Margaret Pike
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This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
I have always been curious about what makes us do the things we do, think the things we think and feel the way we feel. Counselling enables us to explore this so that you can gain new perspectives and find your own answers to what might be going on and to help manage the challenges you are facing.
I am offering sessions via telephone, Skype or WhatsApp. Face to face sessions in a quiet and private location are possible provided both of us have discussed and agreed on appropriate measures to keep safe whilst the threat of Covid-19 is still present.
Taking the first steps to choose a therapist can be overwhelming. You can call or email me and I will answer any of your initial questions. If you would like to take the next step we will arrange a preliminary session. During this contact I aim to provide you with the opportunity for us to come to a shared understanding of your situation and what I and counselling can offer. From here I hope you will be able to make an informed choice about what you would like to do next.
My core training and approach is psychodynamic. This is based on the idea that our past experiences leave something behind. Part of therapy is to be inquisitive about this and the way your experiences (both enabling and disabling) affect how you approach life. Aspects of approaches such as Dynamic Interpersonal, Person Centred, Solution Focused and Cognitive Behaviour Therapies also inform the way I work. (You can find out what these are under the 'Getting Help' tab.)
I am experienced in short term and open ended therapy and have worked with depression, anxiety and many different presenting problems and experiences. I aim to provide a non-judgemental, respectful and confidential therapeutic relationship.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a qualified Psychodynamic Counsellor/Psychotherapist and registered with and accredited by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. I work within the BACP ethical framework and receive regular consultative support.
- University of Hertfordshire Certificate in Counselling (2002)
- Wpf Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling (2005)
- Short courses in Brief or Time Limited Counselling (2005)
- Infant Observation Course (2009)
- Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (2015)
I have an ongoing commitment to my Continuing Professional Development regularly attending training, workshop and study groups in accordance with BACP requirements. Recent events include Treatment of Trauma, Childhood and Parenting, Body-Mind Connections and Mindfulness.
I have worked as a Counsellor for over 20 years in a variety of settings; voluntary agencies, NHS primary care and privately. My experience also includes counselling individuals and families in culturally diverse communities who faced life threatening illness and/or bereavement. I have worked for ten years supporting parents often facing high levels of stress and problems with psychological functioning.
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.
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£50.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Fees are £50 per 50 minute session. Concessions are possible for those on low incomes and/or state pension, keyworkers, students and counsellors in training.
I offer a 50% refund if you decide not to continue after the initial session.
Further information
Following is an extract from the song What Do You Hear in These Sounds
by Dar Williams:
I don't go to therapy to find out if I'm a freak
I go and find the one and only answer every week
And when I talk about therapy, I know what people think
That it only makes you selfish and in love with your shrink
But oh how I loved everybody else
When I finally got to talk so much about myself.
