Marian Holmes
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hi. My name is Marian and I've worked with young people in various capacities all my life. I know that many young people struggle to achieve their potential if they are worried about things at home, in school, college or elsewhere. Often they keep anxieties to themselves, not wanting to worry parents or cause a problem for a friend etc. But buried fears and worries don't just go away. Counselling and Psychotherapy can provide a safe, neutral and non-judgemental space for the young person to explore feelings or painful events and to try to make sense of them, thus empowering them to cope better.
For younger children, play is a natural part of life through which they learn essential skills of relating, and creating and solving problems. Inner conflicts can be explored at a safe distance and at the child's own pace, through toys and other play materials available in the room.
For older children and teenagers, talking may be preferable or more appropriate, but sometimes drawing or writing provides a useful medium for communication too. Once again, the aim is to be able to bring difficult feelings and experiences into consciousness and think about them.
Teenagers may not wish to have school-based counselling as missing academic lessons may create more stress, or they may fear being the object of teasing or bullying. I offer after-school or early evening sessions so please contact me to discuss this.
The 18-25, young adult time can be particularly difficult as the transition from leaving school and home, going to university, starting a job etc can produce its own stresses. Desire for independence versus the reality of being away from parents, maybe for the first time, can raise previously unprocessed emotions, leading to depression, anxiety, confusion and fear. It is also a time when access to "youth services" ends and adult services may seem daunting, leaving the young adult feeling lost and adrift. This is a crucial time when the consistency of a therapeutic space and relationship can help to ease the way.
I offer a free 30-minute telephone consultation during which we can discuss the presenting issues. If you decide to take the process further, we can arrange either a one-off face-to-face session or a full assessment which will take place over three 50-minute sessions.
Building a relationship between therapist and patient is essential for the therapeutic work to have an effect, so the three sessions would be a good opportunity to assess and discuss this. Additionally, it is important to discuss whether the type of therapy I offer is right for you or whether some other form of therapy might be better. It is important to have a full understanding of what is involved before beginning, as ending before the patient is ready can be a painful experience.
I hope this information is helpful to you in deciding how to go forward. If you have any questions, please do contact me for further information. I look forward to speaking with you.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have an MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents from Birkbeck, University of London and have since completed further training to work with young adults aged 18-25. I have worked as a volunteer counsellor with Place2Be in Croydon Schools and have worked hard to build my private practice. I have also had many years of personal psychotherapy, which, in my opinion, has been an essential part of my journey and training. Knowing ourselves as fully as we can enables us to support others in their journey; knowing what it is like to be "on the couch" builds understanding of, and empathy towards clients in our care.
Prior to training in this field, I worked for 19 years as a school teacher with Nursery - Year 8 children and a tutor to young people up to the age of 16, many of whom were "school refusers", "Looked After Children" or refugees. I still work part-time as a tutor and piano teacher.
Many years ago, I was tutoring a 16 year old child in a foster placement. At first she wouldn't stay in the room without her carer present, but gradually she began to trust me, until in session 7, she played me a song she had written. The following week she showed me a scrapbook of poems she had written about her childhood experiences. It was beautifully illustrated and I felt deeply moved that she now trusted me enough to share this with me. I look back on that young person and the relationship that developed as being my final impetus for training in Psychotherapy, and one that embodies my philosophy of the therapist/patient relationship.
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
From £66.00
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Initial Telephone Consultation (Max 30 minutes) Free
Initial one-off face-to-face session £66
Face-to-face 3-session assessment £200
Individual Psychotherapy sessions £65 (invoiced at the end of each month)
In the case of genuine financial difficulty, fees can be negotiated within reasonable limits.
For young adults, (18-25) I recommend a 3-session assessment in which we can discuss your needs in therapy. Committing to all 3 sessions will give us time to explore your needs and the way forward for you.
With children/adolescents, (up to 18) the assessment usually consists of 3 sessions:
1) I meet with the parent(s)/carer(s) to take a full medical and developmental history, including presenting difficulties and expectations;
2) I meet with the parent(s)/carer(s) and the young person together to observe the interactions between you all and encourage conversation about the presenting difficulties;
3) I meet with the young person on their own, allowing them the opportunity to play, talk, ask questions and explore their own experience of being in the therapy room.
Following the assessment, verbal feedback to parents is offered as an additional session, charged at £65.
Parent-child work (with children under 5): all sessions are charged at £70.
When I work
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Young adults: daytime/evenings depending on client availability
Children/adolescents: after school/college or daytime if the need suggests it and permission is given by the school/college.
Further information
I am a Registered and Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I also hold a certificate in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) from the Association of Psychological Therapies.