what is counselling?
Counselling is an opportunity for you to express yourself and to explore strategies and responses to challenges in your life in a safe, supportive, non-judgmental space.
Counselling sessions take place on a one on one basis and are completely confidential. Dialogue is open, honest, sometimes challenging but above all respectful and focused on supporting you to gain a clearer understanding of how, and who, you are in the world.
I formally trained in both Person Centred and Gestalt counselling approaches both of which belong to the “humanistic” school of therapy. Put simply the philosophy behind this approach is the assumption that there is more right with you than wrong and we each already have the wisdom we need to enable us to heal and grow. The aim of the therapy is to help you uncover the resources that you already have and to re-examine strategies, attitudes, assumptions and behaviours which are no longer serving you effectively.
During my long career in the field of health and social care, I have been fortunate enough to train in and subsequently draw on many other therapeutic approaches and influences including philosophy, spirituality and the recovery world.
Depending on what you wish to bring to the work, sessions may be more structured and focused on gaining insight and learning and developing skills and strategies to enable you to manage your immediate situation more effectively. Equally, counselling can also be a safe, non judgmental space for you to express yourself and simply to heal and grow. I believe that when working within the counselling relationship everything is relevant and I promote a holistic approach to the work. With greater awareness comes a sense of more freedom and consequently more choice and greater opportunities.
Counselling sessions are 50 minutes long, take place online through a secure platform and at a mutually agreed time weekly. Wherever possible we will meet at the same time each week.