Sarah Woodward
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
How can Therapy help you?
There are numerous motivations for seeking the support of a therapist; a specific current issue or crisis, enduring emotional or relational difficulties, loss, or bereavement. The desire for personal insight, growth, self-development and many more.
During times of uncertainty, it can be helpful to have a safe, calm and non-judgemental space to talk, process and work through difficulties. Gaining insight and understanding of the here and now through the lens of the past often enables the discovery and development of new ways of being, thinking and relating that are less compromised by past experiences. I can help to nurture and facilitate this process at a pace that suits your wants and needs.
I have benefited from therapy at challenging times in my life which I feel has enabled me to empathise and gain a deeper understanding of what taking the first steps towards therapy can be like.
My approach
My approach is inclusive, considering an individual’s subjective perspective and circumstance from a social, cultural, and psychological perspective. Offering insights that are in the best interests of your therapeutic development, I aim to facilitate the promotion of agency, autonomy and ownership.
I’m trauma-informed working with aspects of humanism, existentialism and contemporary psychodynamic theoretical approaches.
Our work together
I fundamentally believe that effective therapeutic practice is underpinned by the relationship between the therapist and client, so developing a strong, robust alliance, and offering an inclusive and supportive environment for you to navigate the therapeutic process is essential to the way we work.
My diverse life and work experience give me the ability to be resilient, resourceful and highly adaptable in providing support to a wide range of clients. I will walk alongside you, as a kind witness, offering a non-judgemental space, meeting you where you are.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have significant experience in the field of addiction and hold specialist expertise in this area; attending to the addiction issue or addictive process while also working on addressing the underlying traumas which have led to the addictive cycle. I also work with family members in order to help them navigate their own way through the impact of the addiction on their lives.
Additionally, I have extensive training and experience working with complex bereavement, grief, loss and endings. My approach to working with bereavement has been influenced by the notion that we of 'grow around our grief’, moving away from more linear models and focussing on an individual’s felt and lived experience of their loss.
Engagements include:
- St Joseph’s Hospice Bereavement Service
- Body Dysmorphia Foundation
- Childline UK
- Martlets Hospice Bereavement Service
- Brent Bereavement Service
- Forward Trust: Community Substance Misuse & Family Services
- Action on Addiction
- HMP Holloway
I attend regular supervision and keep up to date with new developments and research within the field of mental health and well-being which informs the continuing development of my practice.
I am a Member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, adhering to their Ethical Framework for Good Practice. I hold Professional Liability Insurance and an Enhanced DBS.
Member organisations
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
Free initial telephone or online session
Additional information
I offer a free 15-minute telephone or zoom consultation where we can discuss any questions you may have about the process, and how we might move forward and work together.
You can contact me either by phone, email or text at your convenience and we can schedule an introductory call at a time that suits you.
My face-to-face appointments slots are currently at capacity; however, I will have additional availability at my practice in Hove, East Sussex from the beginning of March 2024.
I currently have available appointment slots online
I have a limited number of concessionary slots available
