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Monday 9am - 6pm Tuesday 9am - 6pm Wednesday 9am - 6pm Thursday 9am - 6pm Friday 9am - 6pm Saturday 9am - 2pm

Sonja Marga Integrative Counsellor

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Sonja Marga Integrative Counsellor

I am an Integrative Counsellor and a registered member of the BACP (MBACP 396398), working in Cheshire Countryside.

I am within easy access of Middlewich, Sandbach and Winsford.

02/02/2026

Some anxiety in a child is part of healthy development. Separation anxiety in young children often just means that there is a strong, secure bond with parents or carers.
But sometimes anxiety grows when the world feels too big.
Moving from a small familiar primary school to a large High school can be overwhelming. New buildings, unfamiliar teachers, harder subjects, busy corridors, and complex social rules can make children feel lost. Confidence can slip - "not good enough, not clever enough, not popular enough......"
If any of this sounds familiar, or reminds you of your own child, you don't have to manage alone. Support can make a real difference.

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31/01/2026

Healing doesn't mean you go back to how it was before.
If you break a bone it takes weeks to heal - and even after that, it may ache in the cold. The bone isn't broken anymore, but it is changed. Trauma is similar. You've lived through it and you are forever changed.
Counselling doesn't erase the past. What it can do is help you to realise you are safe now even if memories or triggers still appear. Those triggers don't mean you are failing. They just mean you survived. And maybe, with help, you can live with them more gently.

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29/01/2026

Triggers don't disappear. But we can reduce their effects. And sometimes counselling helps with this. It can help us identify our personal triggers and recognise the bodily sensations associated with them. We can learn what best grounds us; be it meditation or movement. Counselling is about talking things through in a safe, none judgemental space, where we can figure out new responses to our triggers. We will struggle with setbacks but thats not failure thats just part of healing. After all as they say "practice makes perfect".

26/01/2026

Awareness of what triggers us often takes time. Trauma shapes us before we have words for it, so learning to understand it usually requires support.
When we are triggered, we need to pause in order to process what has happened. But pausing is different for everyone. And sometimes we can't pause on our own at all. Sometimes it needs another person to help us notice we have been triggered, so that we can stop long enough to find our centre again.
Taking responsibility for what we do and say when triggered is hard too. Trauma can make people avoid accountability. And others may apologise constantly as a way to stay safe.
Healing is learning a steadier middle ground. That is why support matters. Change happens best in a relationship, rather than in isolation.

If you need to talk please get in touch.

22/01/2026

Abuse doesn't create abusers - but it can shape how power, safety and entitlement are understood. When someone is triggered, the nervous system can use what it knows works. And for some that might mean control, dominance or harming others to stop their own fear rising.
Men are over-represented not because trauma affects them more, but because society often gives men permission to act - whether that is through anger, entitlement or s*x. Trauma meets power and power matters. Women are more likely to turn distress inward or to try to appease.
Understanding this does not excuse abuse. But it can help us learn how to prevent it through empathy, and accountability. Being triggered never justifies harming someone else.

If you would like to talk to me please phone 07773855896 or email sonja.marga@hotmail.co.uk. Or visit my website at https://www.sonjamargacounsellor.com

19/01/2026

For many people, vulnerability wasn't safe. Tears were punished, fears were mocked and needing comfort made things worse. So the nervous system learned - don't be helpless.
Anger is protective. It allows you to push back. To take back control.
The problem comes when anger is misdirected towards the people we love. What once kept us safe can harm our important relationships.
Understanding this is important because from that we can begin to learn safer ways to feel secure in the here and now.

08/01/2026

When we talk about triggers, we are really talking about how the brain learned to survive.
Some children become "bedroom children" because that was the safest place. Some learn to appease or believe that the abuse was somehow their fault. The brain isn't choosing truth in those moments - its choosing to survive.
Triggers work fast. Like a sudden spark the body reacts before the mind has chance to catch up. What shows up in adulthood - anger, fight, shutting down - is a sign of how hard the child had to work to survive.
Healing isn't about erasing those reactions. Its about understanding them and hopefully shortening them and softening them.

07/01/2026

I know my triggers. When things don't run to plan or something breaks, I can feel the pressure building - like stream building in a kettle.
I even know where they come from. As a child being late or making a mess meant punishment. My body learnt mistakes were dangerous.
Now, even though I'm safe, my nervous system doesnt always realise that. And on hard days it reacts before my mind can catch up and stop it. And I don't like who I become in those moments.
And do you know what else I just realised. Triggers like mine are the best advocate for gentle parenting that I know. What do you think?

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06/01/2026

Yesterday's sunset was beautiful , and it reminded me how I now try to see life. I didn't get there by accident. It came partly through counselling. Both through receiving it and training as a counsellor.
Words help, especially when they come from someone who doesn't judge or already "knows" you. That steadying sense of safety allows you to understand and regulate your emotions.
With children this can be even clearer. We often play rather than use words. But feeling relaxed and safe helps the body to calm. And that makes change possible.

03/01/2026

Love and care really do change the brain.
Its a New Year and I find myself wishing this was something we offered one another more freely.
I think this is part of why I became a counsellor, and before that a foster carer. Not because I always get it right - I really don't! I lose my temper, I get overtired, overworked, even just hungry. And in those moments, the sadder, harder emotions take over.
But I still believe trying matters. Love and care; and the effort made, all count- even when we fall short.

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31/12/2025

Healing is about finding new paths. But its not about erasing the past.
Let me explain what I mean a bit better. I love Delamere Forest. I have favourite walks and some of the older routes I love sometimes carry with them difficult memories.
But over time I've found new paths. They dont delete the old routes. But they offer new paths through a forest I love.
Thats often how healing works. Counselling helps you find new paths. So that the past doesn't dictate the routes your life takes now.

29/12/2025

Past experiences teach our brains to react very quickly to certain situations - even when we know we are safe now. Counselling doesn't make triggers go away. But what it can do is shorten how long they take hold, helping you to calm sooner and with less self-blame.
Healing isn't about perfection - its about returning to a safe state sooner, and learning to be kind to yourself.

Address

Cottage Cattery
Middlewich
CW100LY

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 6pm
Tuesday	9am - 6pm
Wednesday	9am - 6pm
Thursday	9am - 6pm
Friday	9am - 6pm
Saturday	9am - 2pm

Website

https://www.sonjamargacounsellor.com/

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