Naomi Howard
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This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hi there, my name is Naomi and if you’re looking for counselling around recent or non-recent child abuse, sexual trauma or domestic abuse, I’m so glad you have found your way to my profile.
Child abuse, sexual trauma and domestic abuse can have a psychological, emotional and physical impact that can leave you struggling to cope. You may be constantly looking for danger, experiencing flashbacks or feel isolated and disconnected from who you are.
When you experience trauma, it can shatter your sense of safety and trust in the world. Feelings of shame, guilt, and worthlessness often creep in, making it hard to see a way out of the pain.
The trauma from the abuse can lead to intense emotional distress and feelings of powerlessness. These overwhelming emotions mean suicidal thoughts and self-harm can also be common after experiencing child abuse, sexual trauma or domestic abuse and I specialise in suicide prevention and harm reduction.
I use trauma-informed therapy, integrating an awareness of your trauma responses into the therapy to help keep you safe and secure, whilst we address the impact of your experiences on areas of your life such as identity, mental health and relationships.
We will explore different parts of you like your inner child, inner critic or shadow to help you understand different aspects of yourself, including the part of you that may want to die or hurt yourself. By allowing those parts to be explored, you can begin to reconnect with yourself and increase self-worth.
And I love working creatively with imagery, metaphor, drawing, and story writing. They are like tools in a magical toolbox, helping you to paint pictures with your mind and connect with your inner-self in a different way.
Outside of work, you can usually find me reading, listening to music (anything from Taylor Swift to Bruce Springsteen), travelling (Barcelona is a favourite) and walking my Border Terrier Stan.
So, if you are looking to to rebuild trust, reconnect with yourself and expand your ability to cope with conflicting thoughts and feelings, you can schedule a free 15 minute introductory call with me. This time can be helpful for answering any questions you may have and we can explore your needs, goals, and expectations to see if I am the counsellor for you.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have worked in the therapeutic and safeguarding field for over 15 years in a variety of community, charity, and family support settings. My background has given me experience in working with the barriers people face in healing from traumatic and challenging experiences.
I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy which means I work within their ethical framework and standards of good practice.
I hold an accredited degree in integrative counselling and psychotherapy and a postgraduate diploma in advanced child protection.
Other trainings include:
- Complex trauma Certification
- Certificate in Single Session Therapy
- Applied Suicide Intervention Safety Training (ASIST)
- Working with suicide: Essential suicide prevention and intervention strategies
- Working at relational depth in counselling and psychotherapy
- Certificate in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
- Multiple qualifications in child and adult safeguarding
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£50.00 - £85.00
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Discounted package rates are available for block bookings of 6 sessions.
Bank transfer payment must be made 24 hours in advance of the session. If you cancel the session before 24 hours no payment will be taken but cancellations after 24 hours will be charged at the full rate except in exceptional circumstances.
When I work
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Further information
I offer short-term, long-term and single session counselling. Short-term work is great if you have a special aim or goal in mind and usually lasts 6-12 weeks. Long-term work is more in depth and can really be beneficial for making links between the past and present. A single session is for you if you are wanting to see what the therapy experience is like or if you're looking for quick relief.
