Dr Valerie Thomas
Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I am a highly qualified and very experienced psychotherapist based in S.E. Kent.
I am an integrative therapist and this means that I draw on a range of different therapeutic approaches such as humanistic, psychodynamic and CBT to suit the needs of each individual.
However, although the counsellor's approach is important, research tells us that the therapeutic relationship is the key to successful therapy. In other words, there needs to be a good 'fit' between therapist and client.
In order to help you make this important choice, I offer a free initial 30 minute session without obligation, either on Zoom or by phone. In this session, we will discuss how therapy could help you and you will be able to ask any questions you might have about my practice and approach. This is an opportunity for you to get a sense of whether you could work with me and it will allow me to assess if I can offer you a helpful therapeutic service.
Training, qualifications & experience
- BA (Hons)
- Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling
- MA in Counselling & Psychotherapy
- Doctorate in Psychotherapy (through Professional Studies)
- Senior Accredited Member of the BACP
- I have over 30 years' experience of working as a therapist. I have had a private practice for 25 years and have worked in a wide range of voluntary and statutory settings including: substance misuse treatment centres; community counselling agencies; a bereavement support agency; a cancer patient support organisation; and an NHS staff counselling department.
- I have a specialism in working with addictions developed over 13 years' of experience in the substance misuse field. I provide therapeutic support for individuals who are dealing with the psychological issues linked to drug dependency.
- I have been a counselling educator for ten years. I was a Senior Lecturer in Counselling at Anglia Ruskin University for eight years with lead responsibility for all counselling education programmes. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
- I have developed a specialism in the use of mental imagery in psychotherapy. I have researched its use and I have published academic papers and book chapters. I regularly present at conferences internationally and in the UK. I have two books published by Routledge: Using Mental Imagery in Counselling andPsychotherapy (2016)and Using Mental Imagery to Enhance CreativeandWork-Related Processes (2019). The following are selected papers and chapters:
Thomas, V. (2017). 'Towards a deeper integration of creative methods in counselling: Some thoughts about frameworks for practice', British Journal of Counselling and Guidance, published online at doi: 10.1080/03069885.2017.1394443
Thomas, V. (2016). ‘Developing imagination-based methods to enhance researcher reflexivity’, The Psychotherapist, (62)
Thomas, V. (2015). ‘Mental Imagery in counselling’, Therapy Today, 26(10), pp 30-33.
Thomas, V. (2015). ‘Some contemporary issues in psychotherapy training: Guest editorial’, The Psychotherapist, (61)
Thomas, V. (2015). 'The therapeutic functions of mental imagery in psychotherapy: Constructing a theoretical model', In: S. Goss & C. Stevens (eds.) Making Research Matter. Oxon: Routledge
Thomas, V. (2014) Drawing on creative reflective practices in counselling research: an example of using mental imagery to shed light on the research process. British Journal of Counselling & Guidance, Vol 42(1), pp 43-51.
Thomas, V. (2009). 'Using visualisation techniques with cancer patients' (Abstract only) for Online Cancer Education Forum, European Journal of Cancer Care 18(2)
Member organisations
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
I also work with:
- creative blocks
- life changes
- self-development
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Upcoming events
Fees
£100.00 per session
Free initial telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
An initial 30 minute session (either online or by phone) is free with no obligation. Please contact me to arrange this.
£75 per session for individuals face-to-face/telephone/Zoom
Further information
I am only offering online or phone sessions for the foreseeable future.
