Vicki Ackerman

Hello my name is Vicki, I am a fully qualified MBACP Person-Centred therapist who has a wide range of experience working therapeutically with children, young people and adults. I work in a client-centred manner built on trust and mutual respect providing a solid foundation for therapy.
As an integrative therapist I draw from a broad range of therapeutic models which include: Solution Focused, NLP, CBT, Psychodynamic, Pluralist, Motivational Interviewing and many more. For a good therapeutic relationship it is vital to recognise a client’s vulnerabilities and strengths while fostering a warm and secure environment where the client feels safe to explore and express their individual feelings and concerns. Also, to endeavor to support the client on their journey to build their own resilience to help them find the right answers.
I offer a safe, calming, supportive, non-judgmental environment which is therapeutically adaptable to encounter a client’s individual needs whilst processing high levels of empathy and understanding. With a proven history of working with children, young people and adults in a social care, schools, University setting, also those referred by a GP has enabled me to gain extensive knowledge of offering support, rehabilitation and guidance to clients who have experienced trauma or hardship whilst retaining an objective and realistic approach to individual treatment and therapy.
I also offer an integrative and neuro diverse approach to therapy in accordance to the developmental stages of a child, adolescents, vulnerable adults and adults. Sessions will draw upon an attachment and trauma-based play therapy. Early life experiences lay down foundations later in life which can impact on development. Trauma experiences in early or later life can impact on a person in many ways, for example high and low emotions, distress, detachment, low esteem and more difficult to see the impact on brain development.
I hope to increase awareness, so we do not purely focus on behaviour but understanding the client, by listening and observing. Therapists understand and acknowledge that early traumatic experiences cause developmental trauma, the nervous system becomes stuck in a state of high alert, a fear response cycle, preventing the child to move forward onto the next developmental stage.

Psychotherapy is not easily described in general terms. It varies depending on the personalities of the therapist and client, and the problems you bring forward. There are many different methods I may use to deal with the problems that you hope to address. Psychotherapy is not like a medical doctor visit, where often the client is passive in the procedure. Instead, it calls for a continually active effort on your part. For the therapy to be most successful, you will have to work on things we talk about both during our sessions and at home, and treatment does not necessarily guarantee successful outcome.

Psychotherapy can have benefits and risks. Since therapy often involves discussing unpleasant aspects of your life, you may experience uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, loneliness, and helplessness. On the other hand, psychotherapy has also been shown to have benefits for people who participate. Therapy often leads to better relationships, solutions to specific problems, and significant reductions in feelings of distress. Therefore, a therapist cannot guarantee what you will experience.

Our first few sessions will involve an evaluation of your needs. By the end of the evaluation, I will be able to offer you some first impressions of what our work will include and a treatment plan to follow if you decide to continue with therapy. You should evaluate this information along with your own opinions of whether you feel comfortable working with me. Therapy involves a large commitment of time, money, and energy, so you should be incredibly careful about the therapist you select. If you have questions about my procedures, we should discuss them whenever they arise. If your doubts persist, I will be happy to help you set up a meeting with another mental health professional for a second opinion.

£45.00 a session

MEETINGS
I normally conduct an evaluation that will last from 1 to 2 sessions. During this time, we can both decide if I am the best person to provide the services you need to meet your treatment goals. If psychotherapy has begun, I will usually schedule one 50-minute session (one appointment hour of 50 minutes duration) per week at a time we agree on, although some sessions may be less often or more frequent. Once an appointment hour is scheduled, you will be expected to pay for it unless you provide 24 hours advance notice of cancellation. It is understood that it is reasonable and customary to arrive to appointments on time and to end appointments at the scheduled finish time due to following appointments scheduled. It is understood that should a pattern of cancelling appointments or not showing for appointments develop, that I reserve the right to refer you or your child to another practitioner.