Vanessa Dent
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
Is there something in your life that is not how you want it to be or that you are struggling to move past? Do the same unwanted patterns keep repeating themselves? Sometimes it can help to talk things through, unravel thoughts and behaviours or simply experience your feelings in a safe space.
My approach to therapy is integrative meaning that I draw on a number of different models of counselling. What this means for you is that I am able bring together different elements of proven therapies and tailor them towards your specific needs. My training has combined a study of humanistic, psychodynamic, body, creative and mindfulness-based approaches .
To do this it is helpful to explore your past and early relationships and how this impacts present interactions. We feel with our bodies not our minds and I use body psychotherapy to help build this awareness. This can increase mind-body integration and support the management of feelings.
I work at relational depth paying attention to our relationship in order to make sense of any relational difficulties and gain clues as to where the solutions to problems may lie. I use mindfulness to help you build resilience, and creativity, where the nonverbal dimensions of art activities can help us access your feelings.
These are my starting points, in a safe non-judgmental space from which to explore your difficulties, modified in practice according to each individual and relationship.
I also have an affinity for those that would describe themselves as 'highly sensitive' people who have experienced the world as an oppressive and frightening place and feel easily trapped by guilt, shame and the depth and intensity of their emotional being. Where self doubt, self judgement, people pleasing, pretending or masking in order to fit in, avoiding confrontation at all cost or constantly comparing to others, limits freedoms to such an extent that the world can become both an exhausting and lonely place to be. A sensitivity to the world that is overwhelmingly experienced as a burden rather than a gift
Training, qualifications & experience
Before becoming a counsellor I worked in conservation and healthcare which lead to my interest in human behaviour and the mind.
I have over 18 years healthcare experience in the NHS with whom I am currently employed part-time as a Mental Health Practitioner in a GP Surgery.
I have a wide range of experience in psychological and emotional difficulties which include but are not limited to:
- people with or who are exploring a diagnosis of Autism or ADHD
- addiction / withdrawal support
- stress, anxiety and depression
- relationship difficulties / family estrangement
- clients with chronic health conditions
- complex trauma and self-harm
- suicidal thoughts and ideation
- bereavement and loss
- unresolved childhood or adult abuse (physical, emotional, financial, sexual, narcissistic, bullying, neglect)
- boarding school syndrome
- clients who have a diagnosis of a significant mental illness (schizophenia/bi-polar/personality disorder) who have a treatment plan in place and/or the condition is currently stable/managed
- I am fully insured to work under UK law with UK nationals living abroad (as my insurance limitations permit).
I am committed to helping to facilitate your authentic self, letting go of defences so that you may live more fully.
As well as seeing clients privately in both short and longer term approaches I have also seen adult clients through various charities including substance misuse, sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse. I have helped them to find a greater sense of safety and security and start on the road to recovery.
Psychotherapy Training & Qualifications:
Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)
Post Graduate Diploma (Masters Level) in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling, The Minster Centre, London (BACP/UKCP).
NHS Psychotherapist/Mental Health practitioner - Primary Care
Fellowship Programme - Fibromyalgia and chronic pain
I am a registered member of the BACP Counselling and Psychotherapy governing body and adhere to their ethical standards.
I am fully insured and regularly attend continuous professional development seminars.
Continuous Professional Development
Phase orientated trauma therapy & Dissociation
Geriatric and older people's mental health
Reducing the risk of domestic abuse
Working with the impact of childhood sexual abuse
Severe presentations, diagnosis and treatment
Boarding School Syndrome
Long Covid group consultations
Sensory processing and interoception
Loss and bereavement counselling
Neurodiversity - the storm within
Patient experience of withdrawal from prescribed drugs
Working with self-harm
Emotional intelligence - being brilliant every single day
Online counselling - the surprises, challenges and opportunities
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
£65.00 per session
Additional information
Initial and subsequent sessions are £65 for 50 minutes.
Please feel free to telephone or email me to discuss what you are struggling with and what you would like to gain from counselling.
After this if you feel you would like to continue we can schedule sessions.
When I work
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | |||||||
| Afternoon | |||||||
| Evening | |||||||
| Night |
Further information
Online Counselling
My private practice is currently either online or telephone based.
Online counselling is now widely used across many industries and platforms. A recent study carried out by the BACP reports equal efficacy to in-person treatment with the only limiting factors being connectivity and IT ability.
My clients across the country/globe enjoy the convenience both in time and travel and with the relationship being at the heart of therapy this allows greater access to the therapist who is right for you.
International Clients
I am fully insured to work under UK law with UK nationals living abroad as my insurance limitations permit.
