Sarah Connelly

I am an integrative counsellor and registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), with a special interest in working with older children, young people and adults living with or alongside;

• Autism (ASD) and or ADHD/ADD
• anxiety and low self-esteem
• bereavement, grief and loss
• addiction or problem drinking

I also have a passion for working with older children transitioning to secondary school or young people to College or University and women who have experienced traumatic births.

In addition to one to one and group counselling sessions, I also offer parent coaching sessions. During our sessions together I will help you to understand your child's challenging behaviours, look at more effective ways of responding and the tools to give your child to help them better understand and manage their emotions.

Autism & ADHD Services

I run a screening service for Autism and ADHD.  Please note that this does not replace the full diagnostic assessment but the screening can help you to understand if you or your child presents with sufficient traits and behaviours for a full ASD/ADHD diagnosis. The cost of the screening is £300 and includes a full written report.

I also run a weekly Autism & ADHD Information and Advisory Clinic. These stand alone appointments offer an opportunity to find out more about ASD and ADHD and a chance to learn some strategies to help you overcome the daily challenges. These sessions can help you if you are undecided as to whether it is ASD/ADHD or something else.

Please enquire for further information.

My experience:

I have run my own private practice for the past 4 years. Before this I worked as a counsellor for Cruse Bereavement Care, One Recovery Bucks (drug and alcohol recovery service) and Time to Talk, a youth counselling service for children and adolescents over the age of 10 years. I also volunteered for over 6 years as a telephone support worker with Bliss, the charity for premature and sick babies.

How can I help you?

The focus of my work with any client (older children, young people and adults alike) is to create a secure relationship that is based on trust, respect, feeling heard and being valued.

I work with you to find the best way of helping you to connect to your emotions and feelings. This might be through talking or you might prefer to use more creative tools when the words simply cannot be found, such as painting and drawing, music and play.

My private practice is called The Resilience Tree Counselling Service Herts & Bucks. Resilience is a quality that helps to drive our emotional and physical wellbeing.

Learning how to become more resilient is critical, in childhood especially and underpins a lot of the work I carry out with children and young people with Autism. Building resilience and self-esteem, is also key to my work with those clients who have experienced the death of a loved one or a different kind of personal loss (such as a relationship breakdown or redundancy) and those struggling to overcome an addiction or eating disorder.

Where am I based?

My private practice is based in Tring and I also offer zoom, telephone and email or text appointments.

What can you expect?

I understand how difficult it can be to make that first step which is why I offer an initial, free 15-minute telephone conversation so that you can tell me a bit about yourself (or your child) and why you are seeking support so that we can decide whether we will be well suited to work together. We can then arrange a face to face session to meet in person.

If you are a parent seeking support for a child 16 years or younger or those with severe anxiety or a disability that impacts upon communication, I will request to meet you alone for an initial assessment session so that I can understand your concerns, the difficulties you believe your child is experiencing and how you feel they need support.  Please contact me for more information.

• Premature/preterm births.
• Transitioning to secondary school, college or university

• Adult One to One Counselling - £65 for a 50 minute session. The initial assessment session is 1 hour and a fee of £75.
• Older Children and Young People One to One Counselling - £65 for a 50 minute session

When working with children up to the age of 16 years I request an initial assessment meeting with the parent/carer only. This is a 1 hour session charged at £75

ASD/ADHD/Parent Coaching - £75 for 60 minutes

Please enquire for group therapy rates.

Group Therapy

'A place to grieve' is a closed therapeutic support group facilitated by two qualified bereavement counsellors .

We provide a safe, nurturing, non judgemental space to explore your grief, to understand more about the grieving process and to share your experiences with other people who have also lost a loved one

For more information please send an email to theresiliencetreecounselling@gmail.com or contact me on 07815 076369.

Other Groups

Postnatal depression, parents/carers with a child on the Autistic Spectrum, premature birth. Please contact me for further information.

ASD Girls Social Skills Group

I run a monthly social group in Tring for girls with ASD between the ages of 7 and 11 years. The group provides the girls with an opportunity to learn new skills and socialise with other children in a safe and non-judgemental setting. Please contact me for further information.