Mike Lowe
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Thanks for stopping by. I’m a person-centred counsellor working in Edinburgh. I have worked in a variety of mental health settings and have been a counsellor for over 14 years. I am a registered member of BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) and abide by their code of ethics. I love my work and try to meet each individual with openness, curiosity and compassion in our sessions together.
How Counselling Can Help:
My aim is to provide you with an open and safe space to speak honestly about what is troubling you. It may be that you have a specific issue that you want to talk about (e.g. anxiety, loss), or perhaps are looking to have a neutral person with whom to explore your feelings and to understand your situation in more depth. I try to work creatively to adapt to the needs of an individual – some people simply wish to be heard, some wish to be met with curiosity and be asked questions and some also wish to hear any insight or perspective that I may have to offer.
Person-centred counselling involves building a strong working relationship together, and through exploring our interactions together in the room we can consider patterns and behaviours that come up in your interactions with other people in your life. I like to review the work with each individual regularly to ensure that we are giving attention to the aspects of your experience that you wish to explore and to allow you to feedback on what is or isn't working for you. We can agree at the start on a number of sessions depending on whether you wish to work short or longer-term and review this as we go. I welcome enquiries from anyone seeking to understand themselves and their situation better.
Training, qualifications & experience
I obtained my Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling in 2012. Previously I worked in a community health project setting providing counselling to people struggling with issues such as depression, anxiety, bereavement and relationship issues. I also have extensive experience of working in further education settings providing short and longer-term counselling to 18+ year olds presenting with a range of issues from perfectionism and future uncertainty to substance use and experience of verbal/physical/sexual abuse.
I also previously worked and volunteered for a mental heath charity in various roles supporting adults with experience of acute and enduring mental health problems as well as supporting men who experienced childhood sexual abuse.
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£45.00 - £75.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
What to expect when you make an enquiry:
When you make contact I will aim to first offer a free 10-15 minute phone call as a chance to introduce ourselves, have a quick chat about what has brought you to seek counselling and to try to arrange a time for an initial consultation appointment. Alternatively we can communicate by email if this is a preference.
The fee for an initial appointment is £25, which will give us time to discuss your situation in more depth and give you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the counselling process, as well as deciding whether you feel I would be the right fit for you and your needs.
If we decide to proceed we will agree on a contract of sessions. I operate on a sliding scale for session fees. This means that we will discuss the session fee when we first meet. Standard session fee is £45, but if you are in a position to be able to afford more and wish to do so then we can discuss this.
I am able to offer a few spaces at concessionary rate, so please ask about this if the fee may present a problem for you.
When you make an enquiry, please let me know if you are looking for a session at my Newington or Leith location. I aim to respond promptly to enquiries, if you are expecting a response please check your spam folder as my emails occasionally end up there for some reason.
When I work
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Monday and Wednesday daytime appointments now available in Leith.
Please note that I will be on leave from the 19th to the 27th of April.
All concession spaces are currently taken.
