Michael Opoku-Forfieh
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hello my name is Michael, I am an experienced integrative therapist that is able to provide counselling.
I have been working with people for over 21 years in a variety of roles including professional counsellor, student mentor, community sports coach, mentor and youth worker. In addition to working with private clients, I have provided counselling in a range of settings including a doctor’s surgery, prisons, probation offices and schools.
I have worked with a wide range of clients from all backgrounds to support overcoming a number of personal difficulties including; anxiety, stress, depression, addictions, bereavements and other negative emotions that they may be experiencing.
As an Integrative therapist, I draw on a range of therapeutic traditions including; EMDR, CBT, Person Centred, Solution Focused and Psychodynamic approaches. I provide a warm, non-judgemental space for people to talk and reflect on their experiences and explore new ways of thinking/being.
I am of the firm belief that good work can be done in a short number of sessions. My aim would be to help you to achieve some insight into difficulties that you may be experiencing in 4-8 sessions.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have an MSc in Therapeutic Counselling which is accredited by the BACP and a CPCAB Introduction to Counselling Skills Course diploma from Morley College. I have provided a highly evaluated counselling service in a range of settings including a doctors surgery, a maximum security prison and in schools.
I have completed a range of additional courses including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing), SFBT (Solution Focused Brief Therapy) and Trauma informed mental health support and consistently use these new approaches to support clients that I work with.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
- Black masculinity
- Black family relationships
- Forming a healthy racial identity
- Managing racism
- Adolescent development
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£70.00 - £120.00
Free initial online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Initial 50 minute counselling assessments are £70 -£120
Each 50 minute counselling session thereafter costs £70 - £120
I am able to offer concessions for students and those on limited incomes.
Contact me for further details.
When I work
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My availability throughout the week is as follows:
- Monday: 11:00am - 8:00pm
- Wednesday: 11:00am - 8:00pm
- Thursday: 11:00am - 8:00pm
- Friday: 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Further information
I am also a walking therapist, believing that movement in nature can be therapeutic.
Walk and Talk therapy aims to provide an alternate experience for you, whereby you can physically interact with the material you bring to a session.
How does it work?
Our initial meeting would be at a local outside space mutually agreed for an assessment interview. The initial assessment gives us both an opportunity to see if we can work together in this way and outline the key themes you would like to address.
The following meetings would be held in a park or quiet area near to my counselling space or at a mutually agreed point in S.E. or Central London. We would then have 50 minutes to walk and talk, looking at the concerns you would like to work on.
The route would be largely unplanned, we would collaboratively agree; the pace, where to go and when to take a break to stop, sit or stand to reflect on points brought up in the walk and talk session. The route would be circuitous or toward a mutually agreed end point.
The cost of a walk and talk session is dependent on the time of the engagement and distance from my counselling space. A local Lee walk and talk therapy session would cost from £80 -£120
The length of a walk and talk therapy session is 50 mins. I contract appointments in 4 week blocks including assessment.
My hours of work are reasonably flexible, but I prefer meeting during the daytime or early evening to maximise the experience of walking in nature in a park setting.
I’ve been drawn to this way of working as a therapist through a number of important experiences I’ve had in my working life. For 4 years I supported young people in taking up the challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh’s award. Walking in the hills of mid Wales, the South Downs, The Lake and Peak Districts often had me feeling creative hopeful and happy.
I like to work creatively whenever possible and believe that Walk and Talk therapy offers clients both physical and emotional benefits.
'But the Beauty is in the walking -- we are betrayed by destinations' Gwyn Thomas
