About me
Hello, I'm Rachel, a fully qualified BACP accredited counsellor with 25 years experience of offering adults one-to-one counselling & therapy. I work either on an open-ended basis or for an agreed time period. I have significant experience in working with adults either diagnosed with or thinking about ADHD / AuDHD diagnosis.
How I work
I offer a confidential and supportive space where we work together to explore and make sense of what is difficult in your life. You may have been feeling anxious, self-critical, low in your mood, not like 'yourself' or stuck in old patterns of thoughts, feelings, behaviour, relationships or situations which no longer serve you: We usually reach out for help when we have exceeded some sort of tipping point in our capacity to cope.
Counselling sessions work best when they form part of a broader personal commitment to attend to ourselves and we will work at a pace that feels safe and comfortable for you. You may or may not know how long you wish to work for and I will always offer my most realistic thoughts around what we might achieve in a particular time frame. Whether we are working longer term or in a time-limited way, I review sessions regularly to make sure the support remains helpful and relevant. For all clients, I suggest 5 weekly sessions to start with so that I can gain a good, initial grounding in understanding you and your life.
For those wanting to work longer term, an important piece of this work can involve gaining understanding in a deeper, more realistic and hopefully more compassionate way about how we have lived and coped in the world until now. This can be a painful as well as enlightening process, but ultimately can make it possible for us to move forward in a way which better aligns with our present-day adult self.
Where and when I work
In person: Friday daytimes I practice from a quiet and cosy therapy room within Mainyard Studios, Leyton. (across the road from Leyton Midland Road station).
Online: Meetings over Zoom - please ask about current availability
First steps:
Professional, practical & personal fit
Searching for a therapist can be time consuming and I want to make your enquiry process as straightforward as possible.
Professionally I must be able to offer you the skills, experience and knowledge you need, practically we need to be in agreement around scheduling and fees and on a personal level I will need to be someone you feel comfortable with.
Initial email contact
After you have contacted me, I will send you a copy of my Practice Information document which contains full details about the service I offer. Please ask me any questions you need to and if you have not already shared this information I will ask:
- Your reasons for seeking support now
- Any previous experience you have had of accessing mental health support, counselling or therapy - what has or hasn't been helpful?
- What are you looking for from a counsellor and counselling sessions at this time?
If after this initial contact we both agree there is a good possibility that we can work together, I will book you in for a full 50 minute initial session. Please note that I charge my full fee for this meeting.
If I do not feel I am the right person to offer you counselling after the initial session I may offer alternative referral signposting.
Training, qualifications & experience
BA (Hons) Person-Centred Counselling & Certificates in Clinical Supervision and Clinical Assessment following 5 years of training at the Metanoia Institute https://www.metanoia.ac.uk/
Neurodivergent expertise gained over many years of offering mentoring and counselling to university students & adults of all ages exploring the possibility of or diagnosed with ADHD, autism, dyspraxia or dyslexia. I am not qualified to assess for these conditions.
Significant experience in working with clients who experience anxiety, stress, panic attacks, career-crisis, work-related stress, relationship difficulties, family-related issues, life-transition issues, low confidence, depression, PTSD-type symptoms relating to trauma including domestic and sexual violence (recent or historic).
In addition to Private Practice I have worked in a GP surgery and as a counsellor, supervisor, trainer and clinical assessor for community counselling services such as MIND. I have supported university students for 22 years across various London universities and currently still work within a University of London counselling service.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
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
£75.00 per session
Additional information
£75 per 50 minute session
When I work
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