How you feel matters
I wonder what has brought you to my website.
People seek counselling for so many reasons and I know that life can be challenging at times.
I believe everyone should be able to access the right support for them. I hope this website can help you learn a little more about me so that you can decide if I am the right person for you.
I work with a range of clients but currently, within my private practice, I am seeing young people, age 16 to 19 and adult clients of any age.
Counselling can help with...
- Anxieties including social anxiety, OCD, panic attacks.
- low mood, depression
- Overthinking, constantly worrying
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Thinking or feeling negatively about self.
- Family difficulties that are causing short or long term stress
- Relationship difficulties
- Sudden change or traumatic event
- Stress of looking after or worrying about someone else. The impact of this over time can be great.
- Struggles with being a parent or finding ways to manage your own parent/s.
- Stress at work
- Feeling lost in life
- low motivation
- Self doubt and self criticism that stops you from living life fully.
What I do and How
I work differently with each person that I work with.
Counselling works really well when there is a trusting and respectful relationship between counsellor and client and developing this relationship is an important part of the process. We all have different ways of working through problems and challenges in life and we all think differently, have different values and beliefs that guide how we live our lives. We can agree together what the goals for our work are and I will be able to outline some ideas for how we might work towards these goals.
Theories and techniques I might use include:
Person centred counselling - the foundation of my work which puts you at the heart of the process. You may not feel or think it, but you are the expert on you and I can support you in becoming more self aware and knowledgeable about what your needs are and how you might be able to meet them.
Pyschodynamic work - looking back on early experiences to help us think about why you are experiencing certain thoughts and feelings or behaving in ways that are not helpful or are even harmful.
CBT ( cognitive behaviourial therapy)- Exploring the link between our thoughts, feelings and actions can be an effective way of approaching difficulties in l ife particularly anxieties of different types, including social anxiety and OCD.
Mindfulness - being present, finding joy or calm in the here and now. This can help with anxiety, overthinking and overwhelm and is more powerful than it sounds and for some this can be hugely supportive throughout many areas of their lives.
Compassion based counselling - learning what compassion really is and finding how to show and have compassion for yourself can create profound change.
Sessions take place in my family home where I have a room set aside especially for counselling. You are free to sit in either chair.
Sessions
Sessions are 50 minutes and ideally are weekly at the same time each week. On occasion some people come weekly initially and then change to fortnightly or monthly - it all depends on the individual and I will always aim to be as flexible as possible.
Some people like to have a fixed number of session whereas others prefer to keep it open ended and I will support you in keeping track of our goals together and reviewing progress.
Cost of sessions
Cost of 50 minute session for young person (age 16 to 19) is £30
Cost of 50 minute session for an adult is £50
The counsellor client relationship
I will be here for you without judgement and will work to understand exactly how you are feeling and what you are thinking.
When we meet for our first session I will talk you through our contract and explain about the confidentiality of our sessions together. Once I have a good understanding of why you have come to counselling we can agree some goals together so we know what we are working towards.
Walk and Talk Therapy
A unique approach that takes therapy outdoors, promoting mental and physical well-being. I am currently receiving training and will be able to offer this soon.
