Sam Punn
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I'm Sam, an experienced and qualified integrative counsellor.
If aspects of your life currently feel challenging, or you have a sense that issues from your past continue to affect your life today, then I may be able to help you.
Experiences you’ve had may have left with anxiety or feeling alone so now is the time to get some support; to help you find your strengths and rebuild. Even with people who love and care for you, you might believe that sharing your feelings would be too much for them or you worry that they’d judge you or see you differently.
What I can help you with:
I work with a variety of issues but specialise in working with trauma and abuse, loss/bereavement and serious illness and its impacts.
You may have had a difficult start to your life; I am experienced in working with trauma; specifically with survivors of childhood abuse, domestic violence and sexual violence. I understand that how hard it is to face the ways in which these have impacted on you; you may feel 'different' to others, struggle with anxiety, isolation and feelings of shame or be unsure how to feel safe in new relationships.
Our work will help you find strategies to help you cope with some of that distress and then support you in safely processing the trauma that you've experienced.
You may be facing a serious illness and could benefit from space to work through this; understanding how life now looks. You might have a loved one with a life-threatening illness and feel that you need to be strong for them, whilst struggling to cope, yourself. Perhaps someone close to you has died and you are struggling to deal with the impact of this. You may (now or in the past) have caring responsibilities that have meant it’s been hard to focus on who you are and what you need.
I will help you to explore these issues; to move forward into a life that is fulfilling for you, however that might look.
What happens in a first session?
I believe that people are so much more than a label or a diagnosis. I'm interested in hearing about how you’ve experienced the world around you, including important relationships and events that have shaped you.
In an initial free call (of around 15-20 minutes duration) I'll listen carefully and ask gentle and respectful questions in order to find out what is bringing you to counselling and what you hope to get out of it.
We'll also discuss practical details such as your availability for sessions, costs and my cancellation policy so that you can make an informed decision about whether I'm the right therapist for you.
I won't ask you to make any kind of commitment in that call, and will follow it up by email the next day, once we've both had a chance to reflect on our conversation.
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold a Postgraduate (level 7) Diploma in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy and a level 6 Certificate in Trauma Therapy and am committed to ongoing training relating to the key areas I work in.
As an integrative counsellor I draw upon a variety of psychological theories to understand how human beings develop, learn and interact. My focus will be on valuing and accepting you as the unique individual that you are (Humanistic), understanding how you have been shaped by your past experiences and how they affect you and your relationships (Psychodynamic), and exploring the links between your thoughts, feelings and bodily responses to situations (CBT).
I have recently undertaken training in EFT (commonly known as Tapping) and incorporate this into my work to help regulate the nervous system and process trauma.
Member organisations
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.
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
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
When I work
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I work online between 8am - 7pm Monday to Thursday.
On Tuesday evenings I see clients in person in Abergavenny. My room is in a town centre location with plentiful parking nearby.
Further information
I work primarily online via video, either short term for an agreed number of weeks, or longer term.
I also offer in person sessions one evening per week, in Abergavenny.
Online sessions offer many advantages to you as a client including:
- You can choose the right therapist for you, rather than having to pick from those closest to you geographically.
- You can be comfortable in your own surroundings with no need to travel to a counsellor’s premises, and may feel safer and more at ease to talk.
- Physical disabilities or psychological difficulties are no barrier to you getting the support you need.
If you’d like to find out more about how I work then you can book in for a free 15 minute introduction call by emailing me.
