Mark Douthwaite
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
Psychotherapeutic Counselling for children, young people and adults.
How to begin with therapy;
Please feel free to contact me by email or phone and we can arrange a time and date for a free 20 minute initial assessment. During this assessment I'll ask you some questions to identify what you may be struggling with, and what you'd like to get from our sessions. This is so I can ensure I create the right therapy plan for you, and that we can work together on reaching your goals. If you're happy to begin work with me we can then arrange our first session and go from there. I do suggest that we begin with weekly sessions. This allows us to work at a deeper and more effective level from the very beginning.
For your therapy sessions I can offer you a safe, boundaried and confidential space within the therapy room or outdoors, which will help to empower you to share and explore your feelings and emotions with me alongside you.
Although my underlying approach is Person Centred (the belief that every individual has the capacity and desire for personal growth and change), I am an integrative practitioner, meaning I can take different approaches to therapy depending on your individual needs. This means that I can draw on a range of practical and creative approaches, both inside the therapy room, and while working outdoors to explore the causes of any problems you may be experiencing. This is with the goal of helping you heal, grow and become aware of the strength within yourself.
These approaches can provide you with coping strategies and techniques to use on a day-to-day basis, while also having the option to work at real depth to explore why they exist and to challenge them and discover new ways of being.
Client confidentiality is paramount to the way I work. As a registered member of the BACP I am bound by their Ethical Framework for good practice. Therefore, only in situations which would indicate a risk to life, the safety of children, or disclosure of acts of crime or terrorism, would I make contact with third parties.
I pride myself on my flexibility and ability to respond to the individual needs of each of my clients in all of our sessions together.
As a qualified Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and Buteyko breathing instructor I can help you with a wide range of issues including anxiety & depression, sleep disorders, grief & loss, trauma & PTSD, addiction, stress, anger, self-harm, low self-esteem, low self-worth, low confidence, existential issues, relationship issues, phobias, asthma, improving sporting performance, issues from early life and much more.
Therapy can also be utilised by individuals who may not be struggling with any of the above, but may just wish to explore themselves at a deeper level with some professional guidance. Therapy is a powerful tool for self-progression and growth, and can form an important part of a good self-care routine.
Whatever your reasons for searching for support at this time, I'd love to hear from you.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have recently completed a rigorous five year Psychotherapy course at a highly respected institution in Newcastle with a local and national reputation for excellence.
As I am a qualified Psychotherapeutic Counsellor who is a Registered Member of BACP, I am held to extremely high standards, and in addition to my training and workshops, I have had, and continue to have, extensive clinical supervision to carefully progress and assess the way in which I work.
It was also a course requirement that I undertake personal therapy for the duration of my training. To date I have had over 160 hours of personal therapy.
This has afforded me the opportunity to experience therapy as the client, and to understand myself at a deeper level.
Through personal therapy and supervised practice I have learned how to establish and maintain the Psychotherapeutic Counselling relationship which is fundamental to allow exploration and create the environment for effective and long-lasting change.
I am also a qualified Buteyko Breathing Instructor.
The Buteyko breathing method focusses on breathing only through the nose using the diaphragm.
This is ideal for people who over-breathe or those who have issues with hyperventilation. These issues are common in people who have asthma or struggle with anxiety.
Buteyko breathing can help alleviate stress and improve athletic performance, as well as improve sleep quality by promoting deep sleep, reducing snoring, and relieving sleep apnea.
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
Free - 20 minute initial consultation by phone or online
£60 - 50 minute therapy session
£330 - Block booking of six Buteyko breathing sessions
When I work
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I work Tuesdays and Wednesdays all day, and then Friday mornings.
