Stacey Sewell Counselling

31/01/2025

Are you looking for low cost long-term psychotherapy in Plymouth or surrounding areas? More information here: https://staceysewellcounselling.co.uk/2025/01/28/thinking-about-long-term-therapy/

28/01/2025

I’m a qualified counsellor currently undertaking postgraduate training in psychotherapy. As part of my course I’m required to work with a small number of training clients for 40+ weekly sessions. I appreciate that long-term therapy can be a significant commitment, so I’m offering some discounted places (£30 per session) while I complete this further training. Sessions can be in person (in Plymouth) or a blend of in person and online. Read more about me, and more about who long-term therapy is for and how it can help, on my website (link below). Do please share this with your networks. https://staceysewellcounselling.co.uk/2025/01/28/thinking-about-long-term-therapy/

16/01/2025

I enjoyed reading Philippa's thoughts in this article. Much of what she says reminded me of my own approach to therapy.

Looking back through her post bag, Observer Magazine’s Philippa Perry answers her readers most commonly asked question: why are other people so awful?

07/01/2025

This hits hard.

Counselling can be a space to banish the ghosts.

06/01/2025

The new year often brings an increase in people looking to try counselling or psychotherapy as a way of changing something about themselves or their lives. Both can help people to achieve healing and growth. Here’s a very short guide to checking you’ve chosen a registered professional.

The new year often brings an increase in people looking to try counselling or psychotherapy as a way of changing something about themselves or their lives. Here’s a very short guide to checking you…

03/01/2025

Read more about me and my approach to counselling on my profile on Counselling Directory. I have a small number of in person and online slots available from January onwards, including (at the moment) one early evening place. I'd love to hear from you if you'd like to find out more about how counselling could help you.

Hello! I'm Stacey (she/her). I help people to process what’s happened & what’s happening and find a way to move forward. I work with adults of all ages in person/online. I'm LGBTQ+ affirmative and have experience of working with neurodiverse clients.

27/12/2024

Which parts of yourself would you like to offer more breathing space to as we move into the new year?

23/12/2024

Well, this is me signing off for a few days for the Christmas break. I'm mindful that the holidays can feel lonely for some, and if this is you then my thoughts are with you. I've explored some ways folks might manage loneliness over this sometimes difficult period in a blog post on my website. Be gentle with yourself if you're struggling and reach out for help if you need it. Whether you'll be looking for something particular under the tree on Christmas morning or you'll be looking for connection and compassion, I hope you find something of what you're hoping for this festive season.

Exploring ways to cope with loneliness at Christmas.

10/12/2024

With the Christmas countdown firmly underway, many people will be starting to feel their stress levels ramping up. I’ve put together a few tips for coping with Christmas. I hope you find them helpful. Do reach out if you'd like more help.

With the Christmas countdown firmly underway, many people will be starting to feel their stress levels ramping up.

20/11/2024

With the Christmas holidays on the horizon, this feels like a good time to share this infographic. Counselling can help you to reflect on your relationships and navigate difficult family dynamics.

01/11/2024

A friend recently gifted me this fab badge. One of my favourite things about working as a counsellor is seeing first hand the transformative power of being heard. Whether it's telling the stories of how we've been hurt or wronged and allowing them to be witnessed with compassion, or learning to listen to our own wants and needs, being heard can lead to so many opportunities for change.

Wishing you all a great end to the week.

15/10/2024

Is feeling you have to hide impacting your mental health?

I saw this sign in a pop up shop back in the summer. The cheeky way it said one thing and did another caught my attention. I liked how it seemingly said, ‘I could hide,’ but its neon glow gave out quite a different message. It got me thinking about hiding.

I’ve worked with many clients who have come to counselling, directly or indirectly, because they’re hiding. They might be hiding a part of their identity, fearing or knowing that to reveal it will lead to discrimination or rejection. They might be hiding a need or a desire, worrying that it can’t, or shouldn’t, be met. They might be hiding a difficulty, believing that to reveal it would show weakness. They might be hiding something about themselves through a sense of shame, having been given the message (by family, friends, employers, elders), ‘it’s just not okay to be that way’.

Sometimes people are hiding from things. They might be hiding from a difficult truth, a complex situation, or impossible demands and responsibilities. They might be hiding from a calling to change something about their life.

Sometimes these acts of hiding have contributed to a lack of satisfaction in relationships or at work. Sometimes they’ve led to stress, depression or anxiety. Hiding can be hard work. People find that mental and emotional energy gets diverted into concealing or avoiding the things that have to be hidden or hidden from, giving them less energy for other parts of life. They might end up exhausted or experiencing burnout from a constant state of being ‘on alert’, or from having to present a fake face to the world.

Is feeling you have to hide impacting your mental health?

How can counselling help?

As a counsellor, I offer a space where you can be yourself. I can offer you time to settle into the whole of yourself and a chance to feel accepted. I hope that sessions with me can be a space where you can sit down and shed the burden of having to pretend.

I can help you to learn techniques to soothe your nervous system. I can offer you space and time to practise finding the words to tell people who you are. I can work together with you to help you gently turn towards facing the unfaceable.

I hope that I can help you develop the capacity to say, ‘I could hide,’ but, like the sign, glow with the declaration, ‘but I won’t!’