Ruth McIlroy

I am currently working online, using Zoom.

I've been an NHS/private counsellor since 2005, working with people who are coming to counselling for a wide range of reasons, such as low self-esteem/self-confidence; anxiety; work-related issues; and general trauma.

I work in a relational and creative way. Talking things through with a warm, attentive and trustworthy counsellor can be a powerful support in helping you come to terms with difficulties and move forward.

In our first session, we will introduce ourselves, talk about what your hopes and wishes for the therapy are, and you will have the chance to find out what it feels like to talk to me; likewise I will get a sense of what it is that is bringing you to therapy.

You can say whether you prefer time-limited or open-ended therapy, and which approach you'd prefer - for example, more goal-oriented, or more free-format. We can start the therapy in this session. There is no commitment in coming to this initial session - you can decide at any point if you want to continue.

Some of the issues I work with

Anxiety and loss of confidence in yourself: many people become so generally anxious that they find it hard to go to work, or even to socialise or do everyday things they used to enjoy. Most find that exploring the roots of their anxious thoughts in a safe setting helps them to go out in the world again with more confidence.

Losing confidence in yourself can affect every aspect of your life, as you find your self-esteem plummeting into self-criticism. I help people explore the roots of this, ways to change this, so that confidence and self esteem return.

Work stress: This is a common experience, and as an ex-staff counsellor I am skilled in helping people to deal with bullying, redundancy, unreasonable workloads, being unable to switch off, feeling unconfident in their role, having problems or conflict with colleagues, or being unable to say no, among many other issues.

Difficulties with family members: If you're caught up in ongoing troubles at home, with partners or children or other relatives, you may feel overwhelmed by the situation and helpless to make things better. Coming along to counselling to talk through what's going on, in a calm and confidential space, can help you regain your perspective so that you can go back and have more confidence in taking positive actions to help yourself and family.

Trauma: I have worked over the years with people struggling with the after-effects of trauma. Revisiting the bad memories, in a safe and gentle way, where you remain in control al the time, is a very effective way to reduce symptoms. I am qualified in EMDR, which is an NHS-recommended treatment for trauma.