Ruth Allen
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
We can all find ourselves at a point in our lives where things feel difficult. Sometimes our problems can grow so that we cannot see a way past them. I can offer you a safe space, free of judgment, to explore the things you are finding hard. Together, we can work to identify things you may want to change, or I can support you to work towards acceptance of things you may not be able to change.
I am a fully qualified, integrative counsellor, which means that I draw upon different approaches to counselling to be adaptable in the way that I work with you. I think at its heart, counselling is about two people having a conversation, in which one person is trying to understand the other. If you choose to work with me, I will listen carefully and try to understand the things you are finding difficult in your life. In the process of helping me to understand, it may be that you come to understand some things differently yourself or identify things you would like to think and talk about more.
By supporting you in this way to explore your challenges and difficulties I can help you work towards a deeper understanding, a feeling of self-acceptance and a sense of empowerment in your life.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
- CPCAB Level 5 Certificate in Counselling Young People
- CPCAB Level 4 Diploma Therapeutic Counselling
- CPCAB Level 3 Certificate Counselling Skills
- AIM Awards Level 2 Certificate Counselling Skills
I work in a person-centred way - this means that I will look to be led by you and the things that you want to focus on in our sessions together. Everyone is different, with their own unique circumstances and experiences and I use different approaches to help you explore your thoughts and feelings in ways that work best for you.
I use elements of psychodynamic therapy to think about awareness and the subconscious. Exploring things that may be just under the surface of our awareness can help us to understand how our emotions and deep-rooted experiences may be impacting us in our lives. This can help us to make sense of things on a deeper level.
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
Further information
Initially we can have a free, confidential, 20 minute phone conversation where you can tell me a bit about what you are looking for help with, and I can tell you about me as a counsellor to establish whether working with me will be the right thing for you.
If you decide you would like to work with me, in our first session we can talk about the things you are finding it hard to deal with, what you hope to gain from counselling and look to find a way of working together where you feel supported as you work to understand things. I will go through a few questions to find out a little more about you and how your life is at the moment.
If we decide to work together thereafter I will offer you a regular appointment, at the same time each week. I can offer face-to-face sessions, or we can have our sessions online via Zoom. My fee is £50 and the session lasts for 50 minutes. This booking is reserved for you for the duration of your counselling with me. I can work with you on a short or long-term basis, depending on what you feel is best for you
