Linda Snape
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
If you are struggling in any way with your relationship with food including anorexia, atypical anorexia (restricting food intake/exercising excessively and concerned with gaining weight but not clinically underweight), bulimia, bingeing etc, I can help. I can also help with body image concerns and low self-esteem.
The way that I work is flexible and collaborative. It involves psychoeducation around the effects of an eating disorder on the body and brain. I also use lifeline work to identify the factors that have made it more likely that someone might develop an eating disorder and the ways that an eating disorder is useful to them. I work side by side with clients to build the skills and strategies needed to be able to manage life without an eating disorder. The work may focus on motivation, self-esteem, values, core beliefs, thinking styles, perfectionism and problem solving for example. Some of the work is cognitive and involves recognising unhelpful thinking styles and some of it is about changing behaviours. The goal is to make the eating disorder redundant by building the client's own resources, resilience, identity and self-esteem. Where there is dietary chaos the first goal is always to establish regular eating which can be difficult and anxiety provoking. To help with this I am able to offer support between sessions via an app. Someone with a restrictive eating disorder may feel unsure about change and that's ok, in fact, it's common and I can work with that.
As a therapist, I also offer a safe, non-judgmental space to focus on what else is going on – I don’t have to follow a rigid structure, it’s about finding out what works for the individual. I have a great deal of empathy, but if an eating disorder needs calling out, I can and will do that.
There is no denying that this work is challenging, for everyone involved, but my aim is to empower my clients by helping them to build resilience and a stronger sense of self - modelling compassion and determination. I firmly believe that clients have all the resources they need and I am committed to helping them to identify and utilise those strengths and resources. Where necessary, I will require liaison with a GP to ensure that physical health is monitored. I will also work with parents, carers, partners and family to ensure that they are able to provide support and feel supported. I often ask clients to keep a record of food and related thoughts and behaviours which can be done via an app. Eating disorders usually require a minimum of 20 weekly sessions.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a specialist Eating Disorder therapist as well as a qualified integrative therapist with a Masters degree in Integrative Psychotherapy. I have 6+ years experience of working with people with eating disorders including in-patient experience. What that means in plain English is that I have sufficient knowledge, training and experience to work with the complexities of an eating disorder - but not only the eating disorder. I have completed FBT, CBT-E and MANTRA training (all ways of working specifically with eating disorders) as well as having a Diploma from the National Centre for Eating Disorders. I am currently working towards Accreditation with the BACP.
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
Fees
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Additional information
I offer a free initial 20 minute telephone conversation. I can offer support between sessions via an app which has an extra cost.
