you distress, or you are affected by experiences from your past - I can help!
I work with a wide variety of issues, from anxiety, depression and trauma related issues, to difficult or abusive relationships. Whatever your issue, large or small, therapy can help you.
"I went to see Kathryn when I was at my lowest ebb. She had a way of understanding me that I’d never had before – she knew what I was feeling before I did and it helped me so much to make sense of things."
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I aim to help you to understand your experiences and find effective ways of managing any difficulties, providing you with tools to help improve your mental well-being day to day.
I offer you a calm, peaceful and safe environment where you can talk freely and in confidence, without worry of criticism or judgment. And there's no shame in seeking help - what's important is that you feel better, get back on track, and start living life to the full again!
Please see below for more information about the service I offer. You might like to check out the feedback section at the bottom of the page to see what my most recent clients have thought about their experience working with me.
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My Service:
In our sessions you will get the opportunity to talk about your thoughts and feelings and to explore why you're feeling the way you do, so you can start to make sense of things and feel better.
Face to face sessions are usually at a regular time each week, but I am able to be flexible for shift workers etc - and I can offer fortnightly sessions for daytime clients, where appropriate. My sessions run for a full hour (most therapists offer 50 mins). I offer longer length sessions because I don't want you to feel rushed - our relationship is my priority!
The time we have will be your time - but I won't sit in silence, I will be there with you, supporting you, listening and responding objectively and with empathy.
There is no one size fits all when it comes to therapy, that's why I work in an integrative way; this is a great way to work! It means I'm trained in several different approaches and so I can tailor our sessions to meet your personal needs.
I am now regularly working online using Zoom, Skype, or WhatsApp or FaceTime... whatever you have available.
Some of my clients feel more comfortable talking by telephone, so I also offer telephone counselling, if you would prefer it. This works in the same way, in that we have a regular hour long session each week throughout the time we are working together.
I also regularly work with counselling trainees, where there is a course requirement for personal therapy.
"Dear Kathryn - I just wanted to say a huge thank you for everything you have helped me with during our time together. You have been so incredibly patient, understanding, insightful and supportive and I have never once felt judged or silly for bringing my worries to your door. I leave our sessions with a greater understanding of how I can help myself; with techniques to draw upon when I need them".
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Location:
I practice from 'The Counselling Cabin', my own purpose built premises in Chelmsford; (you might like to check out the Photo section below for the latest pics!) Here I can offer you a calm and comfortable space to take some time out for yourself. Why not book an initial session to see if counselling is for you?
The Counselling Cabin
25 Vicarage Road
Chelmsford
Essex
CM2 9BP
My professional membership:
You can be sure that I will work ethically and safely with you and always in your best interests. I take confidentiality very seriously and I keep my training up to date with continued professional development. These are the requirements of the BACP, which is the professional body I’m a member of. More information about the BACP can be found at www.BACP.co.uk
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Contact me:
Understandably, getting in touch for the first time can be daunting and it takes courage to seek out support, but let me put your mind at ease - I am approachable and down to earth, you can guarantee a friendly welcome when you contact me and importantly, you can talk to me in complete confidence!
Training, qualifications & experience
I trained at The Counsel House, in Wickford, Essex, with the Open University and with Lifeforce Colchester (you can see my qualifications listed below). I went on to work for Dove Bereavement Services in Essex, where I counselled people who had experienced trauma and loss, miscarriage, still birth, relationship issues, depression and anxiety. Today I see individuals and couples with a full range of presenting issues in my own private counselling practice, I am also a counsellor at Safer Places in Essex where I work with people who have experienced domestic abuse.
My counselling qualifications include:
MBACP (Accred).
- Dip. Integrative Counselling
- Lifeforce Cert Couples Counselling
- Advanced Certificate in Clinical Supervision
- CPCAB Cert Counselling Studies
- CPCAB Cert Counselling Skills
- Cert Telephone/On-Line Counselling
- Cert Safety in Trauma Therapy
Other qualifications:
- BSc.hons / Msc.
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.
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£55.00 - £75.00
Free initial in-person or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Individual sessions are £55 per hour
Trainees, signing up for 20 or more sessions, £50 per hour
Couples work is £75 - sessions last for 1 hour.
A free initial appointment for 20 minutes is available either face to face or online.
When I work
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Daytime and evenings weekdays - weekly sessions and more flexible arrangements available.
Further information
What past clients have said:
'When I was at an all-time low I was advised to seek help. I never thought I'd find someone who I could trust and who understood me but then I found Kathryn. She helped me understand my feelings and gave me many coping mechanisms, I am extremely grateful for her incredible help and support.'
'Kathryn, many thanks for your guidance and support, which helped me through an extremely dark and stressful period in my life. Counselling is not something I would have thought to turn to, if it wasn't for the extremely distressing personal circumstances that I faced, especially as a man, but I see now how useful it can be to understanding myself and how some of my learnt coping strategies were actually fairly self-destructive. You have made my first experience of counselling an extremely good one and made it something I will return when I feel it's required. Thanks again'.
‘I believe Kathryn understood me more than I do myself…I was blown away at how insightful she was; she read between the lines of what I was saying and gave me great insight’.
‘Just a huge thank you to Kathryn for the service she’s provided to me, I have gained so much and I will always be grateful’.
‘I felt so relieved and grateful to be receiving some help, when I met Kathryn, I felt at ease and I knew I could trust her which was really important to me’.
