COUNSELLING

The purpose of counselling is to allow people the opportunity to explore their emotions, to share their life experience and to develop skills to care for their own emotional wellbeing with a trained and qualified counsellor or therapist. 

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The idea of this may feel overwhelming. You may feel afraid of being judged, misunderstood, or wary about sharing parts of yourself with another person. 

My role as your counsellor is to listen without judgement, to offer empathy and compassion, to provide you with a safe space to explore from, and to encourage empowerment and growth.  

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I practice an Integrative Model of counselling, which means that I work with skills from three different theories:

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·        Person-Centred – traditional talking and listening therapy which is grounded in client-led exploration of emotions;

·        Psychodynamic - exploring how our past affects our present;

·        Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - working together to challenge negative thoughts and behaviours.

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Following an integrative model allows me to blend skills from each approach to suit your needs, ensuring that each therapeutic relationship is as unique as each of my clients.

I also follow a trauma-informed practice model, which is grounded in the understanding of the effects of trauma on a person’s neurological, biological, psychological and social development. Often we don’t understand the effects of trauma on ourselves as a whole, and I use psychoeducation skills to explore the impact of trauma on my clients and their emotional wellbeing. 

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Counselling can allow us to focus our attention on certain aspects of ourselves in order to change. Counselling can provide us with a space to explore our hopes for the future, and it can also allow us to reflect on how our past experiences have affected our present lives and who we have become.