About me
Hi, I'm Mary
I'm a counsellor based in Dunbar, East Lothian. I work from a cosy counselling pod in my garden, where I offer face-to-face appointments, and I also work online if that suits you better.
I believe therapy should be a place where you don't have to pretend you're coping, have all the answers, or even know where to begin. Sometimes it takes time to untangle what's going on. Simply finding the words for something you've been carrying can be the start of real change.
People often tell me that I'm easy to talk to and that they quickly feel comfortable opening up. My aim is to create a space where you feel listened to, understood, and accepted.
You might be:
Feeling anxious, stressed, or low.
Struggling with confidence or constantly doubting yourself.
Living with the effects of trauma, abuse, or sexual violence.
Trying to make sense of painful experiences within a faith community.
Affected by substance misuse, whether it's your own or someone else's.
Finding family or other relationships difficult.
Feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected from yourself.
Looking for a place where you can simply be yourself and be heard.
I won't pretend I have all the answers, but I do know that healing rarely happens by being told to "just get over it."
Some sessions are difficult. Some are hopeful. Some are unexpectedly funny. I don't shy away from hard conversations, but I also believe people are far more than the things that have happened to them.
Training, qualifications & experience
Training and Qualifications
MSc Counselling (Merit), Abertay University
BSc Adult Nursing, Queen Margaret University
Dactari Foundation Training in Domestic Abuse Counselling
LivingWorks ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training)
Fundamentalist religious childhoods and adult health: implications for practice in one-to-one therapeutic encounters.
Introduction to Motivational Interviewing.
As part of my postgraduate counselling training, I conducted specialist research into trauma and abuse, including exploring these issues within systemic and relational contexts.
Experience
Before training as a counsellor, I worked for 10 years in learning disability services, supporting individuals with complex needs and their families with care, communication, and advocacy.
I volunteered for two years in a city centre counselling service, I worked with a wide range of clients who brought different issues including depression, anxiety, work related stress, difficult family dynamics, boarding school trauma, religious difficulties, academic stress.
I have worked as a counsellor within a specialist service supporting women who have experienced sexual violence. Alongside this, I have provided mental health mentoring for students in further and higher education, helping them to navigate emotional wellbeing, develop study skills, and manage academic pressures. I currently work part-time within a service supporting individuals affected by substance misuse.
In my counselling work, I draw on a range of therapeutic approaches, including person-centred counselling, trauma-informed practice, psychoeducation, and elements of cognitive and compassion-focused therapies. This allows me to tailor sessions to each client’s needs and offer both emotional support and practical strategies to help them move forward. I am committed to ongoing learning and professional development to ensure I offer safe, up-to-date, and effective support.
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
Fees
£60.00 per session
When I work
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