Michael O'Rourke
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I specialise in working with men and have over 20 years experience of working in the field of addiction (alcohol, drugs, porn, gambling and others). I am particularly interested in working with male survivors of childhood abuse - this can be physical, sexual or verbal (such as shaming or shouting at a child). Where appropriate, I will use EMDR to help process trauma and distress.
I will help you understand the difficulties that life is presenting today and help see where the pain began. Realising that you aren't 'bad' or 'wrong' is important, and seeing that old ways of surviving such as by using alcohol, which was once a creative solution, is no longer working - it is now time to adopt healthier ways of living. Understanding the root causes of your difficulties will help you improve ways of communicating and relating to those around you.
I have a high level of cultural competence and work with clients who might have been born outside of the UK, or who have a cultural identity and heritage which is born of a few or many cultures. I have experience working with men who identify as gay, MSM, and other members of LGBTQ+ communities, having worked with Terrence Higgins Trust in London.
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold an advanced diploma in counselling and therapy, a BSc (Hons) in Reflective Therapeutic Practice and a Master's degree in working with childhood and adulthood sexual violence. I am a PhD Researcher at the University of Brighton. I am trained in delivering EMDR for trauma processing.
I have 30 years experience of working in the field of healthcare and I have been working with male survivors of sexual abuse and men with addiction issues for the last 10 years. I am the Clinical Manager of the Brighton Therapy Centre and the Hastings Therapy Centre.
I am a supervisor, having trained at the Institute of Group Analysis (IGA) in London.
Member organisations
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
My fee is £60 for a 50 minute therapy or EMDR session, which can be held in person or online, and my fee for couples' therapy sessions online or in person for a one hour fifteen minute session is £80.00.
I am registered with Bupa, the leading UK private medical insurer(PMI). If you have company PMI with Bupa, check with them as they may cover therapy sessions for you.
My fee for supervision of other therapists is £65 for one hour.
Please contact me if you would like to discuss fees.
When I work
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The hours listed are my regular available hours, but I might be able to offer flexibility, so please contact me to see what we can arrange.
Further information
I work by understanding what is happening in life now, and how childhood and early trauma might have impacted the ability to develop in a healthy and positive way. I feel that linking early experiences to now is key to processing some of our pain and freeing us to live more enriched lives. I encourage clients to challenge themselves and I take an active role in the therapy - our sessions will feel like an intense conversation.
