Vicki McDonald
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
How can counselling help and what you can expect from me?
I believe most people experience periods in their life when they are faced with troubling and challenging times. This can appear in many different forms; anxiety, depression, a lack of self-worth or confidence, relationship concerns, coming to terms with difficulties from the past and many more. When faced with these challenges counselling gives you a safe space to talk and provides you with an uninterrupted focus on you and your needs, which is so often lacking in our lives.
As your counsellor my hope is that you would find me warm, approachable and totally non-judgemental. I truly believe that you have the answers within you to start to feel better and I really want to help you get to those answers. I will do this through providing you with an environment where you feel heard and understood.
I work integratively with a Person-centred and Psychodynamic approach. This means that we will focus on whatever you feel is important to bring to our time together. I will respond to that by providing you with the right level of support and gentle challenge to work out why you feel the way you do. We may also explore some of your past experiences to consider how they might have impacted your behaviour and relationships now.
Where and when we would work together?
I work from a quiet and confidential practice room, which is a 5 minute walk from Goring and Streatley train station and has off street parking. It also has a calming view of the surrounding countryside (as shown in my pictures)
I can be flexible on a weekly basis as to how you would like to meet whether that be face to face, virtually or on the telephone, whatever provides you with a helpful experience that fits in with your life.
What to consider when choosing a counsellor?
Of course there are practicalities such as timings and costs but research suggests that whatever type of therapy you decide to go with, the relationship you have with your counsellor is one of the most important considerations to you finding it useful. So, when choosing a counsellor, feeling comfortable, at ease and able to trust them is essential. Of course building that relationship takes time and effort from both people, but when it works it should provide you with the space to explore and grow.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- Registered member of the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy)
- Diploma in Coach Mentoring
- Provided counselling in a Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service
- Provided counselling in a Hospice working with patients facing into the end of their life and those who have lost someone close to them.
- Volunteered as a Samaritan for 5 years, providing telephone support to callers facing a wide variety of personal challenges
- Qualification in First Aid in Mental Health
- 19 years of experience in industry in roles in Human Resource Management and Learning and Development.
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£55.00 per session
Free initial in-person, telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
In order for you to make the right choice for you, I provide a no cost 30 minute introductory session. I will also use this time to establish if I can provide you with the best form of help and of course, if appropriate, suggest alternatives.
Following that session, there is no pressure to continue, but if we decide to meet again I would suggest setting up sessions of 50 minutes each. This is normally on a weekly basis, but again we can consider what would be best for your individual needs. We can discuss an initial number of sessions and review as we progress.
The cost is £55 per session.
When I work
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If my availability doesn't suit you but you would still like to consider working together do feel free to contact me anyway and I can try to flex my timings.
Further information
It is important to reiterate that as a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) I work within their code of ethics and values.
At our initial session, we will spend some time considering how we would like to work together, so we both feel clear. I will also ensure we take time to review your experience on a regular basis so we can keep meeting your needs.
If you would like to arrange an Introductory session, please telephone me (and leave a message if necessary) or email me on the contact details provided. I will get back to you as quickly as possible and definitely within 24 hours.
