Kay Thomas
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Life can be difficult. A significant event, such as bereavement, trauma, job loss, relationship breakdown or a medical diagnosis can impact mental health and lead to issues that are tricky to deal with alone. Throw in day-to-day life stresses, such as family dynamics, work stress and financial difficulties, and suddenly you might find yourself in survival mode when you should be thriving. And unpicking your thoughts and feelings so that you can see the way forward to becoming the person you always knew you could be is not always easy to do. But support, in the shape of acceptance and understanding can be transformative.
My areas of experience
I'm a warm, engaging and empathic therapeutic counsellor and I specialise in supporting people as they deal with significant life events as well as everyday stressors.
I work with person-centred principles of providing a safe, non judgemental, and confidential space to explore whatever is going on for you and I've successfully worked with people living with grief and loss, through my work at St Christopher's hospice.
I am also very privileged to work with people living with breast cancer through my work as resident therapist at The Primrose Centre in Orpington, where I provide emotional support for people on their cancer journey.
I have experience working with neurodivergent clients living with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia and understand the issues faced by those navigating life in a neurotypical world. I've also worked with clients in the early stages of dementia living with memory loss, people in recovery from drugs and alcohol dependencies, as well as people who have experienced domestic violence and abuse and associated trauma.
Many of the issues I work with show up as symptoms and unhealthy coping mechanisms, which we work through together, such as:
*Stress
*Anxiety
*Physical issues i.e. headaches, IBS, muscle tension
*Depression
*Sleep problems
*Addiction and dependency
*Trichotillomania and skin picking
*Hoarding
*Issues around food and self care
*Inability to form and maintain healthy relationships
How I work
I'm a person-centred counsellor influenced by psychodynamic theories. This means I understand that sometimes our very earliest experiences can impact us.
I work in a warm, accepting, down-to-earth way, with the acknowledgement that everyone is unique with their own differing needs and no one size fits all. So on occasion I use techniques borrowed from other modalities, such as CBT, to help you to address difficult thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Confidentiality and psychological safety is at the heart of every session, but whatever issue you're bringing to therapy sessions we'll go at your pace and work together to help you to discover a way forward to live life to your full potential, so you can flourish and grow, free from unhelpful patterns of behaviour.
And because I understand that the most important part of therapeutic work is developing a trusting professional relationship between myself and clients, I offer a free 20-minute phone consultation so that we can work out whether we'd be a good fit.
Where I work
I work from a beautifully calm and relaxing counselling space in Bromley Town Centre.
I also work in Locksbottom, very close to the Princess Royal University Hospital off the A21, with parking available on site.
For flexibility sessions can also be held online, and I can also work with clients who prefer to have therapy by phone.
Read more at www.kaythomascounselling.com
Availability
I have appointments available in January 2025 on Mondays and Tuesdays and some evening appointment slots for online work on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
Twice a month I work on Sundays in Bromley Town Centre and I'll have appointments available at 11am and midday from January.
Training, qualifications & experience
Level 4 Diploma Therapeutic Counselling CPCAB
Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies CPCAB
Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills CPCAB
I hold a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling and have experience of working with complex grief via my work with the bereavement support team at St Christopher's Hospice. I also work in substance misuse rehabilitation services, working with clients dealing with drugs and alcohol dependency and also offer support to their family members and carers.
Alongside a varied private practice, I also work with clients dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis as the resident therapist at The Primrose Centre in Orpington.
Recent CPD:
The Profile of Abilities in Autistic Girls, Prof Tony Attwood, ACAMH
The Science of OCD & Obsessive Thoughts
Trauma, Attachment & Outcomes, St Christopher's
BACP Private Practice Conference
BACP Working with Neurodiversity
Shame – Exploring This Unhealthy Emotion, Living Water Training Institute
Working with Dimensions of Loss, St Christopher's
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
When I work
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