Talking therapy (Person-centred)
The Person-centred therapy I use has you, the client at the centre.
I will call you a client. In my view ‘patients’ expect to be fixed, whilst ‘clients’ have a responsibility to help themselves to heal. You’re in charge of the theme of the work we do within each session.
I work as an Experiential Person-centred therapist. This means that if I have information or experience that I believe could help you I will respectfully share it with you. However, there is no requirement to accept it.
One of the most important aspects of therapy is that there is a good relationship between us both.
During the first session when we are agreeing a contract for working together I say that if there is a feeling that my clients cannot ‘get on with me’, or we ‘do not gel’, then the counselling is not going to be successful. This is the reason why I offer the first 30 minutes of the first session free of charge i.e. there is no fee. This is intended to show that there is no compulsion; a person can walk out of my door and tell me ‘sorry this is not going to work for me’ and I will, and I do, understand.
We will work together to create a healing therapeutic relationship; part of that is to be honest with each other. I do not judge you. I am open, truthful, respectful and keep within the ‘boundaries’ that we set together. Personal boundaries are very important in this work. We have to feel safe with each other.
You may be feeling very stressed, which is the reason why you are looking for help to manage feelings of being overwhelmed by it all. I can support you to recognise what you are doing to look after yourself now and to explore other ways to manage the things that are stressors for you.
Mindfulness is something that can help us cope with stress. It can help us look at the important things in life. It is a way to be aware that we live life now and not in the past nor the future. We do the best we can with the knowledge we have at the time.
My aim is to provide a safe, confidential and non-clinical environment within my home so that through counselling you feel you can cope with your life. I hope that after looking at my website you feel you would like to come to meet me to begin your journey of recovery.