Sara Drew MA Cantab, MBACP (Accred), Counselling and Supervision. Fully online.
About me
We are all in this together. It’s so big because it’s happening all at once, everywhere.
It’s normal to feel fear, overwhelm and disconnect. It can be hard to take a breath and get your feet back on the ground and do what needs to be done.
That resource is in you.
Having someone to talk to and share you fears with can be really helpful right now, so you don’t have to burden your loved ones. Ultimately this is asking us all to face the limitations of human life and the fact that we die and in this culture that is almost forbidden. I’m willing to look there with you. Speak to me about low and no-cost sessions for NHS and key workers.
What I offer you.
We use the sessions to explore whatever you want, whether that is issues from the past, difficulties in the present, or concerns about the future. Often all three can be linked. We work at your pace, with your agenda: I see you as your own best expert. Ultimately, it’s a bit like climbing a mountain with a guide: I have various ropes and bits of equipment but you are free to make the journey your own way.
I have worked successfully with a range of clients and issues, including anxiety and depression, loss and bereavement, relationship difficulties, addiction, compulsive behaviour, anger and rage, childhood issues and life transitions. I enjoy working with all adults regardless of age, disability or sexuality–if we can make a connection we can work together.
I also offer sessions in Voice Dialogue. This is a way of connecting with, and speaking from, the many parts that make up the whole of a person. Think of your roles: professional, parenting, partner, capable, responsible, demanding, vulnerable, angry, sad, judging, self-critical, expressive, withdrawing etc. Any of these can be to the fore at different times and by accessing and speaking from these parts, greater insight and freedom of choice can be realised.
There is also the option of outdoor sessions based in lovely private woodlands near Escot in East Devon. These sessions offer an opportunity to slow down and reconnect with the natural world and explore what your encounter with nature can tell you about your life.
My phone number is confidential and dedicated to my counselling service. Please, do call, e-mail or text me and I will get back to you promptly.
Please see my website for my privacy policy. www.ottercounselling.co.uk
Training, qualifications & experience
My core training is integrative and draws on CBT, Psychodynamic and Humanistic models and is centred on the importance of human relationship.
- Professional Diploma Supervision, Dartmoor Counselling Centre (2015)
- Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness Network CIC (2013)
- Post Qualifying Diploma; Counselling Children and Adolescents, Iron Mill Institute, Exeter, (2012)
- Advanced Diploma Integrative Counselling; Iron Mill Institute, Exeter, BACP Accredited (2007)
- Transformational Psychology training: a Psycho-spiritual approach working with aspects of self (sub-personalities) using Voice Dialogue (2005)
Experience
- Eleven years in Private Practice
- Sessional Counsellor, University of Exeter Wellbeing Services
- Agency counsellor for people living with HIV.
- Experience as a counsellor working in NHS doctors surgeries.
- Associate tutor for Voice Dialogue trainings (working with sub-personalities).
- Prison based delivery of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy offender training programme.
- Experience with Rites of Passage ceremonies and Way of Council practice as a method for reconnecting with nature and balancing modern life.
- I set up and ran a school counselling service and counselled at an agency supporting young people aged 12-25, as well as running personal development courses for young people with the Prince’s Trust.
- 8 years experience as a tutor on counselling diploma training courses.
- More than 10 years experience working as a journalist for the BBC
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
Therapies offered
Fees
Sessions last for an hour and are charged at £45.00 payable at the end of the session.
Further information
I work to the BACP ethical framework and all my work is supervised. I undertake regular continuing professional development and maintain a healthy work/life balance. I enjoy being outdoors, campfires and tai chi.