About me
I fully understand the feelings of anxiety and worry that may arise when thinking about starting therapy. It is really important to me to provide a feeling of safety for my clients. I aim to create a warm and friendly environment in our sessions.
How Can I Help you?
I imagine by now you may have scrolled through many counselling profiles and are possibly feeling more confused than when you started? Thank you for stopping to look at mine, and welcome.
I hope I can help you feel a bit clearer about your next steps and how to turn for support.
You may be surprised how suddenly anxiety, burn out and depression can creep up on you. It can leave us feeling stuck. You may be feeling the need to get the reoccurring negative thoughts and feelings out of your head and body. That is where counselling can be really helpful for you to explore where these feelings have come from and learn the tools to help you overcome the negative emotions.
Alongside working with adults, I also have many years of experience supporting young people, children, and families through a range of emotional and behavioural life challenges. This includes supporting individuals affected by neurodivergent conditions ( ADHD and autism), young carers, school refusal, eating disorders, family difficulties and experiences involving the family court system. I also work with clients navigating peri- menopause and menopause, separation and divorce, starting again, identity changes, and feelings of losing a sense of self.
I understand these experiences can feel overwhelming, isolating, and emotionally exhausting for both the you and your loved ones. It can feel really daunting talking about such painful subjects, and I believe I can support you. If anything I have mentioned resonates with you, and sounds like something you would like support with, my approach is compassionate, non-judgemental and tailored to each person's unique needs. I meet you wherever you are, helping you to feel heard, understood, and supported.
If are feeling overwhelmed, stuck, anxious, low or unsure about how to move forward. I understand it takes courage to reach out when you are struggling and feeling alone. You may be struggling with difficult and painful emotions that feel hard to carry. It can leave you feeling really out of control and you may be seeking more balance and clarity in your life.
Please be assured these feelings are common; 1 in 4 of us will experience mental health difficulties each year. The good news is you don't have to struggle alone. Counselling, with the right therapist, can alleviate suffering significantly. It can reignite lost hope and gain clarity back to your life.
Starting Counselling
Starting counselling can feel like a significant step, and it's natural to have questions or feel unsure about the process. I offer a free phone consultation to discuss your needs, answer any questions you may have, and see whether you feel we are a good fit to work together.
Working Together
In our work together, you are free to talk about whatever feels important to you. No subject is too big, too heavy or too small. Therapy is a unique space where you feel heard, understood and supported, in a non-judemental environment. Together we can explore what's going on for you, at a pace that feels comfortable and respectful of your individual needs.
Getting In Touch
If you are thinking about reaching out and would like to know more about how I work , I warmly welcome hearing from you. Please send me a message and we can arrange a time to have a call, I can introduce myself which will help you get a better feel if you would like to work with me. I am very happy to answer your questions and to help you feel more at ease about taking that first step.
I often suggest you speak to a few different therapist and to go with your gut feeling of who you feel most at ease with.
Sessions
If you decide you would like to go ahead and work with me , we can then arrange a mutually agreed time for your first session.
I offer face to face sessions in Poole, on Tuesday and West Moors, on Wednesdays. I work with adults of all ages. All sessions are 50 minutes in duration.
Depending on your needs, we may do short term work (8-10) weekly sessions, or longer open ended weekly sessions.
Short term sessions work for clients who want to work on a specific issue or goal. This approach can be more practical and solution focused, helping you explore stratergies, build coping tools and make changes in a supportive space.
Long term work may be more useful to you, so we may work in an open ended way, where there isn't a concrete end date. We work for as long as you need, giving you the time and space to work through any complex emotions and life patterns.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a fully qualified Integrative Counsellor and Therapist, which means I draw on a range of therapeutic approaches to support each person's individual needs. While I use different techniques, I place importance on the therapeutic relationship, creating a safe and supportive space where clients feel heard and understood, which enables clients to explore what is going on for them, at their own pace.
I often incorporate psychoeducation in a gentle and accessible way to help my clients to understand how the brain and body respond to stress and difficult experiences. It can be empowering to learn why we experience emotions such as anxiety and to understand what is happening to us when we react in fight, flight, freeze or fawn response. We can explore how to help ourselves move through these unconscious responses that we often get stuck in.
I also incorporate grounding techniques and body awareness exercises to help clients reconnect with themselves and develop greater emotional awareness and regulation.
Alongside my core counselling training, I have completed many additional continued professional development workshops and courses, including:
- Professional Certificate in Complex Trauma,
- Transactional Analysis 101 Course, Iron Mill,
- NIACABM's Advanced Master Program on Treatment of Trauma,
- NIACABM's Working with the Pain of Abandonment,
- Understanding the Effects of Childhood Trauma through the Child's Voice,
- Nature Based Therapy Workshop, (How to Integrate Nature Therapy into your Counselling practice) with Emma Prichard,
- Contemplative Practice through Clay Workshop,
I am a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and I abide by their code of ethics.
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
£50.00 per session
When I work
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Further information
Before working in private practice in counselling, I gained many years experience working in early years and play work settings, supporting children and young adults with a wide range of physical disabilities, additional needs and neurodiversity. This experience helped me develop strong skills in empathy and patience, adapting my communication to meet each person's individual needs.
Working closely with young people who expressed themselves in many different ways helped me become highly attuned to non-verbal communication, emotional cues and the importance of creating a safe and inclusive environment.
These skills continue to shape my work as a counsellor, I aim to offer a warm, understanding space where people feel accepted, listened to and seen.
I believe each person's story is unique and deserves respect. Together we can explore your experiences at pace that feels safe for you.
