Martin Leach
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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
I adapt my approach to each individual and it is always underpinned by an understanding of the importance of increasing safety, connection and awareness of present reality. For some people it's important to take things really slowly and gently, whereas others might feel more inclined to approach processing specific traumatic events more quickly. Many people are surprised (and relieved) to discover that trauma therapy doesn't necessarily depend on them retelling their story in any detail. There are other ways that we can work, the priority being to help people (and their nervous systems) adapt to the reality that the trauma is over and in the past, make sense of their experience, and discover how life can get easier and have the potential to be enjoyable. If people do choose to work through individual events, then this is approached in a safe way designed to make it manageable and potentially empowering, rather than overwhelming.
At times, you might need someone to listen and just let you tell your story. At other times, you might need someone to be more directive and give you practical skills to help you navigate life and work with your emotions, thoughts and actions. At another point, you might need someone to challenge your own view of life and help you find a better way of being and living in the world.
Each client is unique, I adapt therapy to the clients and not the client to the therapy. I integrate Buddhist philosophy and practice with the clinical traditions of modern Western psychology supported by cutting edge neuroscience, rooted in the belief that all people are granted the internal wisdom necessary to heal from pain.
Please see my website for more information.
I am based in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Training, qualifications & experience
I'm a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), The EMDR Association UK and The Somatic Experiencing Association UK (SEA UK).
I initially trained a a humanistic-integrative counsellor and have since undertaken further training in existential therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), somatic (body) psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing (SE) and Internal Family systems therapy (IFS). I have a Diploma in Trauma Therapy, a Certificate in Somatic Trauma Therapy and I am a qualified EMDR therapist including being trained in both the Flash and Advanced Flash techniques. I am currently in training to become a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and I can offer Somatic Experiencing Therapy (I am in the second year of a three year training programme) I am also training as an Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist and I can offer IFS therapy. My main approaches to trauma work are EMDR, SE, IFS and mindfulness.
My background is in healthcare, initially in learning disability, then as a registered mental health nurse and then as a counsellor and therapist. I have over 40 years experience in mental health work in various settings including the NHS, private healthcare providers, and in prisons, covering a wide range of psychological issues. More recently I have gained experience in working with clients who are neurodivergent, particularly the interface between trauma/(C)PTSD and autism and/or ADHD.
I offer individual, face-to-face sessions in the Oxfordshire area. I have experience with a broad range of clients and I am happy to work with any issue you may want to bring to therapy. I have a particular interest and specialist training in:
- trauma
- survivors of physical and/or sexual and/or emotional abuse
- self-harm, suicidal thoughts
- PTSD and Complex-PTSD
- personality disorder
- clients with complex needs
- neurodivergent clients
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Complex needs
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
My fee is £60 for a 50 minute session. I can offer concessionary rates for those on a low income, please contact me to discuss this.
When I work
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Further information
I work in a small counselling and psychotherapy practice. We have three therapy rooms on the first floor of a Grade 2 Listed Georgian building. There is plenty of public parking nearby and we are within a very short walk of Banbury town centre.
