This professional is currently not accepting new clients and may not respond to general enquiries at this time.
This professional is currently not accepting new clients and may not respond to general enquiries at this time.
About me
Hello! Thank you for viewing my profile in a bit more detail. I'd like to share a little bit more about me and my background to help you decide if you would like to get in contact with me.
I have experience working with individuals and groups touching a wide range of life impacting events. I have spent much of my counselling career working with a diverse group of people, over 8 years of which has been working in a children's hospice directly with the children who access hospice services and with their family members (namely siblings, parents and grandparents).
I have many years experience working with adults, children and young people (from the age of 4 years up).
Working with children & young people
Counselling younger clients has often involved specific work using creative resources to:
- build positive self-worth and self-esteem
- support them to cope with the loss of loved ones
- prepare for medical procedures and hospital admissions
- work on self-identity
- create strategies to boost resilience
- manage bullying
- dealing with life in cyberspace
- promoting healthy ways to cope with heavy feelings at home, school and with family & friends (on and off line)
Working with adults
I have a lot of experience of working with adults across a diverse range of difficulties:
- anxiety, panic, low mood, depression, self-injury, suicidal ideation
- low self-esteem, loss of identity or purpose
- survivors of abuse, violence or assault
- grief, loss, bereavement (relationships, employment, death of a loved one)
-
intrusive thoughts, sleeplessness, nightmares & flashbacks
I am a great believer that the therapeutic relationship that we create together can be a real cornerstone, a place of safety from which you can explore what brings you to counselling.
Coping with traumatic life events
I use two interventions to help people (adults and children) cope with the fallout from traumatic events - Rewind and Flash.
The Flash Technique (used in EMDR therapy) and Rewind are designed to help you move the recollection of such events to your long-term memory, so they are not so intrusive on your every day life.
These techniques can help in a whole range of situations, such as witnessing or being directly involved in a terrible accident, being involved in armed combat, surviving a criminal assault, a traumatic hospital procedure, giving birth in emergency circumstances, witnessing something awful and many other life experiences that leave a heavy footprint behind of nightmares, flashbacks or intrusions.
They don't eradicate memories, but aim to put you in control of your own recall and remove the intensity of unwanted, unpleasant feelings.
I offer them as standalone interventions, over 1-3 sessions or as part of a therapeutic treatment plan alongside talking or creative therapy.
Having a 'no obligation' chat
If you are interested in pursuing counselling with me, it is often helpful for us to talk informally on the phone or via a web meeting (I use Zoom) so I can get a better idea of what you are looking for and we can talk about the ways I may be able to help you. Every person I work with is unique, as is their life experience so far, so this initial discussion is a good place to start, it also gives you the opportunity to connect with me outside of my website and get a sense if you'd like to continue.
After this discussion, if you wish to carry on, we will organise an initial session. Counselling sessions generally last for 60 minutes although if we are incorporating a specific intervention (such as Rewind or Flash for managing the fall-out from traumatic events), we may agree to book a slightly longer session at 90 minutes.
Do we meet in-person or online?
I can offer both. If we meet in-person, these sessions are held in my private counselling room or we can do a walk & talk therapy outdoors. On-line sessions are held via Zoom for web or audio meetings; I can offer Instant Message counselling or email therapy.
Preparing for the first session
Before our first session, I will send you an informational pack which will include the counselling agreement (contract) that we will make together, some FAQ's, confirmation of session fees and ways to pay and directions to my counselling premises (if we are meeting in-person).
During our first session, we will look at the counselling agreement (contract) together and ensure you are comfortable with the contents, thereafter we will both sign the document.
Coming to counselling can feel difficult and sometimes people say they don’t feel good for a short time after a session; but therapy can be helpful when feeling painful emotions, facing difficult decisions, in order to improve or change relationships, or to help in developing a better understanding of yourself and/or others.
At its core, the aim of counselling is to help you improve your mental and emotional health - much like when people exercise or go to the gym to take care of physical health.
Counselling can help you to flex those mental muscles, giving them the attention they need, helping you to be Mind-fit as well as Body-fit.
Training, qualifications & experience
My core training and qualifications are:
- PG Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling
- Diploma in Crisis and Trauma Therapy
- Diploma in Online Counselling
- Diploma in Clinical Supervision
- Certificate in Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy
- Certificate in Therapeutic Play
- I am a qualified REWIND practitioner
- I am a qualified FLASH practitioner
I have completed additional studies to complement my grounding in counselling training.
I have worked with many different people and this has given me lots of opportunity to put into practise what I have learnt in formal education.
I'm not a 'text book' sitting in a chair next to you, I work proactively and bring all of my theory work, skills and real-life experience to every session, in order to help you get the most out of counselling.
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
£50.00 per session
Free initial telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Counselling - £50 (adults - 60 minutes)
Counselling - £40 (children/young people/adults - 45 minutes)
Supervision - £65 (90 minutes)
When I work
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Please enquire for evening appointment availability and I'll do my best to accommodate you.
Further information
Please take a look at my website for more information about my counselling service. I have written a number of articles about different mental health subjects which you might find useful too.
I have full insurance, a current enhanced DBS certificate for working with children and vulnerable adults. I am a member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy
I'd love to hear from you to see if I can support you with whatever has brought you to look for a counsellor, but if you don't feel I'm the right fit for you, please keep looking for someone you can connect with - please don't feel you have to struggle alone.