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Clinics in Honiton & Exeter. Psychotherapy, Therapy, Counselling, Individual Therapy Couple / Relationship & Family Counsellor
Does life feel like its getting on top of you?
Could you benefit from having a safe place
to explore your situation, thoughts and feelings?
With years of experience, I offer a warm, non-judgemental & safe
environment to individuals, couples and families
struggling with emotional and personal difficulties
I feel very passionate about my work, as a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) I’m committed to offering a safe professional space for you to explore a way forward that’s best for you as an individual. Each unique person with me is at the core of the work we do together.
Many people do not realise that our profession is not regulated meaning unqualified or even struck off counsellors are still within their rights to practise as therapist. So please when looking for your counsellor do make sure they are a registered member of a professional body like the BACP
My Counselling Approach
I know how scary it can be to take the first step so I offer a free half hour initial appointment, or if you prefer an hour at half price. This session will give you an opportunity to get a sense of how I work and to help you decide if counselling is right for you and if not that’s ok as we can look at other alternatives that may be of benefit. This session can also include times, dates, costs and any other concerns you might have.
Please contact me if you would like to book a noncommittal initial appointment, all of my contact details are confidential so please feel able to leave a message if I am not available to take your call in person.
Alongside my private practice I have also worked at a highly reputable counselling service in Exeter where 90% of our clients are G.P. referrals. Having completed over 2000 counselling hours I have a wealth of experience in working with people with a variety of difficulties.
As a member of the BACP I adhere to their code of ethics and have regular supervision with a professionally qualified supervisor, I offer a safe and confidential environment for Individual Counselling, Couples / Relationship Counselling and Family Therapy.
I can work either on an open-ended basis or for an agreed time period. I am able to offer flexible appointment times, including evenings, sessions usually last for one hour although extended sessions may be booked.
I am based in Honiton but I also have a practice room in the centre of Exeter, both practice rooms are easily accessible to surrounding towns including Sidmouth, Taunton, Axminster, Ottery St. Mary, Cullompton, Seaton, Lyme Regis, Exmouth and Tiverton.
Honiton is situated on the main South West, Exeter / London Waterloo line and the station is within easy walking distance to my practice.
Fees
I offer a free half hour initial appointment or an hour at half price. If finances are a concern for you we can look at this with in this session.
I charge £40 for Individual Counselling & £50 per hour for Couples Counselling & Family Therapy, these prices are not set in stone and can be altered accordingly for those on low incomes, we can look at cost, times and dates within the free initial appointment.
I am able to offer flexible appointment times, including evenings and weekends. Sessions usually last for one hour although extended sessions may be booked.
- Stress, Personal crisis or Major changes
- Relationship difficulties
- Past & Childhood issues
- Anxiety & Panic Attacks
- Feelings of isolation and hopelessness
- Loss & Bereavement
- Work related problems & Redundancy
- Depression or Addiction
- Recurring issues & Behavioural patterns
- Low Self-Confidence / Esteem
- Abuse past or present
- Anger Management
- Affairs and betrayal
- Domestic violence
- Bullying & Emotional abuse
- Eating disorders
- Obsessive compulsive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Postnatal depression
- Seasonal affective disorder
- Sexuality & Gender dysphoria
- Bipolar disorder/Manic depression
- Spirituality
What is Counselling & How Can it Help?
Talking
Telling a counsellor about your problems will help you to explore and clarify exactly what the problem is. This may sound simple but very often when we are having difficulties we can get stuck in our own thought patterns. Talking to a professional who does not know any of the people or events involved will help you to focus, and you may find yourself widening your thinking. This in itself can be helpful.
Listening
A counsellor is also a trained listener and will try to understand what you are saying and feeling and will reflect this back to you so that we both come to understand the problem more clearly. You will not be given advice or opinions but will be offered an opportunity to look at your difficulties from several angles and decide for yourself what you would like to try to do about them. You will be helped to recognize and to draw on your own strengths and resources and even perhaps discover new qualities you didn't know you had!
Feelings
Counselling is not just about thinking. It is very much about expressing feelings. How you express your feelings is very personal and we all have individual ways of doing this. Being able to share how you feel about yourself and others with your counsellor and to have your feelings really heard and respected with out being judged can help you to decide what you want for yourself, without feeling guilty or beholden to others.
Looking at the past
As you begin to understand and acknowledge your feelings you will become more aware of and able to resolve patterns which keep recurring and causing you difficulties. In order to understand your feelings you may need to look at the past and see where these feelings originated and how they developed. In doing so you will learn more about yourself, your strengths, weaknesses and needs and how these influence your feelings about yourself and your relationships with others.
Change
Exploring and having a greater understanding of yourself and situations around you will help you to discover your true self, and through counselling you will be able to explore new ways of being and help you make any changes you choose to make.
Couples / Relationship Counselling
Couples counselling gives exactly the same opportunities only as a couple.
It gives you both an opportunity to address issues within your relationship that are causing difficulties and to explore the underlying problems that you both face in a safe and non-judgmental environment. Couples can use the process to explore their roles within the relationship and develop new strategies and approaches to each other. This may also require looking at learnt patterns and how others have influenced how you are in a relationship so you can get a greater understanding of yourself and each other and therefore enabling change and fulfilment.
Family Therapy
Family therapy offers all of the above conditions with the chance for you to come together as a family to a safe environment where you can explore the relationships between you and to address any difficulties you are experiencing. Often in our busy lives we don’t have an opportunity to come together in space which is safe and non- judgemental. To take the time to really listen to each other with out any outside distractions this in its self can help you to gain a grater understanding of each other and a deeper knowledge of the way you all interact and function as a family and with knowledge and understanding we can promote change.
About Me
I haven’t always been a counsellor but I’ve always been interested in our personal growth as human beings and feel this has always been a part of me. I started my working life in catering and lived in at a large hotel in South Devon. Throughout my time there I met varied individuals from all walks of life and from various religious and cultural backgrounds. I feel my time there gave me a chance to broaden my outlook on life, and to question how we develop as individual human beings and why we can sometimes get stuck.
While my children were growing up I was involved in local pre-school groups, being supervisor of a play school and an adult support worker at a family workshop. While in these roles I was faced with adults and children going through emotional difficulties. Feeling inadequate and having experienced the benefit of counselling myself I felt I wanted to further my skills, consequently I started studying to become a Person-Centred counsellor and completed my diploma in 2000.
My Professional Background as a Counsellor
Since then I have gained experience in many areas of counselling. My first posts were at a Youth Centre and a N.C.H. Family Centre in Tiverton where I gained experience in working with young adults and children.
I also have over 12 years experience counselling for an agency in Exeter where my clients were very varied.
Since completing my training, I have extended my qualifications by completing my Couples Counselling and Family Therapy courses and often attend training and development day courses throughout the year.
I abide to the B.A.C.P. Code of Ethics and Practice, I am therefore bound by its ethical framework. I'm committed to providing counselling in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental environment and regularly have supervision where I may discuss aspects of work where I need clarification of the way I work with you, however I never disclose client details or any information which could identify my clients in any way.
I am 50 years old and when I am not working I like to enjoy the county we live in, walking with my partner and our dogs on Dartmoor and along our coastline. I am a mother of two although both my son and daughter have now flown the nest.
Client Testimonials
Thank you so much for your patience with me as I worked through the difficulties of my childhood and started to come to terms with the lasting effects my childhood had on me. You really helped me to understand what had gone on in my childhood home and just how damaging some of it had been.
Thank you so much for being prepared to see me for our sessions and for giving me a very clear message that I am worth helping. I really am very grateful. I feel my whole life has changed since starting my counselling with you.
I am very grateful for your professionalism, your excellent listening skills and your ability to help me to understand what was going on, many of your insights were like lights clicking on as bits of the jigsaw started to fall into place.
For more information about the best services for your needs
or to organise an appointment - just give us a call!
Service Categories
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Counselling, Psychotherapy
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