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Offers

• Face-to-face consultations
• Video and telephone consultations

About me

Hi and welcome to my profile.

I am a fully-qualified and experienced BACP accredited counsellor providing counselling, psychotherapy and EMDR for individuals and organisations in Maidstone. I offer a safe, confidential and non-judgemental relationship in which you can explore personal or difficult issues that may be causing you distress.

It is so important for you to have a robust connection with your counsellor and that why we meet for an initial assessment so that you can make sure you feel comfortable working with me. Not only can we talk about what is troubling you, but also what may be blocking progression and any feelings about personal change. Counselling is a fluid process and can be challenging at times but you will find the best results through your commitment and engagement.

I started working with clients at Bromley Community Counselling Service and Off-the-Record Youth Counselling Service during my second year of training. I now work with people aged 18 years upwards and enjoy my work tremendously.

I began working at Bridge Counselling in Basildon, Essex as an adult counsellor and was there for six years before building up my private practice in Maidstone.

Having worked with many clients over the years, I feel privileged to have shared their individual experiences by helping them work through some difficult feelings, emotions and situations.

ABOUT MY WORK:

Counselling isn't about giving advice or me telling you what to do, it's exploring thoughts and feelings about issues and concerns and having an opportunity to discover how to move forward in life.

Some counsellors use just one type of approach, but I use the three main proven approaches used within counselling - psychodynamic, person-centred (sometimes referred to as humanistic) and cognitive-behavioural. This gives you more choice of how you want to look at your issues which, in turn, creates the flexibility to flow with the different ways to move towards your personal goals.

As with most therapies, for the therapy to be effective, it is vital to focus on what happens in the relationship between client and counsellor. Research shows that the relationship with your therapist or counsellor is as important as the actual method they use.

If you haven't had experience of counselling before or have had a poor experience in the past, you may have mixed feelings or feel nervous about contacting me. When we embark on anything new or something which we may expect to be negative, there are natural anxieties that emerge. I am more than happy to spend a few minutes on the telephone to talk through these with you before you commit to booking an appointment.

At your first appointment we look at what you want to talk about. Some people are clear at the start with what they are looking for and others need a few sessions to think it through, either way is fine.

I will ask some general questions about you and if you have any concerns or questions then this is a good opportunity to discuss these too. This all helps us decide whether it's the right place for you.

If it is, then we agree on weekly sessions of 50 minutes at usually the same time each week, although occasionally this might alter in certain cases (e.g. where people work different shifts).

If your therapy is being funded by someone else then a certain number of sessions may be offered so we look at how to work together within that time frame.

If you are funding yourself then it is called open-ended therapy where we do not decide on an ending date and the therapy is ongoing incorporating review sessions along the way.

VIDEO SESSIONS: I AM NOW ABLE TO OFFER VIDEO SESSIONS USING A SECURE ENCRYPTED AND GDPR COMPLIANT PLATFORM CALLED “ZOOM’. WEBSITE IS: WWW.ZOOM.US

If clients prefer this method, then information is given about using Zoom as well as guidelines for having sessions via video.

Areas of interest

Anxiety disorders; Bereavement; Depression; Eating disorders; Individual therapy; suspected or diagnosed Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); Relationship difficulties; Low confidence / self-esteem; Problems at work; Abuse