About me
In-person counselling and EMDR therapy in Hagley, Stourbridge.
Hi, I'm Kira.
Most of the people I work with arrive carrying something they've been holding on to for a long time. Sometimes they can name it as anxiety, low mood or stress, and sometimes they can’t quite put it into words, but they know life just feels harder than it should, and they're tired of pretending otherwise.
They often say things like:
- "I look like I'm coping on the outside, but inside I'm exhausted."
- "I've been through things that still affect me, even though they happened a long time ago."
- "I’m not enjoying things like I used to and I don't really understand why."
- "I feel on edge a lot of the time and I don't always know why."
- "I keep getting stuck in the same patterns and I don't know how to step out of them."
- "Nothing catastrophic has happened, but I don’t feel right and I think I need to talk to someone."
If any of this resonates, you don't have to keep carrying it on your own.
Therapy with me...
Therapy with me is a space to slow down and look at what's actually going on underneath: the anxiety, the low mood, the overwhelm, the relationship patterns, the feeling that something from the past is still shaping the present. We work at your pace, and you stay in the driving seat throughout.
I'm a qualified integrative counsellor with over twenty years of therapeutic experience, including a decade working within NHS talking therapies, supporting people with anxiety, depression and low mood. I can help if you’re experiencing:
- Anxiety and worry that's hard to switch off
- Depression, low mood and feeling numb or empty
- Stress, burnout and the feeling of running on empty
- Trauma and the lasting effects of difficult past experiences
- Low self-worth and negative patterns that keep repeating
- A general sense that something isn't right, even if you can't quite name
Where trauma is part of the picture...
Where trauma is part of the picture, I offer EMDR, an evidence-based therapy that helps difficult memories feel less intense and less present in everyday life. You don't need to know if EMDR is right for you before we start; we'll work that out together.
Whatever brings you here, my approach is warm, collaborative and always led by you.
My way of working...
I'm an integrative counsellor, which means I draw on different approaches. This includes person-centred counselling, CBT, emotion-focused work, mindfulness and EMDR. I shape the work around you, rather than fitting you into an approach.
- I take time to understand your past and your present, alongside what you want things to feel like in the future.
- I believe the relationship between us is a real part of the healing, not just the container for it.
- For those carrying difficult past experiences, EMDR can be a powerful way of resolving distressing memories, so they feel less raw, less loud and less present.
- You stay in control of what we talk about and when. Nothing has to be said before you're ready.
A note about EMDR therapy...
Many people come to me having heard about EMDR, but feeling unsure whether it's for them. You don't need to have a single, clear traumatic event for this to be helpful. EMDR can be just as supportive for the slow accumulation of difficult experiences, the kind that don't always feel "big enough" to count, but still shape how you feel today.
Taking the first step...
Before we begin, I offer a free 15-minute consultation call. It's a chance to ask any questions you have, share a little about what's bringing you to counselling and get a sense of whether working together feels right.
I know how nerve-wracking it can be to reach out, especially if you've been turning the idea of therapy over in your mind for a while. Whatever has brought you here, you'll be met with warmth and without judgement.
Our first session...
From the first session, my aim is to put you at ease and work at your pace. We'll explore where you are right now, what's feeling heaviest and what you'd like to be different.
My hope is that you'll leave our first session feeling supported, understood and with a sense of what comes next. From there, we'll shape a counselling plan that fits you, and if EMDR feels useful, we can move in that direction when the time is right.
What matters most is that you feel met where you are, and that together we work towards you feeling more settled, more yourself and more able to move forward.
Training, qualifications & experience
Since 2003, I’ve worked in a range of settings helping people to overcome their emotional difficulties and move forwards in their lives.
More about Kira's training and experience...
- I’m a qualified Integrative Therapist.
- I’m an Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
- I hold a Master’s Degree in Counselling from the University of Keele.
- I have completed all parts of the Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Europe Standard Accredited Training with the EMDR Academy (an EMDR Europe accredited provider of this specialist trauma therapy training).
- I also hold a Master’s Degree in Teaching Mindfulness-Based Courses from the University of Bangor and a Post Graduate Certificate in Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy from the University of Birmingham.
- I abide by the BACP Ethical Framework and meet their annual requirements for accreditation, including monthly Clinical Supervision and continuing professional development.
- I have worked for 10 years for a charitable gambling treatment provider, offering individual and group therapy in both residential and retreat rehabilitation programmes.
- As well as experience in private practice, I have worked in therapy services in the NHS, Priory, Probation Service, occupational health and University settings.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£65.00 per session
Further information
I offer in-person sessions in a private therapy room at Wassell Grove Business Centre in Hagley Stourbridge. The Centre is located in a private and peaceful countryside location just off the A456.
There is ample free parking at the Centre.
