Michael Dempsey

I have had successful careers in education, the natural sciences and social services with a strong academic background in psychology. I bring all my life-experience to bear as a therapist; I am passionate about helping people find the meaning and joy in their lives; I believe we all have an inner drive to fulfill our destiny by finding our true Self and having the courage to express that Self.

I believe we all face challenges and reach pivotal moments in our lives and that sometimes we need support to explore, learn, and grow from such experiences. I see counselling as a journey and a personal investment. I work in the integrative tradition: your personality and your goals shape our approach to the journey we undertake. I am particularly interested in helping people manage difficult life-events; lifestyle issues; addictions and substance misuse; stress and anxiety and working with people for whom life has lost its sparkle or direction. I am friendly, professional, ethical and pride myself on being both analytical and imaginative.

You can email or call me for a 15-minute free-of-charge initial chat to see if I can help you. If we decide to work together I usually suggest weekly one-hour sessions.

Usually £60 per full hour but other rates are negotiable depending on your circumstances.

Call me or email me to arrange a free-of-charge 15 minute informal discussion about how I might be able to help you.

I am also a qualified hypnotherapist. I am a member of the National Counselling and National Hypnotherapy Societies - working within their Codes of Conduct and Ethics.

I have regular supervision and have Professional Civil Liability Insurance.

Testimonials

I was very nervous and unsure about therapy when I first started looking into it. However, I felt so fortunate having referred myself to Mick. From the very first meeting I felt I was in a very safe and secure environment. I came to Mick looking for help with my addictions that could have spiraled out of control; but once we started looking into it, I could see that there were deeper issues which needed working on. With Mick I felt able to talk freely about anything from work, relationships and even my early childhood. This helped me get a better and deeper understanding of my feelings, thoughts and actions, and to make changes. It has been an incredible journey for me and I cannot thank Mick enough for that. I now look forward to what the future has in store. I highly recommend Mick to anyone who feels they have lost their way; let him help you get that spark back as he did with me.

You are not alone. We are not alone. Thank you again, Mick.

Ricky

Dear Mick. Thank you for helping me blow the clouds away!

DO

When I went to see Mick, I had been through years of avoidant, depressive behaviours; struggling with familial relationships and overthinking anything and everything. The world was a gloomy and stressful place. But after reflecting on my life with Mick's guidance, the darkness lifted and life started to offer me opportunities. Mick helped me "play the game of life" - and now I'm winning!

D

I had sessions with Mick when I was finding it hard to keep things together and my personal issues started affecting my work life. With Mick's help I found out I was struggling with things I had been totally unaware of. Together, we began to identify areas of my behaviours and thinking which we could work on and change, and Mick opened my eyes to other exciting possibilities. He was so easy to talk to and I always felt safe, comfortable and listened to. Now, through his insight and methods, I've found solutions and have started to heal and make plans for an exciting future. Working with Mick has had a massive impact on my life and I recommend his services to anyone.

PK

"I suffered with intense anxiety around my speech as a child; always worrying about using the phone or talking to people I didn't know well. It stopped me from going for certain jobs; it kept me shy and I found it difficult to socialize with new people.

It was when I was made redundant due to Covid that I was forced to look for a new job and I realized that I needed to address my anxiety in order for me to move forward. My wife and I looked for a local Hypnotherapist and we were lucky enough to find Mick through the Directory.

From the first initial phone call all the way to the final session he helped me to figure out why I have anxiety and taught me how to manage it. The affect it has had on my anxiety was huge, I can now speak on the phone to strangers without worry, and it has made a huge difference to my life in such a positive way.

Mick made me feel relaxed and safe during treatments and I would highly recommend him to anyone."

"I used to suffer from anxiety without knowing it… for years I would worry and stress over things and they would eat me up inside. I would over-think the smallest of things to the point where I would obsess over it and unless I had a back-up plan, I wouldn't be relaxed at all. To be honest, I don't think I was ever really relaxed.

It all came to a head during Lockdown and being furloughed from work. Without work as a distraction my anxiety really came to the surface and I had my first ever panic attack. Once I started work again it got worse and more frequent with the stress from work making me feel overwhelmed with seemingly no way to get out of it.

I reached out to Mick for help as Mick has previously helped my husband with his anxiety over his speech, so I was familiar with his work and successes. From the first session, Mick made me feel relaxed, calm and safe. I felt I could speak honestly and after our sessions I felt lighter and had a better understanding of why I behaved and reacted the way I did in certain situations.

I had an 8-week plan with Mick, with a mix of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy in our 1 hour weekly sessions. It is now 7 months later and I haven't had a single panic attack, felt overwhelmed or over stressed. The biggest thing I have noticed is that I no longer obsessively over-think things, This has been huge for me as I had done it almost all of my adult life, thinking it was normal.

I feel happier than I have for a long time; I am content with life and now have clear boundaries between work time and home life. I now spend more time on what I want to, rather than being consumed with work all the time. My quality of life is so much more improved and without Mick I don't think I would have got to where I am now.

I highly recommend Mick if you suffer from anxiety, stress or obsessive thinking. His gentle way of working makes the whole process feel comfortable, safe and relaxed."

RH

"Dear Mick,

I want to express my sincere gratitude for all the help and understanding you gave me throughout my therapy sessions.

I came to you when I was in an extremely dark place with my feelings of despair and fatalism regarding the surgery that was looming. I decanted all my thoughts and emotions into you.

You helped me understand exactly why I had these dark feelings and thoughts.

With hypnotherapy and your positive words I became more rational and able to proceed with the much needed surgery which I went along to with fresh confidence and hope. I am absolutely sure had I never found you to help me I definitely would not have had the surgery. May also add that I felt safe and relaxed in your presence. You brought out the best in me.

I will continue to keep in contact as I feel happy each time I leave my therapy sessions.

Thank you again,

CC"