About me
Hello, I’m Tom, a qualified therapist, working from a therapy room in Bristol. Thank you for stopping on my profile; if anything below resonates with you, feel free to get in touch to arrange a free 20 minute video call to discuss any questions you might have and to see if we might be able to work together.
The people I work with often come to therapy because they have been feeling low or anxious and want to feel differently. This might be caused by changes to life circumstances, whether that’s relationship difficulties, a new diagnosis that impacts how they live and understand themselves, difficulties with work or perhaps they are moving into a new stage in their lives. Many people wish to explore their identities, whether they are a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, have a disability, are autistic, have ADHD or are from a racialised community. We often explore the impact that marginalisation of these identities can have, particularly where several identities intersect.
Others I work with attend counselling to deepen their understanding of themselves, their past and relationships or to make changes to behaviours that they now find to be unhelpful.
I also work with people who are holding strong feelings about the climate crisis, to help them be able to better tolerate these emotions so that they might live their lives whilst also attending to the climate emergency.
My understanding of therapy is that we are collaborative, equal partners in the process of exploring you, your past and your present difficulties. In this way, the therapeutic relationship is a fundamental part of counselling; my job is to create a space where you feel safe-enough to explore and experiment with different ways of being. You are the expert of your own experience and I will be with you to point out what I’ve noticed, share my understanding of what you have said, perhaps offering activities or creative ways of exploring your experience, to help you feel appreciated as you are and to move through what you are finding difficult.
I am a psychotherapeutic counsellor, trained in relational therapies, including person centred, psychodynamic and gestalt. This means that I draw upon aspects of these modalities to work in a way that is tailored to your specific circumstances. We will establish this collaboratively and continually review our work together to ensure that we are meeting your needs.
My practice is trauma-informed; this means that I will never ask you to share anything that you do not feel comfortable to. If we are working with a traumatic event, I will not ask you to give me details about your experience. We will work with the feelings and impact that the event has left behind, working at a pace that feels okay for you. It often takes clients time to build up to this work, once they feel safe in the therapeutic space.
Training, qualifications & experience
Qualifications:
- MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy from the University of the West of England
- Level 4 Certificate in Counselling Skills from the University of the West of England
- MSc. In Psychology from Manchester Metropolitan University
Experience:
I have worked with mental health charities in England and Wales as well as in several other NHS services.
I also worked as a teacher for almost ten years before leaving the profession; I have an understanding and experience of the challenges that students and staff might face in the education system.
I attend training courses regularly, here are some recent ones that I have been to:
- ADHD, Autism and Burnout Summit delivered by Seed Talks
- Supporting Clients in Processing Trauma Safely delivered by Jane Ivall and Sarah Fleet
- Understanding and Supporting Autistic Clients delivered by Lisa Cromar
- Eco-anxiety, to Eco-empathy: Catastrophe or Transformation delivered by Caroline Hickman
- Through the Door: Facing the Climate Crisis for Therapeutic Professionals, delivered by the Climate Psychology Alliance.
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
£60.00 per session
Additional information
Unfortunately, I’m not able to offer further concession slots at the moment. However, this is something that I review regularly and will update this section if that changes.
When I work
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I currently have space to see clients on a Tuesday and Wednesday morning. I update this section regularly.
Further information
I am a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and adhere to their ethical framework. You can find me on their register of qualified counsellors.
I am committed to social justice and believe that counselling can be a vehicle for this work. To this end, we may make reference to the specific systems that are making life more challenging, consequently impacting your mental and emotional wellbeing.
My practice is neuro and queer affirming; I bring my lived experience of belonging to these groups to the work we might do together.
When I’m not working, I love to be outside, often with a sketchbook; this is when I feel most peaceful and myself. I love to read, particularly fiction written by women and queer people that explores relationships and future possibilities.
