Counselling - what to expect
Asking for help takes courage. Counselling is not an easy option, it can uncover painful feelings, but it can be a step on the way to feeling better and more at peace with yourself, to living the life you want to live. I will be with you as you take these steps, working at a pace that feels right for you.
Counselling is for anyone and everyone. You might have a specific thing you want to talk about – pain from your past or worries about the future. Or you might have a general sense that something is stuck, that this isn’t quite the life you’d expected.
Counselling offers the opportunity for us to develop a creative partnership , where we can work together to explore both what is troubling you and your potential in life and to support you to find a sense of freedom to be your true self.
I am an integrative counsellor, meaning that I draw on a number of approaches, including humanistic and psychodynamic methods. I am flexible and will always aim to take my lead from your needs. I believe the best counselling partnerships develop, when I metaphorically walk beside you on your journey and listen deeply and empathically to your story, to what gives your life meaning and to offer insight and challenge to help you grow.
"In any given moment, we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety"
Abraham Maslow
About Me
About me:
I am a qualified therapeutic counsellor, based in Gloucestershire GL6, offering online and in-person sessions. I provide a safe, caring and confidential space to explore what’s going on in your life.
I specialise in helping clients with a range of issues, including anxiety, depression, disconnection and loneliness, relationships, low self-esteem, loss, and addictions. I have worked with many clients on issues of identity and life purpose and on creating a healthy and fulfilling life-work balance.
My qualifications and experience:
I am a registered member of BACP, the professional association for members of the counselling professions in the UK. I adhere to the professional ethics and standards of BACP, including ongoing professional development and supervision to ensure my practice is ethical and effective.
I hold a Diploma in Humanistic in Integrative Counselling and a
Foundation Certificate in Psychotherapy and Counselling from the Bath Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy, which is accredited by BACP. You can view my listing on the BCPC website here.
I have completed a Mindfulness for Professionals course to support me in offering mindfulness therapeutically.
As well as working with clients in my private practice, I have worked with clients with drug and alcohol issues at the Swan Project in Bristol and also with students in a university student counselling service.
The most important thing though is that we need to be the right fit – you need to feel that my style works for you, so I offer an initial session at a reduced rate of £40 to explore this together.
What next?
Contact me – I’d love to hear from you. Please email, text or leave a voicemail with a brief description of why you are considering counselling. I will respond to you within 48 hours to arrange an initial session online using Zoom.
Initial session - During this exploratory and no-obligation session, you can tell me what is not working in your life and what it is that you most long for. Choosing the right counsellor for you is really important and, if at the end of our first session, we decide that I’m not the right counsellor, I will direct you towards resources to find more suitable help. I charge £40 for this first session.
Practicalities
If we decide that I am the right counsellor for you, we will agree to meet once a week at the same time for a 50-minute session. During our first session we will discuss the duration of the counselling. If you are wanting to work on a specific issue, we may agree a contract with a specific length (usually a minimum of eight weeks), this is a good way to explore what counselling is like. Or you may wish to explore in a deeper way, to deepen your understanding of yourself and we could then work in an open-ended way with regular reviews. Counselling works best when you commit to weekly sessions.
I offer daytime and evening sessions online and daytime sessions in-person.
Cost: I charge £50 per session. I believe that counselling should be available to everyone and am committed to making low-cost counselling accessible, so I also offer a limited number of slots at a reduced rate if you are on a low-income or in education. There may be a waiting list for these, but please do ask.
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you"