Mark O'Brien

Hi I I’m Mark and welcome to Regroup Counselling.

Are you struggling with anxiety, depression, or experiencing trauma. You may often feel isolated, overwhelmed, or disconnected from yourself, unsure how to switch off or share what you’re holding, and are quietly carrying that stress.
You may want clarity, steadiness, and a place where you can finally stop performing, acknowledge the weight you carry, and begin to understand what you truly need.

I offer a calm, confidential space where you can make sense of what you’ve been carrying. Whether face to face, online, walking and talking, or in the comfort of your own home. My work is person-centred and grounded, helping you explore your experiences, understand long‑held patterns, make sense of your reactions, and reconnect with yourself.
If any of this feels familiar, you don’t have to keep carrying it alone. Reaching out can feel like a big step especially when you’re used to managing things yourself, but you’re welcome to take it at your own pace. If you’re ready to talk, I’m here to listen and walk alongside you. Just reach out when you feel ready, and we can begin from wherever you are.

My practice 'REGROUP' is open to everyone, I am a former soldier and my background also includes working within an emergency‑service role, and this lived experience shapes a deep commitment to supporting veterans, serving personnel, emergency service workers, and the families who stand beside them. Having spent years within these environments, I understand the culture, the responsibility, and the unspoken weight that can make it difficult to reach out.

I also know that many people outside these communities face their own forms of strain, relationship challenges, work stress, life transitions, or simply feeling overwhelmed. I am here for you too. You do not need to have served or worked on the frontline to be heard, supported, or understood. 

Life can involve trauma, loss, identity shifts, and emotional burdens that are often carried quietly. I offer a safe, understanding space where you can explore these experiences at your own pace, with someone who recognises the realities behind the lived experiences. 
My own journey of reflection and resilience led me into counselling. Today, I walk alongside people from all backgrounds (young people, military, emergency service and non‑service backgrounds), not as a distant professional, but as someone who values honesty, humanity, and the courage it takes to ask for support. I created 'REGROUP' because everyone deserves a space to regroup, reset, and move forward.

Ethics and Approach 

I am an Integrative counsellor working in a predominantly person-centred approach. I do use other theoretical models as your needs dictate. Such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Transactional Analysis (TA), and Gestalt.

My approach is grounded, authentic, and shaped by empathy, humility, and relational depth. I work with the complexity of identity, loss, and life changes, whether face to face, online, or in the comfort of your own home. All are conducted in a one‑to‑one setting. I can also provide tailored walk‑and‑talk sessions.

I am committed to ethical practice, confidentiality, and trauma‑informed care. I value congruence, presence, and honesty, creating safe, practical spaces where serving personnel, veterans, young people, emergency responders, and anyone seeking support can explore transition, grief, identity, and resilience.

Whilst I have a strong foundation in military and emergency‑service culture, the same commitment to safety, respect, and person‑centred care extends to every individual who reaches out.

Practice Values

REGROUP is a grounded, integrative person-centred practice built around reflection, resilience, and personal clarity. The name reflects a simple but powerful idea. Sometimes the strongest thing a person can do is pause, reassess, and find their bearings before moving forward again. 

REGROUP was created with an understanding that many people, particularly those from demanding backgrounds, have been conditioned to carry on regardless. Over time, that mindset can leave little room for reflection.

REGROUP exists to provide that space. It is not about fixing people or forcing outcomes, but about creating a steady environment where clarity can develop naturally. 

REGROUP stands for strength redefined. Not as endurance alone, but as awareness, honesty, and the confidence to pause when it matters.

I have a variety of options that may suit the sessions you wish for:

* In person: I can see you in Faversham, or Ashford. 

*Online: Secure sessions via a platform of our choosing.

*Walk & Talk: River walk, Woods walk, Beach walks - Various choice.

A gentler, more spacious way of working. Movement, fresh air, and side-by-side conversation. All of which reduces pressure and can help to open up more naturally. 25 mile distance of Faversham.

*Your own home: Can create a sense of safety, ease, and a familiar environment. Ideal for those who feel anxious about travelling, or struggle with unfamiliar settings. 25 mile distance of Faversham.

Therapy sessions are 50 minutes:

Mondays-Fridays 09:00am - 21:00pm

Weekends are sometimes available  

Appointments are offered on a flexible basis to best accommodate each client’s needs. Session times are arranged during the initial consultation and confirmed prior to every subsequent meeting, in consideration of my wider professional commitments.

The foundations of my work is the Person‑Centred Philosophy. The heart of my practice is a person‑centred way of being. This means:
• I trust the client’s innate capacity for growth and self‑direction.      

• I prioritise the therapeutic relationship as the primary agent of change.

• I offer empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard as the ground conditions for safety and exploration.

• I work with the client’s pace, their language, and their meaning‑making, not imposing my own agenda.

This relational stance is the anchor point for everything else I integrate.

I don’t “switch models” or apply techniques at clients. Instead, I draw from other theories when they serve the client’s process, always holding the person‑centred relationship as the container.

Gestalt – Staying with the “here and now”
Gestalt elements support clients to deepen awareness of their present‑moment experience. I might:

• Invite them to notice sensations, emotions, or tensions arising in the moment.
• Explore unfinished business as it emerges in the room.
• Use gentle experiments (e.g. chair work) only when the client feels ready and it aligns with their goals.

Gestalt becomes a way of enhancing presence, not directing the client.

Transactional Analysis (TA) – Understanding relational patterns
TA offers a shared language for exploring:

• Ego states (Parent–Adult–Child)
• Repeating relational patterns
• Scripts formed early in life
• How these patterns show up between us in the therapeutic relationship

I use TA concepts collaboratively, as tools for insight, not as labels or diagnoses. The client chooses what resonates.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – Supporting practical change when the client wants it

CBT techniques can be helpful when clients want structure or strategies. I might integrate:

• Thought–feeling–behaviour cycles
• Identifying unhelpful thinking patterns
• Behavioural activation or grounding strategies

But I only introduce these when:

• The client expresses a desire for tools
• It fits their goals
• It supports not replaces the relational work

So how It All Comes Together?

My integrative approach is person‑centred at the core and pluralistic in practice. In real terms, this means:

• The client leads; I offer options.
• The relationship is the foundation; techniques are secondary.
• I adapt to the client’s needs, preferences, and readiness.
• I remain transparent, collaborative, and grounded in their autonomy.
• Any intervention is offered, not imposed.
• I hold a stance of curiosity, compassion, and respect for the client’s lived experience.

The integration is not about blending theories mechanically, it’s about meeting the person where they are, with a flexible toolkit and a deeply relational presence.