Sam De Gruchy
Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I'm Sam De Gruchy, an Integrative Counsellor based in Brighton offering therapy both in-person and online.
My practice is rooted in knowledge and trust of the healing process innate in every person, with a compassionate understanding of just how difficult things can get along the way. Negative and difficult experiences are as much a part of life as joy and inner peace - I believe the former are all ultimately pathways to the latter, inviting compassion towards ourselves and others. It can feel at times as though we are isolated or misunderstood, in dread or despair, overwhelmed or stuck. Therapy provides both the opportunity to come up for air as well as to dive deeper into ourselves: to heal or transform what no longer serves us and to nurture and empower ourselves from a place of depth and understanding.
Integrative and relational - Way of Working
Integrative therapy is the coming together of multiple therapeutic approaches adapted and combined in a way that best serves you as a unique human being. I am trained academically and therapeutically in Psychodynamic, Existential, CBT, Transactional Analysis and Gestalt approaches among others, but always working from a Person-Centred base in my practice. This means trusting your own inner healer holds the wisdom to process and approach whatever difficulties are arising for you, as well as facilitating empathetic and honest inquiry into where they may have arisen from in your past. Sessions lean into immediacy, working intuitively with what emerges in the present moment, whilst at the same time honouring your goals and cultivating clarity, self-awareness and self-compassion over time. I work relationally, which places value on the interaction between the two of us - humanness, humour, empathy and healthy challenge are all welcome with an open heart and mind as part of the therapeutic process. I am here to listen attentively and compassionately, always with your best interests in mind.
I believe we have a responsibility to ourselves and to each other to see and support our subjective lived experiences and I strive to create a space in my practice which embodies this. Therapy is serious work for sure, but a healthy does of humour can also go a long way too and is very much welcomed.
Overall
My practice combines academic training in psychology with therapeutic training to work collaboratively with you on your unique healing process. If you are interested in working together I very much look forward to us connecting.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Advanced Diploma in Counselling - Heartwood Counselling and Psychotherapy (accredited by National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society)
- MSc Psychological Studies (with Merit) -University of Glasgow (accredited by British Psychological Society)
- Foundation Certificate in Psychotherapy & Counselling - Regent's University
- BA History (with Hons) - University of Exeter
- Registered member of the BACP - British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Affiliate member of IPT - Institute of Psychedelic Therapy
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 per session
Free initial online session
Additional information
Payment is via Bank transfer. I accept Insurance
When I work
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | |||||||
| Afternoon | |||||||
| Evening | |||||||
| Night |
Further information
Please get in touch to arrange an initial free 20-minute video chat. This is a commitment-free opportunity for us to connect and discuss working together.
In-person sessions are held in the beautiful Practice Rooms at 57 Ship St, Brighton, BN1 1AF.
Sessions are 50 mins in duration and typically weekly. Longer sessions are also an option subject to availability. This is something that can be revisited any time.
