Keith E Smith

Is there something you would like to change?

I am a qualified and experienced counsellor and supervisor with a private practice based in Milton, near Stoke-on-Trent and online. I also have many years experience teaching others how to become counsellors as a lecturer in Psycho-therapeutic Counselling . I work therapeutically with adults and young people over the age of eleven. I have experience of working as a school counsellor in various different settings. I offer an initial consultation meeting free. The cost is then £50 per session for individual counselling. My profile and other details you need to get started are set out below. 

You may also like to visit my  website by clicking on the 'Visit Website' button above.

For either way of meeting I have careful procedures in place to ensure your personal safety and that of your information. These will be shared with you prior to our first meeting.

Areas of counselling I deal with

I have experience of working with a very wide range of issues over a number of years. I am not a fan of rigid labels and will happily discuss whatever it is you wish to bring to the initial consultation. This could be about anxiety, loss, self-harm,anger, feeling depressed, a mental health condition, relationship difficulties, how you feel about yourself and where your life is headed. In fact anything that you would like to explore in a safe and supportive space. We can then decide jointly if working together will be helpful for you at this time.

Young People: I also have a wealth of experience working with young people aged 11 and upwards. If you have a young person about whom you are concerned I am happy to discuss their needs with you, and to work with them individually if appropriate.

I offer clinical supervision:

All counsellors/ psychotherapists (including those in training) are required to undergo regular supervision with a suitably qualified fellow professional to ensure the safety of their work with clients, and to promote their own well-being and professional development. I have many years experience of supervising the therapeutic work (and research) of both counsellors-in-training and qualified therapists. The right supervisory relationship is an essential part of high quality practice.  Please contact me if you wish to explore what I can offer you as a supervisor.

A word or two about my approach

Rather than continuing to be a 'victim of your biography,'  therapy can help you become  'the author of your future'  (after Kelly, 1955).

My practice and values are grounded in what is known as the person-centred tradition, with particular emphasis on Personal Construct Psychotherapy. This means that you are the expert on your own life and its challenges. I will not ‘do’ therapy ‘to’ you, but rather we will work together to explore and discover new ways forward. I am creative, and employ a range of approaches you may find useful. Rather than get too technical here, this is something we could discuss when we first meet. Whatever you decide will be most useful, you will find me respectful, supportive, challenging and a safe, confidential listener. I have worked with clients from a one-off session to several months or sometimes years, depending upon their needs and wishes. More than any theory or technique, we bring ourselves to therapeutic work, and I look forward to meeting you and seeing how we get on. I only use approaches which extensive research has shown to be effective.

Below I give a very brief flavour of the three main approaches I use a counsellor

Person Centred Counselling

Following on from the pioneering work of Carl Rogers, this is probably the most widely used approach in therapy today. The counsellor strives to offer their clients the core conditions which will enable their relationship to be one which will help the client to feel safe, accepted and supported. From childhood onwards, we can be subject to criticism and rejection, resulting in a lack of confidence and low self-esteem. We can lose sight of what we truly want from life, and wear 'masks' which hide our true feelings and prevent real relationships from developing.This approach aims to put you more fully in touch with your potential, to give you the chance to grow and become the person you want to be.

Personal Construct Psychology (PCP)

Whilst grounded in the same values as the person-centred approach, George Kelly's PCP approach is more structured and helps you examine how you have made sense of the world in your own unique way. By being helped to look  more deeply at your personal constructs, you can gain insight into why and how your difficulties have come about, and even more importantly, how you can safely experiment with how to change.

Psycho-dynamic Counselling

The oldest form of therapy, which traces its roots all the way back to Freud. Our early childhood relationships and experiences have set the patterns which shape how we relate to others and feel about ourselves. Important aspects of our emotional life remain partly or completely hidden from us (unconscious)- although the consequences do not! Do you find yourself- despiote your best efforts- repeating self-defeating or limiting behaviours (in relationships for example)- with no clear idea why? Together, the counsellor and client explore how the client relates to self and others. In the counselling relationship these patterns become clearer to the client, who can experience both insight and freedom to at last move on from these limiting or self-defeating ways of being.

For many years now I have increasingly drawn on psychodynamic ways of working in my practice.

My philosophy: it is usually more helpful to explore ourselves from a 'making sense of what has happened to me' perspective, rather than 'what is wrong with me?'

Creativity

There is no charge for an initial consultation. This is an opportunity to see how it feels talking to me, and for us to decide if we would like to work together.

The normal session fee is then £50. A session lasts 50 minutes.

I usually contract to meet with you for six sessions initially, at which point we will review progress to date and agree further sessions as required.

I am a member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and work within its ethical framework.

I have an up to date enhanced police safety check. I hold professional indemnity insurance and my work is supervised by a BACP approved supervisor.

Weekday and evening appointments are available

I am based in a pleasant residential area near Milton, near Stoke-on-Trent. Off- street parking is available 50 metres away from the house.

How to contact me

Email me: counsellinginbasford@gmail.com

Telephone: 01782461783 (ansaphone)