Samson Hill
Member Status: Accredited
Member No: NCS23-01842
Location: Peacehaven
Despair, joy, sadness, anxiety, our past experiences and future concerns can impact the present. I hold a space for all emotions and feelings whilst we co-create a trusting relationship together that can promote change, where you’re accepted and can find yourself again in a world where you may be told to be something other than who you are. I am person-centred, being alongside you and your humanness as you connect to and come into relationship with different parts of yourself and to what brings you to counselling.
I work experientially, in a way that sees you as a whole person, offering a gentle curiosity around how you experience the world. Whatever the issue is that you’re facing, we can work together in a nurturing environment, discovering new ways of being. This may be galvanised by coming closer to who you are, forging new relationships with parts of yourself (sometimes younger parts) that have been calling to be noticed and looking at situations with a fresh lens. I offer my presence to you for this to unfold, without giving advice or analysis. I believe no-one can know your reality the way that you do, you are the expert. I trust in you, I trust in me and the changes our therapeutic relationship can support.
I value drawing on other approaches such as, compassionate inquiry and existentialism, helping clients find meaning and explore questions about their lives, which for example might include eco-anxiety due to climate change. I hold all counselling theories lightly, meeting each client anew with what is arising in the moment. I’m led by you, the client, which informs how we work together and if we bring in different ways of approaching sessions, such as creativity. We work by invitation rather than obligation.
I have personal experience of mental health issues and having ‘dark nights of the soul’. I’ve been on my own counselling journey of healing, which was and still is important in shaping me as a person and counsellor, increasing my capacity to empathise and understand elements of suffering. However, I meet you as an individual with your unique lens on the world, honouring our differences. My commitment to you is to continue a path of learning and development, increasing self-awareness and engaging in self care in order to support you safely, effectively and ethically.
Experience
I welcome everyone to my practice, having worked with a range of clients in areas such as self-esteem, relationships, trauma, depression, anxiety and neurodiversity. I have a special interest in working with spiritual/transpersonal/non-ordinary experiences as well as eco-anxiety. I have experience of supporting people through death, loss and transition, through my training and work as an End of Life Doula.
I’ve worked affirmatively with clients at a local LGBTQ+ mental health charity, exploring specific issues around Gender Identity and Expression, Sexual and Relationship Diversity. I recognise the systemic strains many members of marginalised groups face, as well as the stigma and shame that can arise and how important it is to give compassionate attention to this in the therapy space.
'The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change'. Carl Rogers
