Stress Management & Counselling Services
My Service aim is to enable individuals to enhance their coping strategies in order to manage more effectively the stress in their lives.
Individual Counselling offered for the following issues:- Stress - Individual and work related
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Bereavement
- Life changes and transitions
- Health related issues
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Chronic pain
Location
Lea Town Preston. There is a limited bus service so own transport would be required. Car parking available.
Counselling Venue
I work from home and provide counselling in a safe, confidential and comfortable environment
If you would like more information about my services or would like to ask some general questions don't hesitate to contact me I will be more than happy to help.
How I Work
As a therapist, I aid an open exploration of whatever aspect or aspects of your life you may wish to understand, make sense of, or change. My approach to counselling and therapy is non-judgemental, non-directional and supportive.
The first session is used to explore the possibilities of our working together. It is a chance for you to ask me any questions about how I work and what stress management and counselling entails. We can discuss what your expectations of stress management and/or counselling might be, and any anxieties you might have about beginning. We will also go over practicalities such as fees and timing of the sessions.
If, after this first session, you feel you would like to begin working with me, then our work together can go on for as long as you desire. You may find that a few sessions are all that you need, or you may wish to continue beyond this.
You are always free to talk openly about how you are finding counselling/therapy - in fact, this can form a very useful part of our work together.
Personal Profile
I have worked as an occupational therapist within both the public and private sectors for over 35 years.
I have been involved with Cruse Bereavement Care for many years and am currently the Supervision Officer for Lancashire.
My experience within the NHS was in the rehabilitation of both physical and mental health conditions. I have provided stress management and counselling sessions for people as part of a cardiac rehabilitation programme and for those suffering from physical pain whose life issues and poor coping strategies enhanced their pain.
Through my core training as an occupational therapist and my further training as a stress management practitioner and person centred counsellor I am able to offer a range of interventions which encompass both a behavioural goal focused approach as well as providing practical tools for enhancing adaptive coping strategies to reduce stress levels and to improve well-being.
Since retiring from full time employment I have developed my private practice, working with individuals to enable them to manage their life issues. I have a specific interest in personal stress and the management of the physical symptoms of stress. I can teach you how to use relaxation techniques to relieve muscle tension. My approach is always person centered with the emphasis placed on building a supportive relationship within which meaningful work can take place.
What Is Counselling?
Counselling is a "talking therapy", or in other words, a "conversation" that attempts to help us resolve personal, social or psychological problems and difficulties. Clarifying the aspects of our lives that cause us distress, confusion or lead us to feel blocked, stuck or unfulfilled can help and enable us to make choices about the things that we may wish to change or understand more fully, and also help us to come to terms with those things that we can't change.
People come to counselling for all sorts of reasons. A significant event, such as bereavement or a relationship breakdown, might be the prompt. Or there could be a desire to identify and change unhealthy patterns of behaviour. You needn't even be clear about your reasons for starting counselling - many people experience a general sense of unhappiness, anxiety or dissatisfaction and use counselling as a way of finding out what these feelings could mean. In short, there are no right or wrong reasons - there merely has to be a willingness to take a closer look at those concerns that we cannot easily make sense of by ourselves.
Counselling can focus on a single issue or a range of concerns, and can be either short or long-term in duration.
What is Stress?
Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened in some way. When you sense danger – whether it’s real or imagined – the body's defences kick into gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction, or the "stress response".
The stress response is the body’s way of protecting you. When working properly, it helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save your life – giving you extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.
The stress response also helps you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration when you're attempting the game-winning final match point, or drives you to study for an exam when you'd rather be watching TV.
What is Distress?
Modern life is full of hassles, deadlines, frustrations, and demands. For many people, stress is so commonplace that it has become a way of life. Most people describe stress as an unpleasant experience, for example, being under too much or too little pressure, feeling frustrated or bored, being in situations which they feel unable to handle or control, thinking that they are a failure, experiencing marital disharmony, bereavement or financial difficulties. What they are describing is distress - the bad aspect of stress. This, left unchecked, can lead to poor performance, decreased productivity and ill health. For the individual distress can give rise to headaches, indigestion, frequent colds, neck and back ache and unhappy relationships.
Is Stress an Illness?
No, stress in itself is not an illness. Stress isn’t always bad, in small doses, it can help you perform under pressure and motivate you to do your best. But when you’re constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the price. It is this prolonged exposure to pressures and challenges that can cause mental and/or physical ill health.
What is Stress Management?
If you frequently find yourself feeling frazzled and overwhelmed, tearful, irritable or short tempered, suffering aches and pains, not sleeping and using alcohol or cigarettes to relax, it’s time to take action to bring your nervous system back into balance.
I can help you to protect yourself from the harmful effects of stress by teaching your how to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress and how to reduce your body’s physiological response to stress.
Pursue a Balanced Life Style
I can work with you to help you to identify which interventions might be most appropriate for you and your lifestyle. I can help you to understand how to get the right balance between life’s demands and your coping resources. However to get the right balance you would need to re-appraise how you perceive and interact with every day challenges, life events and individual at work and in your social network.
Stress Perspectives - A light hearted look at stress and its management
Terms and Conditions
Fees
£35 payable at the end of each session, either in cash or by cheque
Length of session
55 minutes
Hours of Business
Mondays to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm
Appointment times
These are negotiable, either on a session by session basis or as a contracted block of sessions, whichever seems most appropriate.
How do I make an appointment?
Next steps
Following the receipt of the self referral form and stress questionnaire:-
- I will contact you by telephone to make an appointment for an assessment session.
- Please indicate when you email me when you will be available to receive a phone call.
Assessment session
The first session is an opportunity for us to explore whether the stress management/counselling I offer is appropriate for you and to allow you to make an informed decision about whether or not you want to embark on further counselling with me. Attendance at the first session does not commit either of us to further sessions.
Number of sessions
This is something that I would expect to negotiate with you at the initial assessment session and on a session by session basis.
Regularity of sessions
Ideally counselling should take place on a weekly basis, particularly in the early stages, so that information and insights gained in one session are still fresh in your mind at the next session. However, if that is difficult for you we can meet less frequently.
Confidentiality
As a member of BACP I am bound by their Ethical Framework which includes guaranteed confidentiality unless I have serious concerns about your safety or the safety of others.
Testimonials
“Joan helped me reassess my life and get things back into balance. I had struggled for a long time and tried counselling in the past but it had not really helped. Joan not only provided me with tools and props to get me through the dark hours she gave me tools to use for the rest of my life. She became the one person I could be absolutely honest with about everything and was able to reflect on the things I poured out in a way which was a great help to me in moving forward. I can’t thank Joan enough for the support and help she gave me in what was a very dark night of the soul”.
“Joan, thank you very much for all your help and advice. Your kindness and understanding made me feel immediately at ease. I was able to use your stress and anxiety relieving techniques immediately and with very positive results. This is very uplifting as I will be able to continue to benefit throughout my daily life. Thank you for making a difference to my coping mechanisms”.
"Every time I think about facing up to the fact that I need help I start crying and want to hide. I'm ashamed and embarrassed that I can't sort me out on my own. I've heard all the "first step is admitting you need help" advice but for me, admitting it to an intangible, unknown, unseen face is as "first step" as I can get. Thanks for yesterday. It helped me recognise a lot of things and explain some others. It also made me notice the tenseness in my shoulders."
"Cognitive behavioural therapy really helped me to gain control of my exam related stress and ease my panic attacks. Joan assisted me in understanding my stress and doing something about it, thank you!"
“We have met the objectives we set at our first session. I have started my new job and far from any problems I am – for the first time in a long time- enjoying my work. Your contribution to this has been literally incalculable. Put together with the support of my GP and my family and my own determination to be well we seem to have cracked it. Once again thank you for helping me to come back from the brink”.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for helping me in realising and maintaining my true self. For supporting and guiding me though the times and issues I could not face on my own. For helping me realise the true good in others and indeed myself. For letting me see myself with esteem and showing me how to wear a genuine smile upon my face. Thank you Joan, for being you”
Qualification Details
- Diploma (HE) Counselling, St Martins College Lancaster University. 1999
- MSc Stress Management for Practitioners, Manchester Metropolitan University. 1997
- Masters in Business Administration - University of Central Lancashire. 1992
- Diploma College of Occupational Therapy - Liverpool School of Occupational Therapy. 1967
MEMBERSHIPS
- British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT). BAOT No 4856
- Health Professions Council (HPC) HPC No OT3316
- International Stress Management Association (ISMA). ISMA No M613
- British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). BACP No 525652
Service Categories
Counselling, Life Coaching
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