About me
I am a qualified Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) Therapist and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Practitioner, with 10 years experience working for the NHS. I have developed my private practice over the last 7 years.
I believe that building a safe and secure therapeutic relationship is essential and I offer a place where you can be yourself and not feel judged. Life can feel overwhelming at times, it can feel difficult to find a way out of feeling stuck and lost and I recognise it is hard to do this on your own. I can support you to find a way out of the confusion, offering a sense of hope that you can overcome your distress and believe that things can change for the better.
I offer 1:1 support to people who are experiencing difficulties in their relationships and I have a wealth of experience supporting clients who find themselves in toxic family dynamics. I am also passionate about working with clients who experience anxiety and/or low mood and have poor self esteem and confidence. I have experience of working with clients who have ADHD.
I offer face to face and online sessions. I also offer 'walk and talk' sessions in outdoors in nature. These sessions are especially helpful for clients who may find therapy overwhelming and a little intense. Here is some feedback from one of my clients:
"I have been seeing Rachel for several months. At first I was a bit sceptical about therapy. However, Rachel offers walk and talk sessions and they felt very easy and natural. I would recommend these sessions to anyone who struggles with more traditional settings for their therapy sessions. Rachel is easy to talk to and made me a lot more confident in myself and the therapy process"
A brief explanation of the modalities I am trained in:
Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) is a therapy that helps you to think about how you interact with others and crucially how you relate to yourself. We learn how to relate to others and how to relate to ourselves by how we have been responded to in childhood. For example if others were harsh and critical, it is understandable for us to think that everyone will be this way and it is also understandable that we may attract others into our life who are like this, as it feels familiar to us. We may also learn to be harsh and critical with ourselves, as that is what we have been taught. In a compassionate way CAT helps you to uncover patterns of relating to yourself and others that may be causing your difficulties. Being able to do this enables you to go from feeling stuck and confused, to understanding why you feel a certain way and then being able to do things differently, with support, so you can feel more free and in control of your life.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is especially helpful for people who can struggle to regulate their emotions, leading to feelings of being trapped and overwhelmed. DBT provides really useful strategies to help people feel more in control. A core part of DBT is mindfulness. DBT skills help you to stop and pause when feeling overwhelmed with emotion. The skills help you to think more clearly and respond to others in a more helpful way. The feedback from people who learn DBT skills is that it helps them to feel more in control.
If you would like to know more, I offer a free 15 minute consultation session over the phone or via zoom.
Please note: As well as weekday appointments, I also have availability on Saturday mornings for those clients who can't access therapy during the week due to work commitments.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Cognitive Analytic Therapy Practitioner Diploma-Sheffield Hallam University-March 2014.
- Foundational Training Course in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy-British Isles DBT training, March 2016
- Dyadic Developmental Practice-level 1-Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Institute, January 2020.
Member organisations
The Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy (ACAT) is a registered charity. They welcome members of the public, health professionals, ACAT accredited professionals, and anyone interested in finding out more about CAT. They list CAT practitioners.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
£75.00 per session
When I work
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Further information
I am located in the North West. I can offer face to face sessions in Rawtenstall and Burnley, Lancashire.
I also offer a Walk and Talk sessions for clients who can find face to face sessions in a therapy room too intense.
