10/03/2019
Hi.
I’ve had some enquiries about the type of counselling I am offering. This is not easy to describe in a nutshell. But here goes:
Starting in the 1990s three different year long courses stretched over several years:
• Counselling Skills
• Certificate in Therapeutic Counselling
• Diploma in Counselling
Whilst I was doing these, I attended quite a lot of training in what is called the Human Givens Approach (a Bio/Psycho/Social approach, which utilises techniques from from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to Ericksonian Hypnosis to Neurolinguistic Programming to Solution Focussed Therapy.
It is very pragmatic in offering people techniques to deal with common mental health problems including anxiety depression and trauma.
I was lucky to have the trust and support of counselling tutors and supervisors to incorporate this within my generally person centred training and practice.
I have worked in management in Learning Disability services, where I worked closely towards meeting the often ignored mental wellbeing needs of this group. I also began to have a specialist interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
For about a decade I worked in the local Voluntary Organisation, ending up offering a specialist counselling service to people over 16 on the spectrum and also to carers.During this time I completed formal Hypnotherapy training.
Later working in Mental Health (in the Early Intervention in Psychosis and Primary Care Mental Health teams) I was part of a team offering a service to people with a very wide range of mental health issues and to their carers.,
I later worked in CAMHS offering Training, Consultation and Joint or Direct work, mainly to youngsters with ADHD and/or ASD and their families.I learned to use a flexible approach and received some formal CBT training in order to help people with a range of problems.
I have also worked in the Autism Spectrum Disorder assessment Team in Devon Children’s Services. ( In addition to counselling input I would also be happy to offer a stand alone autism specific consultation session for parents and carers of people on the spectrum).
My approach is very much needs led. I will tune in and jointly identify your needs. It might be for an accepting and supportive listening ear, to clarify where you are and where you want to be. It might be to look at the impact of the past on your present and future.
We might look at techniques to help you better cope with current pressures. I might make some practical suggestions if that is what you want.
I would expect you will see and feel a significant improvement in your sense of wellbeing in 6-8 sessions. If you wanted to continue longer, or check in for maintenance sessions, that would be possible too.
So, the service is tailor made to your specific needs, drawn from a wide palette of experience and training.
Feel free to contact me for a brief chat to see how I can help you.
