About me
Many of us suffer at times with feeling inferior, inadequate or being in some way different to other people. You may feel stressed, anxious, confused and uncomfortable, out-of-control, unsure of who you are, or what you want out of life. Maybe you're going through a difficult patch - bereavement, divorce, problems at work or at home - or feeling dissatisfied with life and not being able to see a way forward. Maybe you doubt your ability to handle day-to-day challenges, struggling through each day, or feel that you spend too much time and energy worrying about what other people think of you.
How I can help;
Counselling can help you develop yourself, your confidence, your sense of who you are, and your ability to live a full and meaningful life. I can help you explore, identify your values and priorities, and lay to rest whatever is holding you back.
Everybody's situation is different and we need different things at different times. Some of the ways in which I can help are;
- Talking through your experiences to understand what you are feeling
- Discussing potential coping strategies, practical steps to help you move forwards and feel more in charge
- Identifying causes and triggers, and improving self-awareness
- Exploring your past to gain insight into what's happening now
- Talking through strong emotions, explore where these are coming from
- Clarifying what you need in order to move forward
- Looking at strategies for improving confidence and self-esteem
- Helping you get a better sense of who you are as a person
- Exploring different ideas and perspectives on your situation
- Helping you gain clarity about your thoughts and feelings, values and priorities, enabling you to put things in order
- Thinking about positive change and what you might want the next chapter of your life to look like.
I have a range of strategies and practical steps which may help you learn more about yourself, make informed choices to move on from your current situation, to get to know and love yourself better, to improve confidence and feel positive about yourself and your life journey. My core training is person-centred therapy, but I integrate ideas from other theories where it seems helpful or appropriate. I aim to help in a collaborative, accepting, non-judgemental and non-pressured way.
Experience;
Some of the issues I have helped people with in the past include; Bereavement, loss, illness, anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, trauma, abuse, stress, work-related stress, bullying, identity and self-esteem issues, life transitions, low mood, shame, anger, relationship/interpersonal difficulties.
Prior to becoming a counsellor, I've worked in academia, the legal sector and IT support. I grew up in a military family, so I've lived many places and met many people. I chose to become a counsellor as I enjoy meeting people and - at the risk of cliche - wanted to do something that can really help make a difference to people's lives. I consider myself quite a friendly, informal, open-minded and down-to-earth person, who takes an interest in the world, philosophy, people, politics, ideas - a wide variety of things really :)
Appointments;
I offer two routes into therapy; one is the single-session approach, where we book just one session with the aim of getting the work done within that single session - but further sessions can be booked if needed.
The other route is the more conventional route, in that we book a first session with the understanding that you plan to engage in therapy on a longer-term basis - for clarity, by longer-term, I literally mean more than one session, it's very much up to you to decide how many sessions to have.
I am flexible to people who wish to attend weekly or fortnightly and will try accomodate people who have irregular working hours. If you'd like to find out more, please visit my website and/or contact me and I can send you further information about the different options.
Please feel free to email me for any further information or to check my availability. For information, my phone is usually set to 'do not disturb', so if you'd like to speak with me please either leave a voicemail or email me initially so we can arrange a mutually convenient time to talk.
Training, qualifications & experience
Experience;
- I've been working as a counsellor for 10 years, including 7 years working in NHS Occupational Health, concurrently 7 years in private practice, 2 years in a University Wellbeing team, and several years working at various charities.
- My experience includes general counselling, occupational health/workplace counselling, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, and anger management.
Qualifications;
- Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- Counselling Certificates Levels 1-3
Further Training & study;
- Rewind Technique
- Existential perspectives on depression
- Introduction to Emotional Freedom Technique
- Introduction to Existentialist Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Anxiety
- Eating Disorders Awareness
- Domestic Abuse Awareness
- Safeguarding Adults Level 2
- Prevent training
- Solution-Focussed Therapy
- Trauma, complex/developmental trauma
- Dissociative Identity Disorder awareness
- Introduction to Positive Psychology
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
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.
The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations. In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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
£28.50 - £62.00
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
Face-to-face appointments - standard rate £51.50
Video/telephone appointments - standard rate £40.00
Face-to-face appointments - concessionary rate £40.00
Video/telephone appointments - concessionary rate £28.50
For Single-Session therapy:
Face-to-face appointments - standard rate £62.00
Remote appointments - standard rate £47.00
Face-to-face appointments - concessionary rate £47.00
Remote appointments - concessionary rate £37.00
Sessions are a full 60 minutes.
When I work
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At present, in-person appointments are on
Wednesday afternoons (S10) - limited availability
Thursdays (S35) - available for new clients
