About me
I am a British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, (BACP), and NHS Accredited and Registered psychodynamic Counsellor/Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor. I am NHS Accredited through The University of Nottingham in Person-Centered-Emotion Focused Therapy and a provider of therapy with AXA Healthcare. I see people a walk away from central St Albans and by video. Free parking nearby.
There can be so much that brings people into therapy, it can be a crisis; relationship breakdown, loss and change. It be something less defined; like low self confidence, general anxiety, feeling the weight of caring responsibilities, overwork. It can be something longstanding like childhood bereavement or a difficult family life. As a psychodynamic therapist with many years experience I can help and would be happy to chat by phone so that you can get the information to help you decide what to do next. Therapy does change you. From clients, "I wish I'd done this 20 years ago". "Everyone should have therapy". "My relationships are better than they've ever been". That does not mean, to paraphrase a children's book, that these people have not had to push through some long grass and face up to some painful feelings and memories to get there. The psyche cleverly defends, protects and adapts to obstacles but it doesn't know when to stop so you can be left with alarms warning at the smallest wisp of smoke. Knowing - awareness of why this happens - gives you the power to choose how to respond. A less than optimal childhood leaves lasting remnants, gets in the way of natural development and this leaks into and spoils the enjoyment of life and relationships in adulthood. Without consciously knowing, obsolete defences can be running the show and interfering with happiness.
So what can therapy do?
Natural human development cannot be done alone, in infancy we would not survive without a thoughtful, containing, mirroring presence. When good we are set up and protected by that internal sense of rightness and love which gives resilience and a sense of who we are. Good therapy replicates that safe non-judgemental environment. Through an established therapeutic relationship the hidden past can be brought into the present for thought, re-evaluation, understanding and choice and it can be life-changing!
It is never too late to start therapy and build a stronger back to withstand the shocks that come, a softer front unafraid of good healthy relationships, and a wilder, more daring, heart more able to grasp the joys of life.
Whatever is bringing you here; depression, anxiety, bereavement, family or relationship difficulties, or something without an easy label, we can work together. I am happy to chat by phone first, or you can email and we can take it from there. It's in your hands. 07383 191912 mbcounsellingherts@gmail.com
Training, qualifications & experience
BACP Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist in Psychodynamic Counselling
Accredited Person-Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression, (PCE-CfD) University of Nottingham, (NICE / NHS License).
NAPAC qualified. Trauma-Informed Therapist. Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse and Neglect.
Accredited NHS Psychotherapist working in NHS Talking Therapies
Clinical practice with The Counselling Foundation (BACP Accred.) Charity.
Private Practice Hemel Hempstead and St Albans
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Qualified in childhood Trauma-Informed Therapy: Trauma in adults resulting from emotional, sexual and physical abuse and neglect in childhood.
Therapies offered
Fees
£65.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
Initial consultation; £60
Fifty Minute Weekly Counselling; £65.
When I work
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Further information
How I work: As a psychodynamic and emotion-focused therapist I look for what's beneath playing a part in everyday life, so deeply 'me' that it goes unnoticed. I work with past and present at the same time. Clients usually come weekly and open-ended, but short-term focused therapy is also possible, if you prefer. I am never the expert on you and your life but I do bring new ways of looking at things with you to bring more self-awareness to allow for change. A trusting therapeutic relationship is so important in all this and in the first meeting you will get a chance to assess that. I work with people who might not know why they are feeling troubled as well as those who do. Whatever is troubling you, we can talk. I am happy to talk by phone to help you decide the next step.
- Relationships of all kinds
- Childhood abuse or neglect.
- Trauma and other adverse childhood experiences.
- Bereavement/Grief and loss.
- Eating Disorders
- Family life; coming to terms with a child's behavioural problems, medical diagnosis or educational label.
- Ill health or disability.
Whatever the 'problem', we work together to build strength and resilience.
