My Service and How I work

A tree that reaches past your embrace grows from one small seed.
A structure over nine stories high begins with a handful of earth.
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.   (TAO 64)

Making the decision to seek counselling, taking that first step can be tough.

Counselling challenges us to have a really good look at ourselves often at a time when for whatever reasons we are troubled  and likely feeling vulnerable.

I offer a counselling service that is professional, discrete, respectful and non-judgemental.  It is important to me and to the way I work to create a safe, caring, warm, confidential environment where a client can feel safe in sharing their difficulties or aspects of themselves and their history that that perhaps they have never shared with anyone before.

It is important for me when working with a client to be able to really understand their life experiences from their point of view and where necessary, links may be made between past and present relationships.

Clients can feel confident that anything they wish to discuss will be treated sensitively, discreetly and respectfully.

My training and experience allows me to draw on a range of techniques to best meet the individual needs of my clients.  My counselling approach or my way of working embraces the work of Carl Rogers, who developed person-centred counselling. Person centred counselling builds on the importance of the ‘therapeutic relationship’ which is all about the relationship between the client and the counsellor as well as the counsellors use of empathy, genuineness, warmth and unconditional positive regard.  I genuinely believe that it is the quality of the counselling relationship that is most likely to achieve the best possible results from successful counselling.

I greatly value the trust that clients have put on me throughout my counselling work and indeed feel very privileged to have shared with them their personal journeys of self discovery and growth.

My own personal experience of counselling undertaken during my training was of tremendous value in giving me a much deeper understanding of the emotions that a client may experience when in counselling, and believe that as a result of this experience I am more sensitive of the needs of my clients.

The duration of the counselling greatly depends on what the issues are and generally falls into one of two categories referred to as either short-term counselling - also known as time-limited counselling or longer-term counselling.  Short-term counselling – usually lasting between 6 -10 sessions can be helpful with current difficulties – what may be called the ‘here and now issues’. Longer term counselling takes a more detailed look at the client’s history, at the roots of their difficulties and how this continues to affect their life today.  I believe that as awareness and understanding develops a client is able to recognise where helpful change needs to happen in order to live their life as they would wish to do.  

Most people will continue counselling until they feel they have reached a satisfactory resolve to their issues.

Counselling usually involves meeting weekly at least to begin with.  Sessions generally last for one hour although if necessary I may be able to more work flexibly to fit in with your personal needs.

Fees per session:-  individuals £35, couples £45 students £28.  Fees are payable at end of each session by cheque or cash.