Paula Marshall-Smith
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I run a successful Private Practice close to the town centre of Petersfield in Hampshire. I take NHS referrals and private self-referring clients from the Guildford, Godalming and Haslemere areas, from Petworth, Midhurst and Chichester areas and the Waterlooville, Havant and Portsmouth catchment area.
I am warm and approachable. I can provide you with a trusting, safe and confidential environment, where you will be heard and feel safe enough to identify and share issues that you are currently experiencing. Therapy can move you out of that dense fogi of uncertainty and despair. As human beings, we are hardwired for connection and I firmly believe that when we interconnect with the right people, a reparative process takes place and life changes, we can change for the better. Counselling gives you a space to be heard, understood and accepted for who you really are.
Effective counselling brings a greater level of self-awareness, self-understanding and discovery of new strengths. It promotes increased self-esteem and confidence, leading to a more contented life, with happier relationships. You will be empowered and supported to be independent in making your own choices and decisions. You will have autonomy and choice. I am empathic, genuine and non-judgemental.
Your anxieties can be significantly reduced as you learn to manage and share what is painful.
Your story matters because you matter.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a fully qualified, BA (Hons) & MA, Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist and an Accredited Member of The British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy. I trained with The University of Greenwich and The University of Roehampton, all my training has been accredited by the BACP. I have an ongoing training program which keeps me up to speed with what's happening out there and in here.
I offer a safe, warm, confidential environment where you can share your experience with someone empathic and compassionate. I draw on a whole range of theories which are tailored to your individual needs. I work relationally and collaboratively to help you seek a better way to feel, think and live.
Many of us lock away our hurts, we stockpile until we cannot sleep, eat or focus. We may grow so depressed and anxious that we cannot get out of bed. In my experience as a professional, counselling and psychotherapy can free you, it can liberate you from the isolation and loneliness of living with what can often seem and feel unbearable. If you feel your past is impacting on your present, we can explore and find a way through to a clearer, less stuck, less muddled place and a more contented way of being.
My counselling experience includes working with individuals who present a wide range of issues. These include depression and anxiety, alcoholism and drug addiction, bereavement, childhood abuse and neglect, rape, abortion, stillbirth, miscarriage. I work with menopausal issues & mid-life transitions, relationship issues, sexual problems and low self-esteem. I have a wide knowledge and experience of eating disorders and chaotic, emotional eating patterns, bulimia, anorexia and compulsive overeating.
Alongside my Private Practice, I have worked for Crossways Counselling Service and Petersfield Counselling Service at the Petersfield Hospital and have supported numerous clients through many difficult times. I am in regular supervision to ensure I am fit to practice and working ethically according to the BACP Ethical Framework. I have an enhanced DBS certificate. I am fully covered by professional indemnity insurance.
- MA Degree in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy (The University of Roehampton)
- BA (Hons) Degree in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy (The University of Greenwich)
- FdSc Degree in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy.
- NVQ levels 1,2 & 3 in Counselling Skills
- Open College Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Open College Diploma in Alcohol and Drug Dependancy
- Open College Diploma in Eating Disorders
- Open College Diploma in Depression & Anxiety
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
Menopause & mid-life issues.
Death Phobia
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
The therapeutic relationship plays an important part in the outcome and success of the therapy. If we feel we can work together, I would generally see you weekly over an agreed period. I offer short term and long term sessions and fees are payable at the beginning of each session. I offer a good degree of flexibility in terms of booking appointments.
Fees are £60.00 for a 1 hour session. Cash, Cheques and Bankers Draft accepted.
When I work
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Daytime, Evening and Weekend Appointments from 8am to 9pm. Operating as per normal under the current conditions.
Further information
I am an accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy MBCAP. I work ethically according to the BACP framework and guidelines. I attend regular fortnightly supervision sessions with a supervisor and my work is supervised by a senior (BACP) accredited practitioner. I attend regular training workshops and CPD courses. I have an up to date current advanced DBS certificate. I am fully covered by professional liability insurance.
Private but central location. Parking available.
