Philippa Balazs
Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hi, I'm Philippa. I’m a neurodivergent counsellor working with adults in Gravesend (Kent) and across the UK online.
I work with a range of issues which I detail further below, but neurodivergence (such as Autism, ASD, ADHD including late-diagnosed) is my specialism. Therapy is not a one-size-fits all, and working with a therapist who is not adequately informed or experienced with neurodivergence - either personally through lived experience or through neuroaffirming training - can been harmful and even traumatic.
My passion is to provide therapy that recognises and embraces individual differences: I am deeply committed to providing a respectful, inclusive and accessible service. I strive to ensure that each person's unique challenges and strengths are understood and validated. I have a holistic approach that empowers you to understand and embrace your identity; build resilience; gain self-awareness/compassion; self-acceptance, and cultivate healthy relationships.
What to expect from counselling with me
The first session is a space for us to explore what specifically has led you to seek counselling with me: maybe it’s one specific thing, or a number of issues that have built up over time. Either way, we will start by forming a picture of your difficulties and how we can approach them, together.
We might look at evidenced-based tools and strategies that can help with immediate day-to-day anxiety, then - when you are ready - peel back layers from your past that are influencing your present. We will make sense of them, with the aim of slowly freeing yourself from the often immobilising pain and fear of your experiences.
I welcome and invite you to find creative ways of expression within - and between - our sessions (such as drawing, journaling, music, song lyrics, stories, films etc).
Training, qualifications & experience
Formal Qualifications:
- Level 4 Diploma Integrative Counselling (CPCAB)
- Level 2 & 3 Certificate Counselling Skills and Theory
- Post Graduate Certificate Applied Positive Psychology (Distinction)
- BSc (Hons) Psychology (First Class)
Recent Continuing Professional Development (CPD):
- Understanding ADHD: Current Research & Practice (King's College London)
- Introduction to Neurodivergent Affirming Practice (Newglade Counselling)
- 2-day Introduction to Cognitive Analytic Therapy (ACAT)
- Trauma and the Body: Dissociation and Somatisation (Carolyn Spring)
- Remote & Hybrid Working - The Impact of Remote Working on the Therapeutic Frame (ACS)
- Safeguarding Adults Level 1 Certificate
- Certificate of Proficiency (BACP)
In addition to experience with neurodivergence, I also have professional experience working with the following:
- Anxiety
- ASD/Autism/ADHD
- Burn out
- Body image
- Depression
- Family issues/conflict
- Low self-confidence/self-worth
- Narcissism
- Perfectionism
- Workplace stress
I also work with South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Trust as a trainee Cognitive Analytic Therapist (CAT) in a primary care clinical setting. (CAT is an evidence-based, time-limited relational therapy that focuses on the roles we unconsciously take on and play out in our lives that continue to cause us pain). In this setting I work with a diverse range of complex client issues.
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
Fees
£60.00 per session
Additional information
Sessions are 50 minutes long and payable 24 hours in advance
When I work
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | |||||||
| Afternoon | |||||||
| Evening | |||||||
| Night |
Further information
I also hold the following and am happy to provide details of:
Enhanced DBS (yearly update registered)
Fully insured
Registered with the ICO
