About Counselling
The frequency and duration of counselling will depend on the type of difficulty or problem you are facing, and what outcome or goal you hope to achieve from therapy.
Counselling is usually weekly, at the same day and time each week. For some people this may not be viable, in which I will try to arrange a more flexible approach to timings if I can.
Counselling is a collaboration between client and counsellor. Together we explore the presenting issue, e.g. anxiety, past trauma, low self-esteem. As you begin to understand your feelings and thoughts, makes changes, and starts to feel better, you may choose to reduce your sessions to fortnightly, then monthly. After a time (everyone is different) you will feel ready to end counselling, knowing you can always return in the future.
It is important for clients to feel they have some control over the counselling process. If you want to end counselling, have a break, change the day or time, just let me know.
I am a creative counsellor, and use visualisation, imagery, symbols, sand tray therapy etc. as well as talking therapy to assist my clients to find and express their thoughts and feelings when finding the right words can be difficult. I find this can be fantastic for quickly helping clients express themselves.
l trained as a counsellor in Petruska Clarkson’s integrative counselling model, providing me a wide range of counselling skills in my ‘toolbox’ offering me the flexibility to work with different clients, with different issues in a way which will help them most. There is no one size fits all.
Online Counselling
For online counselling I prefer the “Zoom “app. This is free to download to your tablet, phone, or laptop. Zoom offers the most confidentiality.
Please refer to the links below or seek information online to read more about how these work. Please also refer to their privacy policies, to gain understanding about what information about your session they may hold, and to check if you accept and agree to their privacy agreements. To visit Zoom website just click here to go straight to it.
We will arrange our counselling sessions via email. I will send you the ‘link’ to the session on the day, via email.
If there is a technical problem during the online session, we will continue our session via telephone, FaceTime or similar. We will discuss your preferred back up medium at the start of our session.
I will be in my counselling room during your session. This is a quiet and confidential space. It is important you can find a quiet and confidential space for yourself, to set up your device. Make sure you are not going to be overheard, and it is safe to speak freely. You may choose to wear earphones. To keep the session as close as possible to you being here, in my therapy room, I’d appreciate if you could make sure you dressed appropriately (not attending in your pyjamas for example).
Just to mention, if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the session will not proceed.
Please note, because the session is online, payment should be made IN ADVANCE please.
Face-to-face Sessions
Face to face sessions are in my comfortable and relaxing therapy room. I will send you detailed information on how to get here.
Parking is easy and free, and there is a toilet you can use on arrival if needed.
Access to sessions
My therapy room is accessed via a staircase. If you are unable to access my room, I will do all I can to arrange sessions a different way. This might be online sessions, my visiting you in your own home, or a 'walk and talk' out door session at a wheelchair accessible footpath or park. Please get in touch to have a chat about what works for you.
I have enough seats in the therapy room if you want to bring an interpreter, or someone to sign for you.
Feeling unwell?
If you are coming in person for you session and have Covid, or been in close contact with someone who has, please let me know so we can either re-arrange, or have a video session instead. This also applies to flu, cough and colds, tummy bugs etc.
Couples and Relationship Counselling
This could be to improve your relationship, gain more understanding about each other, or facilitate an amicable end to a relationship if that is what the couple choose.
I initially see the couple together, then each person individually before we continue sessions with you together as a couple.
Life Coaching
Coaching is a collaborative relationship, a thought provoking and creative process that is formed to help an individual identify and reach goals, devise solutions and find inspiration in order to maximum their personal and professional potential.
Single session therapy
This is for people with a specific topic they want to discuss, and a clear goal to achieve. It is 90 minutes long and is a mixture of counselling and coaching.
Types of Therapy
Brief Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Creative therapy, Eclectic, Gestalt, Humanistic, Integrative, Person centred, Phenomenological, Play Therapy, Psychodynamic, Psychosynthesis, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Transpersonal.
Clients I work with as a counsellor are: adult (over 18) individuals and couples.
How I deliver therapy: Long-term face-to-face work; Online counselling; Short-term face-to-face work; Time-limited; Single session therapy.
Counselling Can Help With:
Anxiety
emotional abuse
Trauma
Depression
Post natal depression
Grief
OCD
Anger management
feelings of anger
Express true feelings
Low mood
Better self understanding
Miscarriage
Low self esteem
Well-being
Relationship issues
Loss of life direction
Qualifications
I am a qualified Counsellor, and member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. To see my listing on the BACP website just click here to go straight to it. I am also trained in couples and relationship counselling, family counselling, and life coaching.
FdSc Counselling - Integrative
NCFE Level 1 award in Interpersonal skills
NCFE Level 2 award in helping skills
NCFE Level 3 award in Counselling skills and theory
Diploma in Cognative Behavioural therapy ( CBT)
Advanced certificate in couples counselling ( COSRT Approved training )
Diploma in couples and family counselling
Diploma in life Coaching
Singles session therapy
I have an enhanced DBS certificate
Mental Health First Aid
Sand Play Therapy
Working with Anxiety
NLP (neuro linguistic processing)
3 years volunteering at the Royal Surrey hospital, counselling Cancer patients and their families before setting up in private practice.
Voluntarily work, Counselling students at a local secondary school.
17 years working as a self employed holistic therapist. Further training for continued professional.
Location
Based between the villages of Plaistow and Kirdford, the therapy room is in easy reach of Billingshurst, Haslemere, Petworth, Cranleigh, Godalming, Barns Green, Wisborough green, Loxwood, Plaistow West Sussex, Kirdford, Bramley and Alfold.
