Kirsty Murray
Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Are you feeling alone, overwhelmed, lost or confused about which direction to take in life or stuck and don't know where to turn? Are you feeling generally anxious and stressed or struggling with more specific anxiety e.g. social anxiety / health anxiety? Are you struggling at home, with family issues, in your relationship or at work? Have you experienced a relationship breakdown or a bereavement? Or have you experienced physical, emotional, domestic or sexual abuse? Is something that happened in your past impacting on your here and now relationships or your current enjoyment of life? It is completely normal to find things tough at times and you don’t have to struggle through it alone. No problem is too big, or too small for us to discuss. If it is impacting on your ability to enjoy life, then it's worth spending time to try and change it.
I provide a judgement free, confidential space to enable you to explore the issues which have brought you to therapy, at your own pace. It has been my experience that the client-therapist relationship is an essential part of growth and change. Therefore, in order for you to be able to get the most out of our time together it is important that you feel comfortable working with me as your therapist. Please contact me and we can arrange a free initial consultation for us to discuss what has brought you to seek therapy and to enable you to make an informed decision about whether I am the person you wish to work with. I focus on meeting the people I work with just as they are: rather than focussing on the label or diagnosis attached to the issue they are experiencing. I work with an emphasis on supporting you to a greater understanding of yourself and your problems and enabling you to find solutions to facilitate change.
Our initial meeting is a chance for us to get to know each other and find out if working together is possible. We would also discuss your therapeutic goals, the number of sessions that feels right for you (it doesn't matter if you do not know this at this point) and check over my counselling contract. A copy of this agreement will be forwarded to you in advance. It's purpose is to protect both of us and outlines the limits of confidentiality, my payment and cancellation policy.
The majority of people I work with do not know how long they wish to work together for when they come to their initial appointment. I therefore offer short, mid, and long-term psychotherapy to suit differing people’s needs and am happy to start off working open-ended with regular reviews held to discuss your requirements of the therapy. Sessions are 50 minutes in length and typically take place once a week.
I am an Integrative Psychotherapist (MSc), which means I have been trained in a variety of different psychotherapeutic theories and methods. Which ones I use depends on who I am working with. Within my work I can utilise aspects of attachment theory, object relations, transactional analysis, gestalt, CBT, grounding techniques and mindfulness. All of the approaches I use have certain things in common, the majority of them focus on early relational experiences (parents, caregivers, school peers, teachers, relatives) and the impact that these can have on how we relate to people in the here and now. The other theme is the importance of the relationship between myself and the people I work with to explore any issues and facilitate change by building emotional capacity, greater self-awareness and resilience. With greater self-awareness comes fresh perspectives that can help to empower us to make choices and bring about the changes we want to see in our lives. I therefore try and work in a flexible, collaborative way, alongside you, by adapting my approach to your therapeutic needs.
Currently I am offering face to face appointments in Nottingham City Centre on a Monday and Tuesday and online counselling via Zoom (a secure online service) or via the telephone on a Thursday.
Training, qualifications & experience
I graduated with a Masters in Integrative Psychotherapy from the Sherwood Psychotherapy Institute in 2019. I received my Post Graduate Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy (Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute) in 2018
I completed a Level 4 Certificate in Counselling Children with the charity Place2Be which is CPCAB accredited in 2020.
I regularly attend additional training as part of my commitment to continuing professional development, recent courses attended include working with people with Eating Disorders, Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling, Disclosure, Safeguarding & the Criminal Justice Process - Understanding your legal obligations to survivors of abuse, Working Therapeutically with Trans People, Understanding Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD and Counselling Clients on the Autistic Spectrum, Working with Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Single Session Therapy, Introduction to taking your Therapy Practice Outside, Working with the Mother Wound, Working with Sex and Intimacy and Working with Insomnia and Sleeplessness.
I have over eleven years experience working both in private practice and in charitable organisations, offering face to face counselling to adults and teenagers with a wide range of presenting issues including but not limited to anxiety, depression, generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety, health anxiety, relationship problems, bereavement, physical abuse, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, coercive control, difficult family relationships, gender and sexual identity, trauma, loneliness and work issues. I also worked for several years providing telephone counselling to children and more recently I have provided face to face counselling to children within a school setting.
Voluntary Work
Place2Be (working with primary school children)– September 2019 – July 2021
Leicester Counselling Centre – 2018 – 2020
Carers Federation 2014 - 2018
I am an accredited full clinical member of the UK Council for Psychotherapy, an organisation which regulates counsellors and psychotherapists, promotes high standards of practice and by whose Code of Ethics and Professional Practice (2019) I adhere to.
I undertake regular personal therapy with a UKCP registered therapist and clinical supervision with a UKCP registered integrative supervisor, to ensure that I am providing an ethical and effective service for the people that I work with.
Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, I worked within the Pharmaceutical Industry, providing IT solutions for clinical trials. I managed a team of project managers across different global locations including Japan, China, Germany and France. Before I worked in the Pharmaceutical industry I worked in hospitality.
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.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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
£55.00 per session
Free initial in-person, telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Free initial 50 minute session
£55 per additional 50 minute individual session
I have some concession slots for trainee counsellors / psychotherapists and keyworkers, please ask regarding availability.
When I work
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | |||||||
| Afternoon | |||||||
| Evening | |||||||
| Night |
Monday 10am - 5pm, Tuesday 9.30am - 4.00pm face to face or online and Thursday 9am - 4.30pm online.
Further information
The room is located close to all city centre travel links. There is on-street parking on the Ropewalk for £1.50 an hour.
