Hopefully by reading my profile you will be able to understand the type of counsellor I am and if I would be the right person to support you in whatever you are facing.
If it helps then please do give me a call and we can chat about what you are looking for.
If you are looking for a qualified supervisor then please have a look at my supervision profile or my website for more details.
Style of Counselling: I am a person centred counsellor using an integrative framework, which means that I provide the space for you to be able to be yourself and explore what you would like to in a confidential, supportive and reflective safe setting. I feel being integrative in my approach provides you with the space that is also adaptable to ensure I am able to provide you with what you want to be able to grow or discuss something that has affected you.
My passion in life is to help others using the skills and abilities I have built on to support those that would like to change. I can assist you in that change but in doing so I ensure that it is you that is empowered to do this. This is important because then you find your resilience and your resolution, which can help you realise that it was you that was able to make it and continue to in future. I believe that providing this space where you can explore your feelings, thoughts behaviours and being able to talk about whatever you bring can be the healing process that you need to feel better in many ways.
Where I am located
I am based in Puriton in Somerset near Bridgwater & Burnham on Sea. There is easy access from the M5 motorway, free parking and also a confidential quiet place to enter and leave the counselling session if that is important to you. My counselling room is 15 minutes from Weston-Super-Mare junction, 15 minutes from Taunton junction, less than 10mins from Burnham-on-sea junction and 20 minutes from Glastonbury/Street.
Face to Face Counselling
As mentioned I can provide face to face counselling in my counselling room. For anyone worried about having counselling face to face due to recent times I have ways of working that can help reduce any risks. Please do ask me what I am doing when you contact me.
Online or telephone counselling:
I provide face to face counselling but some people find that online counselling and telephone counselling works better for them. If people have busy lives then online counselling can save time by not needing to travel to come and see me. I have worked with supporting people over the telephone or through video calls for a while now and understand best practices when working with someone in this way. This method of counselling from my experience can be as effective if not more effective than face to face for some people. We can discuss how online or telephone counselling might help you if you need to ask any questions.
For more information please take a look on my website or contact me.
I am a qualified and experienced Counsellor to Diploma Level 5, accredited with National Counselling Society and have been working supporting and counselling people in the charity sector and in private practice for a number of years. I provide counselling for men or women as well as young people. I am also a qualified supervisor.
Qualifications
Diploma in Supervision - Iron Mill, Exeter, Devon
Level 5 Diploma in Counselling NCS Accred- Bridgwater College, Somerset
Level 3 & 4 in Counselling - Bridgwater, Somerset
Level 2 in counselling - Bridgwater, Somerset
Diploma in Mindfulness - Heartwood Counselling, Devon
Grief Therapy – Portland Institute
NCFE level 2 Mental Health
Mental Health First aid
Counselling Children and Young People
Other areas of training I have carried out include:
Understanding Traumatic bereavement
Working with suicide and self-harm
Working with people who Self-injure
Various Trauma training
Spirituality and Psychotherapy
Borderline Personality Disorder
Suicide Prevention Skills
Therapy for men
Working in a time limited framework
Inner-child work
Obsessional Compulsive Disorder – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cutting edge Connections between Spirituality & Psychotherapy
Vicarious Trauma
Mindfulness
I also have a diploma qualification in Mindfulness so I am able to help people deal with anxiety, physical symptoms and other conditions by understanding some simple techniques they can use to reduce these.
Supervision
I have a diploma in supervision and provide a supportive space for counsellors in practice, for more information around this please take a look at my supervision page or website.
My varied Experience: I have a varied and experienced career in emotional support for people in different circumstances through mental health services, charities and private practice.
Having worked for Mind (Mental Health Charity) in Taunton & West Somerset, Marie Curie in their emotional support service and St Margaret's Hospice counselling relatives in bereavement. I have also worked for a charity that emotionally support people that have experience a traumatic death of a loved one and need to attend a Coroners' Court inquest.
Some of my other experience was through supporting carers in a charity in Weston-Super-Mare and also supporting young people in a school environment in Somerset.
My career has also involved working with and supporting young people on the autistic spectrum. I have experience working in the hospitality industry, in construction and the highways agency and local authorities.
My focus has been on building my knowledge around mental health and supporting people by staying up to date with latest ways of supporting people in their life when it can feel like we don't understand what is going on for us. When we do start to understand this is when we can make those changes for ourselves and get to a better place with it.
What I can work with: Throughout my career I have worked with men, women and young people for a range of different reasons.
My approach is treating each person as an individual in a compassionate way to allow that person to resolve what is going on for them. I believe you have the key for the solution you just need someone to walk by your side to hear what is going on and for you to share your story safely.
People look after their physical health by going to the gym or exercising so they can improve their physical fitness for their goals in life. I believe if we look after our mental health and wellbeing by going to talk to someone and processing it we can also improve and support ourselves to a healthier way of being, promoting our resilience when something crops up in future.
Work related: You may be looking for counselling to help with work-related issues. This may include stress around work, feeling too unwell to go back to work, redundancy or threat of redundancy, bullying at work, trying to find work or lack of work.
Bereavement & Loss: I have experience counselling people around bereavement and loss. This can be for a number of reasons through loss of a loved one or relationship breakups and losing friendships. Maybe you are finding it hard to come to terms with what has happened and you need some space to talk about your process around the situation.
Suicide: I am able to provide counselling around suicidal thoughts and feelings as well as processing about a loved one that may have died by suicide.
Trauma: Trauma comes in so many forms and it can be really difficult to be able to talk about this with someone else. I begin with building the trust and the space for you to be able to feel comfortable sharing what you would like to talk about. The pace is set by you.
Sexuality & Orientation: Other areas that people may find comfortable in approaching to talk to me about is their sexuality or maybe confusion with who they are right now or in the past. This may include feelings of identifying as gay, bisexual or identifying in other ways in terms of someone’s orientation or gender. What is also important is acknowledging those that don't identify with what they might consider as a label. This can be a really hard subject to approach for some when you haven't spoken about it to anyone else but if you have the trust in a counselling relationship you may find talking about it in confidence can be that first step of processing what is going on for you.
Terminal Illness or long term conditions: I have worked supporting people with a terminal illness, those caring for people who have a terminal illness and supporting those family and friends after someone has died from a terminal/life limiting illness.
Adolescents and Autism: I have background in working with the adolescents. I have provided counselling for young people for a few years regarding a range of subjects and reasons that they might need counselling. I have also worked with young people that have an Autistic Spectrum Condition.
Physical Symptoms: I believe that our physical symptoms can also be something that affects us in life and talking around this subject and what the physical symptoms do to us can be a part of the work we talk about. It is sometimes hard for others to accept we are feeling those symptoms and what they may represent, but having someone listen about what is going on for you can help.
Self-Development, Personal Growth: Through counselling we can improve parts of ourselves by talking about the challenges we might face, the way that we are around others or the things holding us back sometimes. This can include so many different aspects of our lives for instance love, relationships, friendships, work/career, sport/physically etc.
By talking about the things we want to improve in a confidential space we can find a way of working around or processing why we might be feeling or behaving the way we do.
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