About me
I have worked as a therapist and coach since 1994. After getting an MA in Counselling, I qualified as a Master Practitioner of NLP, and have gained my BACP Senior Accredited Status as a Counsellor and Psychotherapist. I have many years experience at working online, and by phone - I do think there is an advantage when choosing online therapy in engaging a therapist in your own area if you can. So I have a wealth of training and experience, and walk my talk. The list of things I can help with is too long to put here, but to give you some idea I have helped recent clients with:
- isolation and quarantine, and coping with a dangerous environment
- relationship issues, including family, workplace and intimate
- depression
- anger, frustration and annoyance
- panic attacks, fearfulness and feelings of inadequacy
- the loss of someone close
- disappointments and meaninglessness in life
- neurodiversity
- stress, anxiety and relaxation training
- self-hatred
- trauma
- physical illnesses which are made much worse by chronic stress (migraine, gastrointestinal disorders)
- preparation for interviews and presentations.
I have lots of experience as a client, too, which certainly has helped me appreciate the difficulties of finding a therapist, making that first appointment, and what its like in the other chair!
There are times when we all feel worried, anxious, inadequate, stressed, fearful or depressed, no matter what our position is in life, or our age and experience.
Often we believe we know why we feel as we do, but even that makes little difference to how we feel, how we cope. Come and talk with me, and we can discuss how we might work, in your individual circumstances.
New clients are usually advised to commit to six weekly sessions, because it is my experience you will feel very much better in that time. I am well used to working within a six session “budget” (which will cost between £210 and £420 for the six). Once you have talked things over with me at your first appointment, if you then decide that what I offer is just not for you, there will be no charge at all, and any payment that you have made will be refunded.
I respond to enquiries asap! - in the unlikely event you haven't heard from me in, say 24 hours, there will have been some tech malfunction, and do please text me again, or let me know in some way so I can put it right.
The work I do is based on a deep respect for others, a deep willingness to experience and understand what you are feeling as a valid reaction to what is going on in your life, and the willingness to work hard with you in an open, real and honest way. This approach, known as person-centred or client centred,matches my own personal values.
More About my services (these are links to my website, which will open in a new tab):
David (more about me)
Counselling (more about counselling)
Psychotherapy (more about psychotherapy)
Life-skills coaching (more about coaching)
Counselling and Coaching for Men (more about working with men)
Relaxation Training (more about relaxation)
Mindfulness Training (more about mindfulness)
Training, qualifications & experience
Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling (Liverpool JMU)
INLPTA Diploma and Practitioner Certificate in NLP (Excellence for All)
Master of Arts in Counselling (Liverpool JMU)
INLPTA Master Practitioner of NLP (Excellence for All)
Postgraduate Diploma in the Psychology of Human Potential (Liverpool JMU)
Bachelor of Science (CNAA: a precursor to Liverpool JMU)
Certificate of Course Attendance in Group Process Facilitation and Theory (PCCS Manchester)
Certificate in the Understanding of Relationships (St Brendan's College, Bristol)
Certificate in Spiritual Approaches to Supervision
Accredited by BUPA(link) and several other therapy providers
BACP Senior Accredited Counsellor and psychotherapist
Since 1994 I have worked as a general counsellor in private practice, a student counsellor (Liverpool University and Liverpool JMU) and a workplace counsellor (in a number of settings, including telephone and online video). I have done work for Victim Support. I have done specialised work, counselling and mediation, within an adoption charity. I have a great deal of experience of telephone counselling, and of working online - I actually started by working in this way as a volunteer in the 80s!
I have had over 400 hours experience as a client, and even now attend regular group awareness sessions - both of which are invaluable to me in my work with clients.
Member organisations
school 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.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Personal Development
Spiritual Development
Mindfulness and Meditation
Fees
£35.00 - £70.00
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
I charge between £35 and £70 per session, depending on your ability to pay, and whether you are able to be flexible about appointment times. Once you have talked things over with me at your first appointment, if you then decide that what I offer is just not for you, there will be no charge at all, and any payment that you have made will be refunded. For further information see https://davidandsue.net/first-appointment/ .
When I work
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I no longer work regularly in the evening or at weekends. My first appointment is usually at 9.30am, and my last starts at 4.30pm. Appointments are around an hour long.
