Michael Forrest BACP Accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist

I work with a mindfulness based and embodied-relational approach and have over 30 years’ experience in Mindfulness. My training started in my mid-20s as a Theravada Buddhist Monk, through to my early 30s. Nowadays, it enables me to work with a subtle body-based awareness of what’s happening, moment-to-moment, in the therapeutic relationship. I endeavour to live and work in an embodied-relational way using a synthesis of approaches I have learnt and been trained in. Initially, this was to heal my own trauma, but subsequently, these have become an integrated part of me and my therapeutic work.

I am a BACP Accredited Counsellor & Psychotherapist who has been working with individuals and couples since 2005. In the same year, I gained certification as a Trainer in Nonviolent Communication (NVC). I have since worked in a Hospice as a Bereavement Counsellor and the NHS as a Psychotherapist. I also worked for Social Services out-of-hours Emergency Duty Team for 12 years, supporting families in crisis, through conflict resolution and mediation.

My Specialisms Include:
Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Anger Issues, Relationship Issues, Couples.               Loss & Bereavement, Confidence & Self-Esteem, Mindfulness,Embodied Movement

My Approach:                                                                                                                 The way I work recognises that your early life experiences and relationships may have shaped the ‘lens’ through which you see the world and can have a profound impact on your sense of self – for better or worse. This may lead you to feel 'disconnected' from the world, at times, because to survive you may have needed to disconnect to protect from emotional overwhelm. This is a common and natural coping mechanism but, if left in place ongoingly, can reduce your capacity to be spontaneous and full engage in life.

I have been through a deep therapeutic journey myself and recognise that connecting to your ‘felt’ experience during therapy can be challenging at times. So, I offer my presence as an anchor, whilst I guide you gently and compassionately into an awareness of your inner experience. Over time, I help you to build the capacity to stay with this and what you meet there. Experiencing at a bodily felt-sense level what has been avoided, is the key to resolving trauma and may be the gateway to insight and deeper understanding – reconnecting you back to a more whole self.

Presence - both yours and mine, combined in a session - can be a powerful force to bring forth (naturally) that which is most calling your attention for healing. This may be something you are already consciously aware of, or it may manifest from something just beyond the edge of your awareness. Either way, I offer you skills and tools to track and navigate your 'inner landscape' and help you stay with your unfolding experience in the body.

I recognise the importance of identifying and developing inner resources before working, at times, with emotional intense experiences that can arise in therapy. Your resources and skills you develop with me, then support integration and your on-going inner resilience.

The therapeutic relationship we establish is fundamental to the work we do and can be a rich ground for learning and understanding. It can (especially in longer-term therapy) mirror or shed light on patterns of how you ‘do’ your other relationships in life. My observations and feedback to you, may help you to see and understanding this at a deeper level - allowing the possibility for you to make more conscious choices moving forward.

Professional Membership:                                                                                                 I am an accredited member of British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP). As such, I adhere to their code of ethics and they have a formal route through which complaints can be heard, if they cannot be resolved in the first instance by talking to me - more information is available on their website: www.bacp.co.uk