Welcome
Hello, my name is Fiona and I am an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist.
I understand that entering into counselling may feel like a big step, and you may be concerned about what the process involves. Simply put, counselling allows you to explore your thoughts and feelings in a safe, non-judgemental space, giving you the opportunity to see the issues that are bothering you more clearly and find ways to make the intolerable tolerable.
My aim is to meet you where you are at and to understand your unique experiences and challenges. Through this we can work alongside each other at a pace that suits you to begin to explore your thoughts and behaviours, understand your emotions and/or find practical strategies for coping with those difficulties.
I want you to come away from our sessions feeling as if you’ve been truly heard and understood and hopefully for you to be able to move towards your goals and gain empowerment over your own wellbeing.
About Me and Who I Work with:
Over the past twenty years I have worked in various professional roles including as a social worker and a special educational needs officer for Local Authorities supporting individuals and their families through difficult times, helping them to find solutions to their challenges and to improve outcomes in their lives. I have experience working with individuals with learning and physical disabilities, individuals with mental health difficulties, the elderly and those disadvantaged within society through poverty, immigration or other such factors. I have also worked with individuals who have simply hit a difficult patch in certain parts of their lives and need some additional support, understanding, time and space to explore these and move forward.
These experiences have strengthened my core values that include fairness and equality, compassion, integrity and collaboration. My personal beliefs centre around the essential need for everyone to be seen, heard and valued. These experiences have led me to retrain as a counsellor allowing me to be able to offer clients more time and greater personalised support.
I am a fully qualified and registered counsellor and I adhere to the BACP (British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists) code of ethics for Professional Counsellors. I am also a fully qualified and registered social worker and I adhere to the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) code of ethics for social workers.
I offer support with a wide range of difficulties including:
- Grief and Loss
- Sleeping difficulties
- Stress and Burnout
- Anxiety Disorders
- Depression and Low Mood
- Low Self Esteem
- Perinatal matters
- Relationship difficulties
- Attachment issues
- Sexuality
- Gender
- Disability
- Pain and somatic issues
- Understanding yourself and day-to-day challenges such as adjusting to changes in life: a new job, parenthood, moving house, retirement, starting university etc.
How I work:
I work as an integrative counsellor/ psychotherapist. This means that I provide talking therapy that combines elements from different therapeutic approaches to suit the unique needs of each client. I recognise that no single therapeutic approach works for everyone, so I draw from various psychological theories and techniques to create a more flexible and personalised approach depending on your personality, issues, and preferences.
My role is to facilitate your counselling journey by creating a safe non-judgmental space where you feel truly heard and understood. This will hopefully allow us to work collaboratively, and at a pace that suits you, you to explore your experiences, reframe unhelpful thoughts and gain empowerment in your own wellbeing.
I always welcome feedback from my clients and like to check in with how they feel sessions are going. Whether you have short or long-term therapy, we are always working towards the time when you can feel confident to continue your journey without me. Though the door is always open if you feel that there’s more work to be done together.
It is astonishing how elements that seem insoluble become soluble when someone listens, how confusions that seem irremediable turn into relatively clear flowing streams when one is heard.
Rodgers 1980
Sessions / Fees
I offer individuals, over 18 years of age, long or short-term counselling.
Sessions last 50 minutes and are run either face-to-face through ‘walk and talk’ sessions out in nature, or online through zoom or by telephone.
Initial Consultation
Free
I understand that committing to therapy can be a daunting prospect. So, to make sure I’m the right person for you I offer an informal phone call of around 20 minutes to give us the opportunity to talk a little about your needs, the way I work and to check that our schedules fit.
Walk & Talk Session
£50
Walk and Talk therapy is when, instead of sitting in front of a therapist in a traditional therapy room setting, the session takes place outdoors walking side by side in nature.
Online / Telephone Session
£50
An increasingly popular option for those who can’t make face-to-face counselling sessions is video conference/chat counselling.