Joanne Gibson
Member Status: Accredited Professional
Member No: NCS20-01256
Location: Hornchurch
Welcome and thank you for visiting my profile.
I am based in Hornchurch and I offer therapy to children, adolescents, adults and couples.
My name is Joanne and I am an integrative counsellor, which means I have trained and qualified to use the following approaches, Psychodynamic, CBT and Humanistic. There are many types of counselling and i know it can be confusing to know what type of counselling may be best for you. I decided to become an Integrative counsellor as it is a combined approach to psychotherapy that brings together different elements of specific therapies. Each approach offers explanation and insight into human behaviour.
As an Integrative therapist I take the view that there is no single approach that can treat each client in all situations. Each person needs to be considered as a whole and counselling techniques must be tailored to their individual needs and personal circumstances. Integrative counselling maintains the idea that there are many ways in which human psychology can be explored and understood – no one theory holds the answer. Essentially this means that as an integrative counsellor I am able to tailor therapy to clients and not the client to the therapy.
I was inspired to become a counsellor after my own experience of personal therapy, which helped me through some difficult issues I encountered in my life. Counselling allowed me to understand myself, and taught me that I had the ability to change. I had the answers but lost the ability to listen to myself and trust my own decisions. Counselling helped me to rediscover my full potential. This feeling was so empowering and felt like nothing I had experienced before. From that moment I knew that I wanted to help others to experience that feeling.
I know that life can be challenging and painful at times and making the decision to seek help can be quite daunting. The stigma associated to mental health and counselling can make it even harder, you may feel judged by others about how you should, think, feel and behave. You just want to fit in and be accepted, so sometimes it’s easier to just carry on and pretend everything is ok. This can be exhausting and eventually stopped working for me. It does not have to be this way. If you decide that you deserve this support to free your mind from the pressures that life can bring, I can help you understand yourself and provide you with the tools to continue to help yourself and unlock your true potential.
I also work with children from the ages of 6 through to 18. I work in primary and secondary schools and I have also worked in a sixth form college with 16-19 year olds. I currently manage a counselling project within a school for a large organisation. The work that I do with children varies depending on their age.
A child’s experience of counselling is unique to them and some children prefer to be in school, staying in the school environment with what’s familiar to them, but some children prefer to be away form school in a neutral environment. I wrote a piece of research on counselling children In schools which supports and informs the way I work with children, as this offered me insight into some of the issues they face, and in most cases they were scared, worried or simply embarrassed to seek help.
The most important thing to consider in counselling children and young people is that they need to feel safe, and trust is key. So my first goal is to build the relationship with them, so they feel safe to work with me, then and only then, can the work can begin.
I believe for any therapy to be successful, the first thing you need is the therapeutic relationship. I want you to feel safe and at ease with me, so that you can share your experiences without fear or judgment. The space that I offer, is yours for 50 minutes, and I will be led by you and what you need. I will always be honest and transparent with you. I want to understand your world, and how you view your world. I will do this offering empathy and compassion.
I offer both short-term and long-term therapy, which will be led by you.
The daily challenges of life can become overwhelming and whilst family and friends can be a great source of comfort and support, speaking to those personally involved can be difficult.
I offer a space for you to share those concerns, and not being personally involved means I can listen, be objective and you can feel safe and reassured that what you share will go no further.
I know from personal experience it can be difficult to make that initial contact with a counsellor, and take that first step to seeking help. I want you to feel at ease before you meet me, so I offer a free 15-minute telephone conversation; this will give you the opportunity to decide if you feel comfortable to work with me or if you prefer you can email me.
If there are any schools that might like me to come in to offer a full day package this can be arranged after a meeting and further discussion.
