Counselling
About counselling
'Counselling and psychotherapy are umbrella terms that cover a range of talking therapies. They are delivered by trained practitioners who work with people over a short or long term to help them bring about effective change or enhance their wellbeing.'
(British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy)
Counselling gives you the time and space to explore aspects of your life that you are struggling with, whether that be something particular that you are aware of, or just a general sense that things aren't quite right. Coming to counselling and exploring yourself at depth takes great courage.
Counselling is a conversation with a purpose. It involves you telling your story. Counselling is not about giving advice. Counselling respects you are the expert on you; that within you are the answers to your worries, concerns and difficulties, but that you need help and support to find them. Counselling is about helping you understand yourself better, helping you have insight and growing awareness about how you became you, how your difficulties arose and how they are impacting now. Counselling is about helping you to become more self-aware and able to make real and significant changes in yourself and your life.
My approach
At the heart of my work is the building of a healing, therapeutic relationship. I am trained in integrative counselling and psychotherapy, specifically person-centred, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and attachment theories. This means that I have the flexibility to draw on various approaches and find the right mix with you as our work together develops. We can address a specific concern that you have in a fixed short-term number of sessions (6-12), or we can agree to work longer-term in a more open-ended way.
First session
This is our opportunity to get to know one another a little more and for me to hear what brings you to counselling at this particular moment. We will look at your concerns, and start to explore what you'd like to get out of counselling. It is a time for you to ask questions and decide whether counselling is right for you. And most importantly that you feel comfortable that I'm the right counsellor for you. I also need to decide that I have the right experience for the issues that you'd like to explore.