Teresa Dowson
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Life can feel overwhelming. This is true for everyone. We are all unique and sometimes it feels difficult to ‘fit in’ with the world around us.
Being heard, feeling valued and accepted is a powerful agent for positive change.
Who am I?
My name is Teresa, and I am a person - centred counsellor based on the South Coast, near Portsmouth. I have experience of supporting individuals who are (or think they might be) neurodivergent (Autistic Spectrum, etc). I work with individuals from aged 18+. I work in person in Fareham, Hampshire or remotely using Google Meet or telephone for individuals in the UK.
Why choose counselling?
For a lot of people, overwhelm can show up as feeling anxious, stressed or suffering from low mood. It can be from things that are happening right now; or due to experiences that have followed us since childhood.
Some of us might feel as if we wear a mask just to get through each day. This can be exhausting.
How Counselling Can help
By talking to someone unconnected with our day-to-day lives, we can start to identify the things that have been leaving us feeling overwhelmed. We can start to understand our reactions to different experiences. We can start responding in a way that feels right for us, as individuals.
My experience has shown that as our self–awareness grows; so too does our self – esteem.
What to expect from our work together
As your counsellor: I am a guest in your world, remaining with you as you explore your thoughts, feelings, and your unique experience of life.
This might take the form of short-term counselling, to explore a current concern; or longer-term psychotherapy aiming to unravel past hurts that are impacting your life right now.
Whilst I can work with individuals who have been given a diagnosis of a mental health disorder or are neurodivergent; I focus on you as an individual rather than working with a diagnosis. I listen to the unique experiences, thoughts and feelings that each individual wishes to share with me, and I am grounded in a concept of ‘difference’ rather than ‘disorder’.
No one is more of an expert on you and your life than you are, so I do not offer solutions or treatment plans in my therapy. You set the goals in therapy and I will support you as you find solutions that will work for you.
I will stay alongside you as you explore whatever comes up for you during our therapy sessions. The person-centred approach is built upon empathic, active listening, and offering genuine acceptance.
Contacting me
Finding someone you feel able to talk to can be a scary first step. If you are reading this, you might be at the first stage of asking for support, for connection or for help.
You have made it this far and if you would like to explore if I am the right therapist for you at this time – please feel free to schedule a free, no obligation, 30-minute initial consultation via telephone or the Google Meet video platform.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Training, qualifications & experience
- BA (Hons) in Person-Centred Counselling & Psychotherapy.
- DipHE in Person-Centred Counselling
- Cert Level 3 in Counselling Skills
- Cert Level 2 Introduction to Counselling
- Trauma-informed coaching certificate from The Centre for Healing
- Non - Medical Helper skills training, Mentoring and Study Skills Strategy Support for Autistic and ADHD students with Optimum E-learning
- Autism Hampshire's Autism Pathway training
- 6 Modules: National Autistic Society Non Medical Helpers and Mentors:
- Understanding autism
- Autism and communication
- Autism and sensory experience
- Autism, stress and anxiety
- Autism: supporting families
- Women and girls on the autism spectrum
- During my training, I worked with 3 different charities/community enterprises:
- Bee Released (CIC) Counselling for Carers
- Youth in Romsey
- The You Trust
I have worked as a counsellor with young people aged from 11 until adulthood during my time with Youth in Romsey. With all of my voluntary placement, I worked both remotely (using a telephone or a video link) and in person.
My experience includes supporting individuals with neurodivergence such as Autism or ADHD as well as various mental health diagnoses (such as Depressive disorders, General and Social Anxiety disorders and Bipolar disorders).
I have offered short-term and long term therapy at each of my voluntary placements and in my own private practice.
As well as working in private practice as a person-centred counsellor, I have worked as a specialist mentor with Autism Hampshire, supporting University of Portsmouth students with diagnoses of mental health issues and neurodivergence.
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
£55.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
When I work
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My working hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 09:00 am until 4:00 pm. I strive to answer emails/texts/calls when they are received or at the beginning of my next working day.
Further information
Life can feel overwhelming. This is true for everyone. It is especially true for individuals who are neurodivergent (such as autism or ADHD). I work in an 'affirming' way: embracing difference rather than disorder.
I work with the individual in front of me rather than with a diagnosis or it's symptoms. I respect that each person is a unique individual whose experience of anxiety, low mood or the world around them is particular to their own lived experience. I am not the expert in your life but I will strive to fully appreciate and understand your own experience.
I work in person and remotely. In person I work from a town - based practice in the heart of Fareham. We have ground floor rooms and 1st floor rooms available throughout the week. There are ground floor facilities available. The rooms are clean and comfortable. There is a small waiting area to the right upon entering and I will collect clients from here just before our appointment time.
I am ready to hear from you.
