Tracey Murphy

My belief is that no matter who you are or where you are from, we all need counselling at some time or another.  Whether life is just too difficult to cope with at the moment or whether you have had a dramatic life changing experience that you finding hard to cope with at the moment.  Everyone is an individual and what helps one person deal with an issue isn't necessarily what helps another and this is where counselling can really help.  Sometimes you do not even know what the issue might be but by talking and learning more about yourself, this can help. 

Anxiety currently is also one of the biggest issues that are holding us back in life and we can explore and find you other coping strategies that you may not of even thought of.

By talking and helping you explore issues and how you feel about them, I am offering you the support with confidentiality and by talking to a professional counsellor you can be assured that you will not be judged.  By exploring you, you can identify why you are as you are and you always have a choice to stay in the same playing ground or to accept and move to a new one.  I am here to support you with whatever your decision.  With professional help you will learn a deeper understanding about yourself, why you react to certain things and what the issue might or might not be. 

It is not about changing the past but talking through and deciding if moving on is the right or wrong thing to do.  With this decision you are able to cope and move on whatever your decision.

I have recently taken a Walk and Talk Therapy Qualification and this is becoming extremely popular and successful with clients who suffer from Anxiety.  If you would like to find out more then please contact me.

I am a fully registered Accredited member of the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) and I always adhere to their code and ethics.  I have helped lots of people explore many different issues of varying ages and am always enthusiastic and ready to help you to continue or start to explore and support you on your journey.

Testimonials from my Clients.

2011

As an intensely private person and one who has never felt the need, or realised the help counselling can give, I have to say that when the need arose my first experience has been very, very positive. There is no doubt that this is due to the non-judgmental, positive and friendly way in which Tracey listened to me and guided me out of the darkness that had enveloped me. I have no hesitation in recommending Tracey to anyone looking for advice, guidance and the tools to help them put things in perspective and regain control of their life. Thanks for all your help Tracey.

WE

(Male)

I was not sure about Counselling or what it involved when I started looking for a Counsellor.  I really did not know what I was going to get out of it or what it involved.  I chose Tracey because unlike all of the other Counsellors who were advertising she did not say I can do this or I can do that but she just sounded genuine.  I am so glad I did.  She has supported me to change my life for the better.  I once only saw black clouds and negativity but she has helped me through one of the darkest times of my life and helped me to see the positive things in life again.  I can actually laugh again which upsets me to think that I had lost that for a while.  Thank you Tracey for your support.  I will be definitely coming back to you in the future if I feel that I ever need Counselling again.

TS

(Female)

2012

Tracey put me at ease from the first session that I had with her.  I was very 
nervous and although I wanted someone outside of friendship and family to talk 
to, I was still nervous.  We did several different things in my Counselling 
sessions as well as talking to make me look deeper into myself, my relationships 
and how I could change certain aspects of my life.  I have not changed all that 
I have wanted to because after exploring them a little deeper, with Tracey’s 
support I have found that I have not wanted to change all aspects but I have 
accepted them and learnt to move on.  I could not of wished for a more friendly, 
understanding, empathic Counsellor.

BS

(Female)

If you are looking for a Counsellor to help you through some tough times then 
STOP.  You have found her.  Thank you Tracey for all your help.

ML

(Male)

2013

'Thank you!' just does not seem a big enough expression of how we feel for all of the help and support you have given ........  She has gone from someone who couldn't speak through her tears to a young lady who is strong, confident in the person she is, with true focus of who she is and a realisation that she is a good kind person who people want to be friends with.  None of this would have happened without you and for this we are forever grateful.

SL & DL

(Mother and Father of a under 16 year old)

2014

I always knew I'd have Counselling at some point in my life, I just didn't know when the right time would be.  When I had my first session with Tracey I didn't know what to expect, in fact I was quite nervous.  Straight after my first session I knew Tracey would be able to help me move forward in my life and that she genuinely wanted to help and support me.  Tracey set me tasks to do that would benefit myself and although they touched some sad points in my life, I know I will carry on doing them to help me get through the future.  Before I had I had Counselling I never thought I'd come this far and feel as happy as I do now.  I feel like I'm entering a new chapter in my life and none of that would have been at all possible without Tracey's help.  I found out that for me their was a light at the end of the tunnel.  Counselling has been one of the best things I have ever done. 

ML

(16 year old) 

Therapy, who needs it?  Well I didn't think that I did.  We all get stressed and anxious don't we?  I  couldn't.  I was unable to cope with everyday decisions, everything seemed to be getting on top of me.  I was angry, moody and  irritable (mostly to those whom I love the most, my wife and my children.)  I had to take a good look at myself and with the help and support of Tracey, I was able to work through it.  The coping strategies that I was taught I found immensely helpful and will use them in my everyday life.  I have found that I can deal with things a lot better after the help that I have had.  I am more grateful for the things that I have and the people that I love.  The therapy that I have received has enabled me to get back to enjoying work, deal with problems and solve them and move on.  I did feel alone and that there was no way out of the black hole that I was in.  However. with professional help and help from family and friends you can and will cope.  So my message is seek help, surround yourself with people you love and trust and you will come out of the other side.  

MB

(Male)

A year ago I was in a very dark place.  I felt that I had no one to turn to.  But then I met Tracey.  She helped me in so many different ways - even little things that you would not think would make a difference, in what you felt was a massive situation, but made such a great impact.  There is times for you to sit and pour your heart out or times to sit and reflect but either way, Tracey is helping you to take a step to a better future.  I cannot begin to imagine how many people like me that Tracey has helped, but I do know that if I hadn't met her that my life would be very different than it is today. 

EB

(Female aged 15)

2015

When I first came to see Tracey, I had lost myself.  Everything made me me was gone.  I had no confidence and it had got to the point where I thought will it ever get better? but then I met Tracey.  She helped me to see the light at the end of the tunnel and showed me that I could be me again.  After coming here week after week, after crying a lot, complaining, sulking and ranting, I have been able to build myself back up again.  My confidence is a lot higher and I no longer look at myself in the mirror and see something disgusting.  I now don't thing nasty things about myself because I have been able to gain control back of my life and its all thanks to Tracey and for that I will be forever grateful.  She has helped me to dig myself out of the black hole of depression.  I have been shown how to look at my life in positive ways and if someone had told me that I would feel like this weeks after my therapy I would of laughed in their faces.  I truly feel different and I have not felt this happy in forever.  Thank you so much Tracey xoxox 

MS

(female 17yrs old)

Hi Tracey

I have been asked to give a written account of the changes in our daughter since she has been seeing you.  Firstly I would like to say Thank you for giving me my daughter back. For me personally, my relationship with her has been on the rocks for the last couple of years to the point that we virtually had no contact.  Even to drive her to school was becoming difficult and uncomfortable for me.  She seemed angry and grumpy all the time.  Now however she is back!!! She now sits and chats, watches TV and eats with us.  We have our loving and caring daughter back.

(Father of 17 Yr old female)

2017

When I first started counselling I felt alone and helpless and I was upset more days than I was happy.  I was worried about everything and couldn't go an hour without worrying about something even if it was never going to happen or if it was a very small thing.  I've learnt that I'm not alone and helpless and that I'm stronger than I thought.  I have learnt to deal with my Anxiety and emotions and not let them get me down.  I feel I can now do things that I couldn't before and have days/weeks without worrying/getting depressed.  I've learnt to plan things and only worry when something is happening and now I know how to deal with them.  I now feel more like I did before my Anxiety started  and it makes me feel hopeful that things will only continue to get better.

BB

(Female aged 24)

2018

When I first came to counselling I was always constantly anxious and fearing the worst about life in general.  The major source of these feelings at this time was going onto a ship which before counselling I never thought that I would ever be able to overcome.  Through the counselling sessions I have had with Tracey talking through and teaching me how to re direct and change my thoughts through CBT, I have finally been able to achieve what I set out to do and conquer my phobia and get on a ship which has become a really positive personal achievement for me.   Going forward it has given me the confidence and realisation that something bad is not always going to happen and if I logically think about the situation a positive outcome can be achieved.  I will now whenever needed be able to go onto a ship without hesitation.  

(Female)

At the beginning and prior to making the decision to seek professional help, I felt that I was lost.  Not just I focus but who I truly was.  There were a number of symptoms that I had become aware of….lack of sleep, lost focus as work and home and feeling anxious a lot of the time.    At the first counselling session it started to help me to understand that my head was just full up with ‘stuff’, so much so that I was struggling to process anything new.  It was great to understand that the ‘stuff’ was likely to have built up from unresolved issues from childhood through to now.  Going through my timeline was hard but I began to see that issues/events that I had buried in the subconscious needed to be voiced and dispersed.  With such a dysfunctional family this was hard and upsetting but also though provoking.  The hardest point was realizing that the grief of my parents passing was buried and suppressed.  During my counselling I was able to release my upset through no send letters and releasing balloons in their memory.  This was the most difficult that that I have done in a long time but the feeling of relief and the weight I felt lift from my shoulders was amazing!  Since the anniversary of my dad’s passing in November became a celebration rather than negative.  In a week’s time it will be a year since my Mum died, I am no longer dreading that day.   CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) principals has enabled me to change the way I think, my anxiety has fallen dramatically and my over reactions to situations are now minimal.  My new mantra is ‘ It is what it is!’

(Male Aged 56)

When I first came to Tracey I was broken and knew that I was at rock bottom. I couldn’t find any way to understand the thoughts I had or how to move on from them and become better again. Tracey asked the question’s that pictured together the problems and why I felt the way I did. After a while I was able to see my triggers to my emotions and then could control them easier.

A few years later and I am the happiest I’ve ever been but I’m also far more aware of how my feelings work and how different people and situations affect me. I will always feel like I can come back as I know that Tracey can understand my problems and think logically when I sometimes can’t. I recommend this to everyone as the process is so thorough and is paced according to how you are doing.

 Thank you Tracey.

(Male Aged 13-17)

2021

At the beginning of my therapy, I remember crying a lot in the sessions, my anxiety was really high and depression. I was worried about my future, I didn’t know how I was going to cope. I couldn’t read off the board in class because the letters were all jumbled up and my writing was back to front. Every day seemed to get harder and harder. Every day in my diary I had a problem and felt down most of the time.

Gradually in school when it was a small class I could begin to read the board, not all of the time but when I did I was determined to keep trying and not give up. As I was getting better I found that I didn’t have so much to write in my diary. My attendance was getting better and I wasn’t going to the nurses as much.

At the end of my therapy I can now read, I no longer write back to front and I can read off white paper with no problem at all. My memory has improved and I can remember things well and I have got so much more confident. I enjoy spending time with friends, socialising and going out. I feel much more independent and capable. I’m excited for the future.

EC

(Female Aged 13-15Yrs)

In the last year and a half I've seen a massive change in myself. The downtime that the pandemic brought and I was able to have in combination with my sessions with Tracey seemed to come at a perfect time

I remember being so down and in such a dark place for years before I was able to be brave enough to look for help even though I always knew I needed it.

I came in so full of saddness, grief and unhappiness that I couldn't even hold in the hurt I had on the first session, even though Tracey didn't know anything about me.

I looked forward to be able to tell somebody what I had been carrying around with me in my memories for years. It was great to feel heard and I remember telling friends how good it felt to be emotionally valid and not like I had imagined things that hurt me. I was incredibly unsure of who I was, like everything I was doing and being never worked out for me. I hated myself deeply - physically and mentally and would punish myself emotionally. I was not a fun person to be around and an intense colleague, I would go home every day and worry about everything I had said or done even though I had no real reason to doubt myself. I felt isolated and lonely.

Having some time at home during lockdown and then properly going into our sessions allowed a new perspective to start building. After finishing my timeline I felt like I got some weight off my chest that left room for new thought patterns to develop.

When we started preparing for CBT by addressing my everyday worries I started seeing that worries are natural but they don't have to consume all my energy. By having to write everything down I was more inclined to stop worrying before I have to write it down, my brain would start letting things go which was a breath of fresh air for me even though I was spending a lot of time at home in lockdown, which drove me a little extra crazy.

The most memorable thing I learnt was the poison parrot technique which really stuck with me and seemingly helped me break through certain negativity. I use it almost automatically on daily basis now.

I feel happy and healthy now, after COVID things seem to have slotted into place since life works in mysterious ways. I am more fun to be around, cope with life and work pressures a lot better and am not afraid to be myself, I like to embrace and laugh at my more assertive behaviours and have learnt to see them as strengths.

I am glad I've put this time into myself and probably wouldn't be feeling like this otherwise and am grateful every day that I am not constantly burdened by my own negativity. I look forward to what is next for meow and even though sometimes I worry about going back to the dark place I understand that life won't always be perfect or easy but I hope now I am more equipped to deal with it and my own negative thoughts a lot more. I would like to thank Tracey from the bottom of my heart for guiding me through this and offering me the tools and support I needed to become more confident and happy.

RT

(Female Aged 26 Yrs)

2022

My therapy journey started after a 16 year battle with depression when I made the step to seek help.

I was reluctant to make the step to seek help as I didn't know where to start, and was dubious about whether it would help me.

I had no choice, as I was at a low point in my life and wanted to hurt myself. I also doubted my ability to be a father and husband.

I spent too much time dwelling on my family history, especially the awful things I found out that my biological father did when I was young, that have since damaged me mentally.

My manager at work witnessed me having a breakdown and forced me to seek help.

It was clear to me after a few therapy sessions that I was not alone, and help was at hand.

Very quickly, myself and those around me noticed a positive change in my persona and behaviour, and I realized that I had the ability to cope, and control my way of thinking.

I have been given all the tools to help myself, and control my dark and negative thoughts. I find a tool called "poisoned parrot" particularly useful.

I've come a very long way on my journey.

I can now see that I'm not alone with my depression. Many people share my struggle, and probably struggle more than I do with their mental health.

The difference is that I have received help, and I now know the warning signs when my mental health starts to slip, and can catch it early on.

I am in control of my depression, and have all the tools necessary to help myself. I am now able to distract myself from my negative thoughts, and move on before it snowballs.

I don't worry so much any more about the past, and what the future holds. I create my own path through life and the positive steps I make define who I am.

There are things in life that I can't control, and that's fine. As long as I am the best version of myself, for my family then I'm content. 

I now know how to handle and manage my mental health problems and can plod on through life knowing that I'm doing just fine, and can put a positive spin on negative situations that may face me on a daily basis. Thanks Tracey!

MW

(Male 29 years old)

I would like to begin by saying I honestly cannot believe what a difference six months has made, a difference that will positively affect my whole life. Its mind blowing. Its definitely shown me that you can never predict the future, where you’ll be or how you will be feeling. There is no set time limit for learning to overcome the battle of one’s brain and now it will be something that I will dedicate time to throughout my lifetime: improving, growing and changing.

I, for the first time in my life, asked for help! I felt terrible and hopeless again. I had started the journey down a dark spiral and I had no idea what to do. I found you (Tracey) and was extremely cautious to begin with, my luck and experience with mental health professionals hadn’t been brilliant and I truly feared I wouldn’t come back from where I was. I was unhappy with how much progress that I had lost. I was angry that people kept hurting me and I was afraid that the cycle would never end. At the beginning I was extremely worried it wouldn’t help, that I was beyond helping. I was happily proven wrong.

During my course of therapy, it had been a bit of a rollercoaster. I felt the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I have processed a lifetime of positive and negative events, I have identified my patterns and my downfalls. I have had the opportunity to learn why I have chosen the people I have and how to avoid doing so again. I have chance to look at my life in a purely logical point of view as well as emotional. I now have the ability to say that I have dealt with a lifetime of rubbish , from too young an age and I feel sorry for my younger and my inner child but I will no longer allow it to interfere with my life and I won’t get myself wrapped up in the trauma! Which is something I have only dreamt of doing. Another thing that I have definitely learnt is that people don’t tell you about getting better and improving yourself. The positives finally outweigh the negatives. This is new territory. It feels weird and it’s an adjustment. And that is okay, it will become the new normal, given time. But its something fascinating. Just how used to feeling like rubbish I had become. How it was a form of safety feeling that way, but only in the sense of familiarity. However in saying that; the unknown future is an intriguing place and one that I very much want to now live for. The present is the place I shall ground myself too and the past is something I will continue to ensure that I will look at it now for its lessons learnt rather than failures I’ve endured. I will be wild and free and be me and I will do everything that I can do to never allow anyone dull my sparkle again. I owe myself that!

OR

(Female 21 Years old)

Counselling Course Students £40 for 50 minutes

Full fee £50 for 50 minutes

Couple Counselling £65 for 50 minutes or £95 for 1 hour 20 mins

Under 18's £35 for 30 minutes

Supervision £40 per 60 minutes

Stress/Anxiety 12 week workshop £20 per person per week. Runs with a minimum of 4 people.

CBT Workshop 6 week workshop £20 per person per week. Runs with a minimum of 4 people.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.  Good luck in your search.

I have recently completed a Walk and Talk Therapy Certification and this is really good when working with adults and young people with Anxiety.  If you would like to know more about this therapy then please contact me.