About me
Hi, I'm Paula, thank you for reading my profile.
I aim to create a therapeutic environment where a rapport is established with warmth and compassion, where making sense of the issues and how you feel and think about them is the starting point. Receiving counselling should be a life changing experience, it is something you will continue to use long after you have left the counselling room.
I have worked as a healthcare professional all of my working life. I used the knowledge and experience gained in the NHS, education system and voluntary services such as IAPTS and Solihull Bereavement Counselling Service to give me the life experience I needed to develop and deliver a wholesome service, covering a wider range of issues and areas of personal and professional interest:
Neurodiversity, such as ADHD, Autism, OCD
Women's Issues, such as menopause, miscarriage and PMDD
Loss, of every type, such as death and dying, cancer care and treatment, job loss and relationship breakdown.
Whilst seeking therapy, having a goal for what you wish to achieve and how it will look can help with the whole process and give an idea of possible interventions along the way.
Counselling is an experience with unique qualities, it may be the only time you can have someone listen and understand, you do not have to worry that you will upset them and do not have to hide your feelings away.
Making contact whether by phone or email is the first step, and would allow me to contact you to see how I could help. An introductory phone call gives you the opportunity to talk about what is available to you, help you understand the process and begin to establish the most important part of counselling; the relationship between the client and counsellor. It would also give us the opportunity to see if we could work together.
I offer a confidential service working in a solution-focused way, ensuring that you will be at the heart of the therapy, making your own decisions based upon what you find out about yourself.
I am fully insured and a Registered Member of the BACP (MBACP)
Training, qualifications & experience
Qualified to BA (Honours) Degree in Counselling, I have extensive experience in working with people experiencing bereavement and loss. I have also worked with NHS IAPTs (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) with clients suffering from anxiety and depression. I have worked as a counsellor for 16 years, a supervisor for 9 years, both in organisations and in private practice; fine tuning the humanistic approach that I employ.
I have worked previously in the NHS as a nurse with experience in women's health, pain management, cancer and hospice care.
I also have experience within the education sector; with understanding of the stresses and work load experienced by teaching staff.
I have significant experience in relationship issues, autism, ADHD, grief, loss, bereavement, suicide, miscarriage, termination, self harm, alcoholism, family issues, anxiety, depression, anger, adoption and traumatic injury.
Other areas in which I have trained are:
- Child Bereavement
- Play Therapy
- Gestalt Therapy
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Transactional Analysis
- Motivational Interviewing
- Mindfulness
- Self Harm
- Safeguarding
- Essential Supervision Skills
- Low Self-esteem
- Sexual Abuse Therapy
- Psychodynamic counselling
- Sleep studies
- Attachment theory
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
- Grief and Loss
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder &ADHD
- Female Genital Mutilation
- Stress Management
I am currently training in EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) affectionately known as 'tapping'.
Having personal experience of the benefits of counselling means I have a genuine interest in its effects for your benefit too. I tailor the sessions to suit your needs and goals, for the best outcome for you.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Loss
Pre-bereavement with a terminal illness
I do not counsel couples, for marriage or relationship counselling.
I also offer Supervision on a one-to-one basis.
Therapies offered
Fees
£55.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Available Tuesday to Friday and some evenings, however I am prepared to be flexible around these hours if you can be too, just ask.
When I work
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I have flexibility with my working hours; please just ask. Currently my main days of work are Tuesday and Wednesday.
Further information
I believe the most important part of counselling is the relationship between counsellor and client, which is based on confidence, trust and honesty.
I also offer Supervision sessions.
