Ruth McIlroy MBACP(Snr Accred) Psychotherapist and Supervisor
About me
Because of the current situation I have moved to offering all therapy via 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.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have worked in private practice for nearly 15 years now and I’ve taken great pleasure in seeing my clients find new and creative ways of living their lives.
I was an NHS therapist for 10 years, working extensively with people suffering from low self-esteem/self-confidence, anxiety, work-related issues and the aftermath of trauma. I have been a counselling supervisor for several years. I am an EMDR Europe qualified practitioner.
My approach to both counselling and supervision is person-centered; I have an abiding interest in gestalt (in which I have a Foundation qualification), and in body-awareness therapies, for example Hakomi.
My qualifications and professional affiliations
BSc(Hons)Person-Centred Psychotherapy
Dip Supervision
Registered MBACP(Snr Accred Practitioner and Snr Accred Supervisor)
Ruth McIlroy Reg MBACP(Snr Accred Pract, Snr Accred Sup),MA(Hons),BSc(Hons)Person-Centered Psychotherapy,DipCouns,Adv.Dip CBT Skills,PG Dip Supervision,EMDR Europe qualified practitioner.
As a Senior Accredited Practitioner of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, I am bound by its ethical framework for good practice in counselling and psychotherapy and subject to the Professional Conduct Procedure. I hold full professional indemnity insurance.
Member organisations
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.
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
BACP is one of the UK’s largest professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy. Therapists registered with the Association fall into a number of different membership categories such as Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP and Registered Member MBACP (Accred), each standing for different levels of training and experience. MBACP (Accred) and MBACP (Snr Accred) members have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by the Association.
Registered members can be found on the BACP Register, which was the first register to achieve Accredited Voluntary Register status issued by the Professional Standards Authority. Individual Members will have completed an appropriate counselling and/or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but will not appear on the BACP Register until they've progressed to Registered Member MBACP status.
All members are bound by a Code of Ethics & Practice and a Complaints Procedure. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
Accredited register membership
Accredited Register Scheme
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
In addition to general therapy, I have 15 years experience offering therapy for personal development, self development and support for those in the helping professions, NHS or caring professions, for example NHS staff, teachers, social workers, psychotherapists and counsellors. I offer counselling supervision and have been a clinical supervisor for several years. I worked with health service professionals in workplace counselling and and staff counselling for 10 years. I can offer EMDR as an EMDR Europe qualified practitioner.
As a supervisor, my approach to supervision is collaborative and collegial while gently challenging when appropriate. I'm a supervisor for practitioners who work in the person-centred or humanistic modalities, and in the helping professions.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
Fees are on a sliding scale up to £50 per hour.
Concessions offered for
Availability
Available now Mondays to Wednesdays. Appointments can be scheduled at a frequency to suit your needs and wishes.
Further information
When I offer face-to-face therapy, I work from quiet, private consulting rooms in West Sheffield (2.5 miles from city centre), with free parking and a good bus route close by. This is a welcoming environment, with disabled access.
Working online, I work in a private room, using equipment with firewalls, virus protection and password protection. I use Zoom.
Do contact me at ramcilroy@hotmail.com or on 07880 864 354 for further details.
