About me
When was the last time you felt truly listened to and understood?
Hello, I’m Monique.
Sometimes it can be difficult to open up to someone, even when we really want to. I know what it's like to sit in the other chair, wondering whether talking can really change anything. You might not know where to begin, worry that your problems aren't serious enough, or wonder whether you'll be able to explain what you're feeling at all. That's okay. We'll start wherever you are.
You really can tell me anything. Bring the parts that feel too much, too strange or too hard to say out loud. Life can throw obstacles we never imagined, leaving us acting in ways we don't fully understand. Anger, jealousy, shame, resentment, intrusive thoughts, things you've done, things you wish you'd done differently - they're all part of being human.
I’m interested not only in what you're struggling with, but in how you came to be here. Why has something that once seemed manageable become difficult now? Why do certain situations affect you so strongly? Why do you keep doing something you desperately want to stop doing? We'll look beneath the surface together.
Understanding Isn't Always Enough
Sometimes people come to therapy already knowing where their difficulties come from.
You may know your childhood affected your relationships. You may understand why you became anxious. You may recognise the pattern you keep repeating and still be completely unable to stop it.
Yet knowing something and feeling differently aren't always the same thing.
Sometimes conversation is enough. At other times, it can help to go beyond words - paying attention to emotions and bodily responses, using imagination or creative approaches, or exploring earlier experiences. We may look at the past, but we won't live there. What matters is understanding how it may still be shaping your life today. There's no set formula; we'll work out what feels useful as we go. I draw on person-centred and psychodynamic therapy, psychobiology, mindfulness, trauma-informed practice, and creative and body-based approaches.
What Can We Talk About?
Pretty much anything.
I'm an experienced integrative counsellor and psychotherapist working with individuals (16+) and couples. I have worked with anxiety, depression, OCD and intrusive thoughts, trauma and PTSD, grief, low self-esteem and shame, relationship and family difficulties, loneliness, eating disorders, autism and ADHD-related difficulties, abuse and many other concerns.
And sometimes there isn't a neat name for what's wrong. It doesn't matter. You just know something doesn't feel right, and that's enough of a reason to come to therapy.
If you're still unsure, you're very welcome to request a free, no-obligation phone chat. You can ask me anything you'd like and get a sense of what it's like talking to me.
I usually reply the same day, and I'd be very happy to hear from you.
Until then,
Monique
Training, qualifications & experience
- Certified Trauma Therapist (ISPS, Canada)
- Certified Peak States Therapist (ISPS, Canada)
- Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist, PgDip (University of Leeds, UK)
- Counselling and Psychotherapy, MA (University of Leeds, UK)
- Diagnosis of Mental Health Disorders According to DSM V (M. Rusanowska PhD, University of Oxford)
- Spiritual Emergency (A. Szyplinska, University of Krakow)
- Certificate in Self-harm and Suicide Awareness and Prevention (TQUK Level 2)
I have over 1000 hours of counselling experience gained at Serendipity York, 1-2-1 Counselling, York St John Communities Centre, and from seeing private clients. 
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£65.00 per session
Additional information
Individual therapy - £65 per session
Couples therapy - £80 per session
When I work
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Further information
I am accepting new clients at the moment. I can see you face-to-face in my home in York but am equally happy to meet you online wherever you are. I also offer telephone sessions.
