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My availability is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday- with some variations.  (Early morning appointments considered.  Very limited evening appointents).

I am not available at weekends or on public holidays including Easter and the period from 23rd December to the New Year.   

Annual or personal leave will be communicated when relevant.

Counselling is an opportunity to take time to identify and respond to the significant changes and challenges we encounter in our lives:  personal, interpersonal, work related and those relating to loss or bereavement. Some challenges have clear, if not necessarily easy, solutions. Other difficulties or suffering cannot be changed, e.g. in the experience of bereavement. What can be altered in many situations is the level of self-compassion which can be brought to suffering, as well as the capacity to identify support people and structures to help in the management of such stressful times.

It is part of the human condition to have a range of experiences.  These include positive events, challenges and change along with the attendant upheavals and varied emotions which result from these experiences.  Counselling provides the opportunity to identify potential change if this is possible.  When change is not possible, counselling supports reflection on and a compassionate understanding of life's difficulties.  It encourages us to identify support and self-care where this will benefit us. 

I am interested in how we respond to stress, how distress impacts on the capacity to think clearly, and sometimes results in a feeling of overwhelm. I bring aspects of this understanding into my work as a counsellor when I believe it will support the work we are undertaking. An understanding of adverse childhood experiences and training in trauma also inform my counselling. The principles and practice of mindfulness influence my work with young people and with adults.

My broader experience has included education and management, pastoral care, multi-national/cultural communities.  I am registered to work with people whose lives have been affected by adoption (Registered with Link/Barnardos).  

My private practice incorporates face-to-face sessions and both telephone and online counselling.   I work primarily with adults through self-referral, school staff referrals, corporate and organizational referrals such as EAPs.   

First sessions are primarily 60 minutes long, focussing on assessing the individual's needs, the motivation and expectations of counselling and the projection for this work going forward.  

First sessions offer the opportunity to ask questions specific to your needs.   It is a time when you can decide whether or not to continue your counselling with me, or to investigate other opportunities.