Rachael Guest
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About me
I support adults who have been forced to stop, slow down or reconsider life due to overwhelm, stress, ill health or grief.
You don't have to keep pretending you're ok with me. I’m here to welcome all of you, with warmth, kindness and acceptance.
At the heart of how I work is my belief that you know you best, even if this currently feels out of reach and has been for some time. You may arrive knowing exactly what you want to talk about, or you might have no idea where to begin… both are ok.
Together we will gently untangle thoughts, feelings and experiences to make sense of what's happening for you. Through greater understanding and self-compassion, we can ease inner conflict, bring clarity and open up new possibilities for moving forward.
Training, qualifications & experience
Lived experience:
Whilst everyone’s journey is unique, I bring my own lived experience of bereavement and of living with chronic health conditions. I understand the emotional and physical challenges of navigating chronic pain, chronic fatigue and disability, and how ill health can impact every aspect of life, including identity, relationships, independence and our sense of who we are.
Client experience:
My counselling experience includes working with people at different stages of life- from teenagers to adults in their 80’s.
I currently volunteer at my local hospice, where I provide bereavement counselling for family members grieving the loss of a partner, parent, grandparent or sibling. I also support family members who are caring for a terminally ill loved one, either at home or at the hospice.
Whilst training I provided counselling to adults at the the mental health charity Mind. I supported people experiencing a wide range of difficulties, including anxiety, depression, job loss, low self-esteem and receiving a late diagnosis of autism or ADHD.
I’ve also worked with a local health health charity providing counselling to teenagers.
Qualifications:
CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (Integrative Approach) Training, completed at The Bedfordshire Centre for Therapeutic Studies. My training centred on person-centred/humanistic, psychodynamic and existential theories.
As an integrative counsellor, I draw on different therapeutic approaches to support your individual needs. But beyond the theories and techniques, I'm simply a fellow imperfect human, ready to meet you and accept you as you are.
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
Finding a counsellor can be a daunting prospect so I offer a free 20 minute telephone consultation for you to get a feel for me and my approach. I appreciate how difficult it can be to open up and lower the mask of "I'm fine" so we go at your pace, every step of the way.
Individual sessions: £60 (50 minute video or telephone session)
Payment is by bank transfer and must be received at least 24 hours before your session. If payment hasn't been received at least 24 hours before your session, the session will not go ahead.
I offer a limited number of concessionary-rate spaces for those on low incomes and student counsellors. Please get in touch to enquire about availability and fees.
