About me
Do you spend most of your time feeling anxious, misunderstood or alone?
I’m Sam Parker, a BACP registered counsellor. I offer UK-wide online sessions and face-to-face sessions from my office in Didsbury, Manchester. I specialise in person-centred counselling for adults and young people.
I became a counsellor because I genuinely care about people knowing they’re not alone.
I support clients facing a wide range of issues, including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Neurodivergence, and related issues
- Bereavement and grief
- Chronic and physical health challenges
- Life-limiting illness
- Eating distress and eating disorders
- Issues relating to faith or religion
- Suicidal ideation
- Self-harm
- Behavioural and substance based addictions
I offer a counselling approach that is non-judgmental, stigma-free, and centred around you. My priority is to create a warm, compassionate, and safe space where you can explore whatever is on your mind. You set the pace, and together we’ll explore what matters most to you.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have over nine years of professional experience working with wellbeing, mental health and addiction. My roles have varied - I have been a Youth Mentor and Family Support Worker, and even an Operations Manager for a national addiction charity. Primarily though I have worked with individuals, and have been responsible for managing and training staff who do the same. During this time I have worked with individuals aged from 11 to 75+ on all of the issues listed above and more. This has included working in Alternative Provision and Education, an NHS Bereavement Service and with multiple local and national charities.
Before this career, I studied Theatre at University to a Masters level. I love being creative, and creativity remains a big part of how I think and connect. I know how to be sincere, but I also like to share in my client's humour, connecting this way helps me to understand more about who you are. I will always honour the depth of what you bring and I like to build a relationship with clients where you feel comfortable to do so.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Religious trauma - especially in relation to Christianity.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 per session
Additional information
I do offer discounts for block bookings, which I can discuss upon enquiry. I always ensure that I have had at least one session with a client before a block booking is made.
When I work
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Further information
Our experiences are different, as are the way we process them but I do have my own lived experience of mental ill health and of late-diagnosis neurodivergence. This does play a part in my work with clients, never as a forefront, but it does help my clients to know that I have a deeper understanding of them and what they're facing.
Due to these experiences I may sometimes use CBT tools or mindfulness in sessions, these have been helpful for me in the past and some clients find them to be helpful in our sessions. I would only ever use these if I feel that it is an appropriate moment and with your permission.
