Naomi Aoife Bowers
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
About me
I’m a trained cognitive behavioural therapist, but my priority in working with you is building a trusting, collaborative relationship, where it feels easy to talk, and you feel heard and understood. As well as CBT, I draw on other techniques including compassion, mindfulness and acceptance, so we can work in a way that fits and tailors therapy to feel right for you.
I have experience with a wide range of challenges, including anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem . Some people come to therapy knowing what is distressing them, and some people need the space and support to figure it out. I often focus on helping clients understand and accept the emotions they are experiencing and show themselves the compassion we often only give to others.
Health anxiety and chronic illness
As someone who has experience chronic pain and fatigue, I get how hard these can be to explain. Changes to our bodies, whether an unexpected illness, or an anticipated change, like menopause, can be tough to deal with. When we have a health diagnosis, it might be hard to talk to those close to us without worrying about burdening them, or managing their emotions as well as our own; therapy can be a safe place to explore what we’re thinking and feeling, without judgement.
I started my career studying psychology and neuropsychology, and I became fascinated with how the brain works and how we are impacted when things go wrong. I spent years before my therapy training working with people with different neurological conditions, chronic health problems and disabilities, and completed a CBT placement in a service for those with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. As a result, I have a particular interest in working with people experiencing health anxiety, chronic pain, fatigue, going through menopause or living with long-term health conditions.
Our First Session
In our first session, we'll spend some time talking about what has brought you to therapy, why now, and what you're hoping to get from the sessions. Sometimes these things will be clear to you, and sometimes we'll take time to work them our together. We will talk about what the problems are, what helps, and what makes it worse. We might set some goals for working together. We will also go through some assessments tools that give an indication of your mood or anxiety level. We can revisit these over time, to see if anything has changed.
Training, qualifications & experience
- BSc Psychology, University of St Andrews
- MSc Foundations of Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Bangor
- COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills
- Diploma in Counselling & Groupwork – a Cognitive Behavioural Approach
I spent over 7 years studying psychology and mental health, and 5 years in roles working with people with chronic conditions or dealing with changes to their physical health. I have experience working with generalised, health, and social anxiety, depression, self-esteem, setting boundaries, and OCD.
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
Fees
£35.00 - £65.00
Free initial in-person, telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I offer an initial free consultation, which gives you an opportunity to ask any questions you might have, and see if you feel like we would be a good fit. This can be in person, if you'd like to visit the space, or over the phone if it's more convenient.
My fee is £65 for a 50 minute session.
I offer a small number of sessions at a reduced price of £35, for students and those on low or no income.
