Counselling

What is counselling?

Counselling is where you talk to a trained professional, in private, about the things that may be worrying you or you are struggling with in life right now. 

It is a non-judgemental and confidential space where you are listened to and given time to work through the things you want to work on, with the belief that you are the expert of you and the counsellor’s role is to help you identify the resources within you to cope with life’s challenges. 

Together you and the counsellor will create a space that feels safe for you so that you are able to be open and honest about how things are for you right now, and from that honest space change can happen.

What is Christian Counselling?

There are many opinions, theories and beliefs about what Christian counselling is and is not, below is my explanation of what I offer as a Christian counsellor.

My hope is to offer Christian clients a space to explore the issues they are facing whilst keeping Christ central in the work. I can pray with you, explore scripture together and offer a reflective space where your faith and your healing are considered holistically.

Faith is often an integral part of who we are and therefore it is important to have a therapeutic space where God is welcomed into the healing process, I aim to provide that in my work with you.

Please make it clear when we discuss your needs how you would like to work together. I will only bring faith elements into our work if you explicitly state this is what you want, and will respect your decision if you do not want any faith elements brought in.

Confidentiality Policy

All counselling is confidential, whether working with young people or adults. This means that what you talk about in the counselling room stays between you and the counsellor. 

The limits to this policy are stated below: 
•    serious risk to yourself or another, 
•    if the law has been or is being broken, or 
•    there is evidence of child abuse, historical or current.

These limits are explicitly explained to you when you begin your work with the counsellor and will be covered in the counselling agreement that will be shared with you before you begin your work. The agreement also explains what steps are taken if the counsellor needs to breach confidentiality. Where possible and appropriate, consent will be gained for any instances where information needs to be shared.

A counselling agreement will be provided for both parents/carers and young people when working with anyone under the age of 16 or with additional needs, e.g. SEND. Both the young person and parent/carer will be required to agree with the terms of the counselling agreement before work can go ahead.

Presenting Issues

I have experience working with people presenting with a variety of issues and complexities including :

•    anxiety 
•    trauma
•    abuse (historical and current)
•    bereavement, death and loss
•    stress
•    identity issues
•    faith challenges
•    family difficulties 
•    social challenges
•    poor mental health

I offer both short-term and long-term work.
 

Unsure if counselling is for you?

Accessing counselling can feel daunting and hard. We often put off making contact because we worry about where to begin telling our story, what might come up in the work, and whether we feel ready to deal with our struggles. Will I like the counsellor? Will I feel able to trust them? Will I be judged? All of these are normal thoughts and worries.

My encouragement to you is that counselling can be a useful way to work through difficulties and struggles and that being heard and understood can bring the healing you are looking for.

To help you decide if you are ready I offer a free 30-minute initial chat to discuss your needs and for you to get a feel of who I am and how I work. This time will allow you to consider if counselling is right for you and if we are a good fit to work together.

The best way to know if you are ready is to reach out and take that first step – I will be waiting at the other side to help you.
 

Accessing Counselling

At the moment I only offer counselling online so you will need to have access to a device where you can join an online meeting via Teams, or other agreed online platform. 

You will also need to have a confidential space where you can meet and not be disturbed for the duration of the session.

I work with young people aged 11+ and for the initial meeting I will require a parent present to agree terms of working, but going forward I will work with the young person 1-1. 

I will only contact parents to share information relevant to safeguarding concerns or regarding admin tasks such as payment and session scheduling.

Fees

My rate is £45 per session.
Concession fees available and can be discussed in the initial chat.