Paul Senior

Hello, my name is Paul, I am a Counsellor registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), working within a Person Centred / Assimilative Integrative model of therapy. Having studied at New College Durham and awarded a BA (Hons) in Counselling, I possess a wealth of personal lifetime and counselling experience.

My aim is to offer a warm, safe, confidential and nurturing environment, in which a respectful therapeutic relationship can be established: this will allow you to explore your current life issues and difficulties in a way that feels comfortable for you.

I consider each individual to be unique, to possess value and to be deserving of respect in   choosing their own direction in life and the values which define them.

It is my belief that you are the sole expert in your internal world and the only person who accurately understands how you feel, the only one who can decide who and how you should be, what the true meaning of your life is and how it should be lived.

I also believe that the therapeutic relationship between us will be the most important aspect of counselling. This therapeutic relationship can provide you with a space to feel truly accepted, heard and understood in a non-judgemental empathic environment, you will experience me as a real and genuine person within this relationship. I will be open and transparent with my feelings and emotions as I experience them in the moment, rather than assuming the role of an expert dispensing prescriptive solutions to your problems.

I am not the expert in your life, I believe that the answers are within yourself and my role in therapy is to be alongside you, to support you, to understand, to explore, to challenge where appropriate and also to clarify. I am accustomed to long spells of silence, tears and strong emotions being expressed.

Issues I work with

Issues I work with include; bereavement, anticipatory grief, depression, anxiety, stress, low self esteem, self harm, suicidal ideation, work related stress, relationships, domestic abuse, drug & alcohol misuse, loneliness, isolation, life transitions, retirement issues, childhood sexual abuse, childhood emotional abuse, childhood physical abuse, eating disorders, war / veteran related mental health issues, including PTSD and family / re-integration issues.

How we could work together;

Trained in the Person Centred model of counselling, I embrace this 'way of being' as both 'essential and fundamental to my practice.

Furthermore, I have a firm belief in the positive nature of all human beings. This positive nature will always strive to make the most of our lives, no matter what difficulties or issues we find ourselves faced with.

Military Conditioning/Post service Adjustment

Anticipatory Grief/Bereavement

Anger Management

Your first appointment, which is an assessment / consultation, will last approximately 30 - 40 minutes and is charged at £30. This will enable us to establish your presenting issues and the appropriateness of our working together.

All subsequent appointments are charged at £60 per therapeutic hour (50 mins), which is payable by cash, cheque or bank transfer prior to the beginning of each appointment.

Students, the un-waged and those on benefits are charged at £50 per therapeutic hour.

Counselling will be carried out from a comfortable,dedicated treatment room within my home, in a quiet residential setting with ample on site parking facilities.