Kirsty Burke
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I am a warm, honest and open counsellor with a flexible, creative, gentle yet challenging style. I support people to discover new aspects of themselves, take risks and be real. My aim is to give my clients the support and truth to help them be their full self, however challenging that might be.
I am direct, honest and comfortable with the truth. I am passionate about authenticity - to help my clients be real I do the same. I don’t present myself as the ‘perfect’ therapist. Humans, emotions and life are complex and it is only by being open and real that we can form genuine, reparative relationships.
My style is relational, which means I see counselling as a collaborative endeavour. I engage actively with my clients and focus on what is happening in the here and now between us. I believe in naming what is happening in the room - I “say what I see”. Therefore I listen, but I also take into account the wholeness of the experience: changes in breath, movement, habitual gestures, body language and eye contact.
Couples Therapy
If you are looking for couples therapy I imagine the love and enthusiasm that you once had for each other may seem a distant memory, or perhaps even something you have never experienced together.
The work of couples therapy, and it is often very hard work, is to try and discover what may be preventing us from being in a ‘great’ relationship.
In relationships we end up in what I call ‘relational trauma states’ which is the destructive, miserable, frustrating, blaming place we find ourselves stuck in.
This ‘state’ can feel overwhelming and hopeless which can lead you to believe that the relationship needs to end, whereas it is the unravelling of this intensely difficult state that is the work that the relationship needs to do. The state serves a purpose - often it is unconsciously created - and it is this purpose that I am committed to help you find.
Life gets in the way with relationships and it is easy to ignore and avoid what is going on. Often this avoidance and denial has built up over years and things usually have to get pretty bad before we do anything about it. We ‘kick the can down the road’ often because we fear being alone or because we fear conflict.
Whether same sex or opposite sex relationships can be tested by a life transition e.g. a bereavement or illness; loss of, or changes in work; having children/children leaving home or an affair that brings the trauma state to a head.
There is no easy ‘fix’ to the process being described above it is not an easy one to be ‘sorted out’ in a few sessions. This work can often take some time, this will be determined by the unfolding process of the work, rather than us agreeing to do a certain number of sessions at the outset.
In the first instance we arrange an Initial session which will enable you to experience therapy and my style of therapy.
I will endeavour to be reliable and committed to the therapy process with you and would ask you to do the same. We will agree to meet at a regular time, usually once weekly or fortnightly
Intensive Short Term Relational Therapy (ISTRT)
Often the thought of hours and weeks possibly years of therapy can feel daunting, off putting and for some too bigger commitment.
Intensive Short Term Relational Therapy is an option if you have a demanding lifestyle or would prefer a focused, direct and honest short term style of therapy.
These sessions are for anyone who wants to get all the immediate benefits of a premium therapeutic conversation, without the barriers of long term commitment, time constraints or location.
They have been designed to work as an intensive stand-alone therapy session, or as part of a course of sessions, targeting a specific issue or bringing new insight to a situation that is causing distress - be it in your personal life or business life.
What to expect:
-An open and honest environment that will feel very challenging and direct
-An opportunity for you to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and make better informed decisions in life.
-New insights and actionable results in a short space of time.
These sessions can be used as stand-alone sessions, ad hoc, or as part of a series of sessions
To start I offer an initial therapy session that can be up to 2 hours long in which we work one to one and focus on what it is you want to change about your life.
Fees - Please contact me for details.
Training, qualifications & experience
I trained at Bath Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP Accredited course) and hold the following qualifications:
Advanced Diploma in Humanistic & Integrative Counselling (level 6)
Certificate in Relational Couples Therapy
I work according to BACP's ethical guidelines for safe practice. My work is overseen by a qualified and registered supervisor.
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
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£75.00 - £120.00
Additional information
Individuals, Couples and ISTRT Fees are determined during initial contact
Sessions are 50 minutes for individuals
55 minutes for couples
50 minutes - 2 hours for Intensive Short Term Relational Therapy
When I work
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City centre Bath/online on a Monday afternoon/early evening, Wednesday morning and Friday all day.
In person in the Chew Valley/online on a Monday morning, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday
Further information
I offer counselling and therapy to independent adults from age 18 onwards and to couples over the age of 25.
Sessions are once weekly minimum, in person or remotely (by phone and video call, as appropriate)
My rooms are in two locations a peaceful, city centre room in Bath and a spacious, setting in the beautiful Chew Valley within very close reach of Wells.
I accept clients from any location in UK.
Good ventilation and appropriate covid-safety policies are in place.
Sessions are 50 minutes each.
Couples may sometimes arrange to have longer.
