Sarah May Thorpe

About me

Hi my name is Sarah

Counselling is a confidential service. I understand you may need or want to be discreet.

If it may affect your safety contacting me, when calling, texting or emailing me you can let me know if you want a call back.

We can arrange a time to talk that is safe and confidential for you. Or we can arrange sessions over email. Some people will go out in their cars, or have a walk to a quiet spot for telephone sessions.

I offer an eclectic approach when engaging with you in the therapy room. During the pandemic I've attended many creative courses to integrate working creatively, interactively, on and off line.

I have accessed the outdoors with clients during the pandemic and continue to do so in the grounds where i work. Please ask about walk and talk therapy if you're interested and how it works.

Please ask any questions when contacting me, it is important that you have all the information that you need before booking a session.

I welcome working with a range of ages older people, adults, young adults, young people/children.

12 weeks minimum is recommended for most people, this allows the counselling to be most effective in the long term.

If you’ve experienced childhood abuse and/or other traumatic experiences, some clients will prefer to have long term therapy. I enjoy working in depth.

You are in control of your therapy, how much time you need to be in therapy and when you want to stop.

Weekly sessions help the therapeutic process, however, fortnightly sessions may work for some people to help budget the cost and juggle a busy life

Family conflict/relationships - if we can allow ourselves to be open to understanding family dynamics, attachments and roles, will and do often create disagreements and difficulties in relating to one another.

Misunderstandings start to create a divide and relationships start to feel distant.

In therapy we can start to be open to acknowledgement and accepting we are different, unique individuals and can and often hold different beliefs in one family.

Working through family history and our relationship often holds keys to opening doors, you will start to connect the dots and will gain a deeper insight.

Many people start to reconnect with others and create closer relationships. Or in some cases make their own decision to end a relationship.

If you are in a coehersive, controlling relationship and feel it's harmful and unhealthy for you, therapy can help you explore whats happening and clarify what you need. You are responsible for making your own choices, if you choose to stay in a relationship, or leave. I cannot advise you on this, other domestic abuse services can advise and offer practical support.

For many people I work with and what insight research has given us, signs of abuse will include physical health conditions and symptoms.

Emotions such as fear, panic, terror. Feeling trapped. Isolation and loneliness. Feeling bad and guilty. Avoidance of people. Loss of confidence and feeling worthless. These are only a few examples of how harmful relationships affect us.

Couple Relationship problems - I am returning to working face to face with couples for a minimum of 16 weeks. The first 4 sessions are valuable and insightful to understand your needs and your hopes and wishes for you both. This is structured and will benefit meeting your needs in short and long term.

You may be having difficulties getting along with your partner in marriage or relationships or with others in general. Talking to a Counsellor can help you gain a clearer perspective and help you to understand your own and other peoples behaviour, feelings and thoughts.

Loss/Bereavement- Losing someone whether it is through separation or death, whether it was expected or not, can create a tsunami of emotions, like a tidal wave we will feel the emotions rush in and out, from feeling immense pain, sadness, relief, numbing, enraged, so many emotions and thoughts.

Grief can feel numbness, emptiness, nothingness. It is usual for many people to feel detached. You might experience thoughts like `what's the point` or `what's the meaning of life`.

Or Thoughts like....What if, and if only, or what could i have done, did i do enough?

Grief at times is love, how we felt for that person, the depth will be the depth of the grief,

Grief can look like and feel like anger , at what we wanted, or hoped for with the person who died. You might grieve for the loss of that person, relationship and the loss of future hopes and plans.

Your grief is yours alone, a place of safety to begin to express your emotions in the sessions hopefully gives you a voice and explores any beliefs and values that are barriers to grief.

Talking about life, death and dying is an area I have worked on myself for many years and feel open to explore with others, how they feel, what they believe in and what they are experiencing.

Death is part of life, taking time to talk about how we feel about our own life, what is the meaning and purpose of it all, is part of what I can offer you, if that is what you want.

Redundancy/work issues

It is a big fear for many people at this present time. You may benefit from some short term counselling to help you cope and cross the bridge to find out where to go next in your life.

Feeling anxious? Feeling nervous, anxious or on edge can be a barrier to enjoying life.
Let’s explore your anxiety and find the roots causes . What's going on. In my years of experience in listening to clients and various training, anxiety can triggered by buried emotions, deep fears and the inner conflict. I call this, the battle with the self.

Depression/feeling low - the reasons for depression are different for us all, however we experience similar symptoms. Feeling exhausted, lacking in motivation, generally not feeling well and good in ourselves. Exploring the root cause with a counsellor is one way to take a step forward to find insight and understanding.

Feeling lonely is often part of depression, feeling guilty, tearful, stuck and much more.

Whatever you are experiencing, is your experience, my role as a counselor is not to tell you how you feel, or what to do.

My role is to support you to navigate your own personal journey, to explore your personal experiences and to find your own sense of self (autonomy) being you or who you want to be.