Samantha McEwan
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
Mental health is just as important as our physical health, with both influencing each other. I am BACP registered trauma informed psychotherapist and coach, underpinned by over 25 years as a mental health nurse with extensive experience, knowledge and skill in supporting people to work through and heal from a wide range of difficulties affecting their health and wellbeing in their personal, relational or working lives such as:
- Social and generalised anxiety, and panic disorder
- Intrusive thoughts, images, memories, and overthinking
- Emotion regulation difficulties
- Depression and low self-esteem
- Attachment and relationship issues
- Loss of personal identity, purpose and confidence
- Impact of chronic physical illness
- Binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Complex PTSD and /or childhood trauma experiences including sexual, psychological or physical abuse or neglect; foster / care experience; parental alcohol / subtance misuse or domestic violence; parental or sibling illness or bereavement
- Workplace bullying, stress, and career issues
Therapy with me
I am a therapist on COSCA and BACP Registers that have been accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, which was set up to improve standards of practice and safety for people engaging in therapy. This is recognition of my commitment to high standards of professional, clinical and ethical practice, to enhancing safety and delivering a better service for clients.
I provide a safe, supportive and confidential space, using the active approach of CBT and a range of related therapies as part of an evidence based, person centred and collaborative approach to help my clients understand themselves better, address and treat the root cause of their difficulties -not just the surface symptoms- supporting them to move forward in their lives with a renewed sense of self, confidence and purpose.
Additional therapies I incorporate where relevant to my clients' needs are:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Compassion Focused Therapy
- Elements of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for emotional regulation
- Mindfulness based CBT (trauma informed)
- Trauma therapy using systemic, somatic and cognitive processing approaches
- Attachment and relational based approaches
It is always a real privilege to be alongside each of my clients on their journey. Previous clients have fed back on how they have benefited from my warm and professional approach, whilst also quickly getting to the root of issues and enabling positive progress and change. (See 'Further Information' section, below, for some of my client feedback).
It can feel daunting to reach out for therapy, especially when you feel 'stuck' or not sure where to start, but once the first step is taken it can feel like a relief.
I offer a free of charge, no obligation, introductory call to discuss your goals for therapy and to answer any questions you may have- it's important you find a therapist that you feel is right for you, and I am happy to put you in touch with other therapists who may be more suitable. Please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have over 25 years of experience working in NHS mental health in clinical nursing, education and practice improvement, coaching and training roles to enhance patient safety and therapeutic care experiences, and now work in private practice. I am also a volunteer therapist with a specialist trauma organisation in England which provides therapy for adults who have experienced childhood sexual abuse and for non offending partners of perpetrators of child abuse. I undertake regular CPD.
Some of my qualifications, training and CPD include:
- Pg Diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MSc Level)
- MSc Mental Health Advanced Practice
- Diploma and BSc Mental Health Nursing
- Additional higher education teaching, and USA accredited healthcare system improvement coaching certifications
- Certificate in Human Relations and Counselling (Psychodynamic approach)
- Certificate in Couples Therapy
- Trauma Informed Recovery and Post-Traumatic Growth Coaching certifications (USA programmes accredited by ICF)
- Supporting the needs children and young people with autism (NAS)
- Coaching certificate -workplace /professional growth (Full Circle)
- Pg Cert CBT for Psychosis
- Rewind Technique (aids appropriate 'filing' of traumatic memories to reduce their repeated intrusion into everyday thinking)
- Additional trauma training (including- trauma focused cbt, imagery re-scripting, re-parenting, emotional and physiological / somatic body awareness and processing for intrusive memories, thoughts and flashbacks, shame and guilt)
- Counselling, ACT, CFT and CBT skills for physical and chronic illness
- Systemic therapy and attachment
I also a member of the Complex Trauma Institute and engage in their monthly peer group reflective supervision for trauma in addiiton to my regular supervision of practice.
Member organisations
COSCA is the professional body for counselling and psychotherapy in Scotland, and seeks to advance all forms of counselling and psychotherapy and the use of counselling skills by promoting best practice and through the delivery of a range of sustainable services. COSCA Counsellor Accreditation is a pathway to entry onto the UKRC. It is a requirement of all individual and organisational members of COSCA to abide by its Statement of Ethics and Code of Practice and be accountable to the Complaints Procedure. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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.
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
£50.00 per session
Additional information
Individual therapy- £50 for one hour session
Couples therapy - £85 for 90 min session (founded on attachment based therapy and Gottman method).
When I work
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | |||||||
| Afternoon | |||||||
| Evening | |||||||
| Night |
I offer couples therapy on Saturday mornings.
Further information
I am a psychotherapist on BACP and COSCA’s registers that are accredited and regulated by the Professional Standards Authority. This is recognition of my commitment to high professional and ethical standards, to enhancing safety and delivering a better service for clients.
I undertake regular supervision with a BABCP accredited supervisor to support and enhance my practice.
I am fully insured (Balens) and have an active PVG in place.
I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office and adhere to their principles for data processing and protection.
Client feedback (on MindDiagnostics.org):
"I'm so thankful I connected with Samantha. She is professional, responsive and sensitive, while also knowledgable and straightforward with me. The way she understands me has been a long-awaited breath of fresh air. She validates my emotions and experiences and works carefully with me to identify patterns and goals. Samantha helps me process things and provides useful, enlightening perspectives for me to work with. She has been tremendously supportive and has really made a difference in my life".
"Samantha makes me feel seen, heard and understood in our sessions and in our communications between sessions. She asks me questions which are so relevant to my situation and encourages me to think about what's really important, especially those things that I might have shied away from thinking about or discussing with other people. She has set a really good pace in our conversations - my thoughts and feelings are quite complex, and I don't feel rushed to make any decisions or come to a conclusion."
"Since I started with Samantha I have felt strongly supported to the extent that the improvement in my mental health has been amazing. I was very anxious when we began and was unable to believe that I would so rapidly see an improvement. I am now able to recognize where my problems began and have been able to resume activities that previously I felt would be impossible, for example driving again. I am able to relax and to enjoy social situations that previously I had avoided. All in all this has been, and continues to be, an extremely positive experience".
