Louise Gillies
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Stepwise Reproductive and Family Health Counselling is a therapeutic and information service to help you and your family from puberty, through fertility and pregnancy issues, and on to achieving a positive menopause and beyond. We use a mostly person-centred approach which may be informed by third wave therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
Our Reproductive Health service is fully inclusive, specialising in period information sessions (individual, family and group) - we are particularly proud of our Dads For Daughters service, fertility counselling for solo parents and same sex/heterosexual couples at all stages of the infertility process, pregnancy and baby loss counselling, and support through (peri)menopause & beyond. We also offer non-judgemental counselling services for those considering, or who have already chosen, to end a pregnancy.
Our Family Health service offers counselling for people who may be considering or have undertaken direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests such as 23AndMe and Ancestry, or for people who have had genetic counselling and would like additional therapeutic support (please note, we do NOT offer genetic counselling).
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold Masters degrees in prenatal genetics & fetal medicine, and genetic counselling, a Certificate of Proficiency from the BACP, the Foundations of Fertility Counselling from BICA (British Infertility Counselling Association), along with certifications in miscarriage and baby loss counselling, menstruation practitioner, menopause, and couples counselling. I have worked in the NHS, academic research (interests include family communication about health and sharing medical news), and have also worked for a number of health-related charities.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Menstruation/Period information service (including Dads for Daughters)
Therapy following genetic counselling (NOT genetic counselling)
Counselling for direct to consumer genetic testing
Therapies offered
Fees
£35.00 - £75.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Fees are based on the type of consultation requested. The initial consultation fee is £35 and concessions are available for people who are unemployed, on low incomes or trainees.
Fees available upon request.
Payment requested by bank transfer 24 hours before the appointment.
When I work
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Please ask for additional availability.
Further information
I prefer to work in a way that's accessible to you. For most, this is going to be outside working hours: early mornings, evenings and weekends. Virtual appointments are a good way of fitting consultations into busy lives, however, I can do work-arounds if this is problematic for you - you may not have the privacy you need at home. For family menstruation information sessions, we can discuss the practicalities on a case-by-case basis.
