My Work
I was a member of the working party that originally set up Lancashire’s schools’
counselling service. I currently operate a well established and varied private counselling
practice working with people from all walks of life and all ages. I also counsel in
schools and I have worked in a GP’s Surgery and continue to receive GP referrals.
I supervise other counsellors, provide group supervision, and have facilitated
a support/networking group for therapists.
I receive referrals via solicitors, GPs, several Employee Assisted Programmes
(EAPs), and a private hospital.
Enquiries: 01253 852865 mob: 07930 306017 e: info@onlinecounsellor.com or
The service I offer is confidential, warm, safe, respectful, non-judgemental and caring.
I aim to be flexible in meeting your needs. Counselling can be undertaken in your own
home setting if preferred (there may be an additional charge for this service depending on
distance), and out-of-office hours appointments can also be arranged.
BACP
I am an accredited member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and
I adhere to their ethical framework. Further information about the BACP may be obtained
from their website: www.bacp.co.uk
Services I offer
- Counselling
- Supervision
- Hypnotherapy
- Expressive Therapy
- Peer Mentoring training
- Workshops
- Group Facilitation
- Specialist work with children, adolescents and young people
Counselling
I am very sensitive to how difficult it might be to take that first step to make initial contact about
counselling. Please be assured I will treat your call with the greatest respect and care.
Choosing the right counsellor can feel daunting and making that first contact can be very difficult.
My counselling training is Person-Centred. The quality of the relationship is central to my work.
You will always be in control of the sessions and we will work at your pace. The sessions
will be confidential within the boundaries of safety.
Counselling is a relationship between the client and counsellor where the joint aim is for the
growth and good of the client.
By using the Person-Centred approach I will offer deep empathy, understanding, genuineness,
respect, and unconditional positive regard.
Counselling provides you with the space to focus entirely upon you, your aims, goals and issues.
There are times I may challenge you but it will be done with integrity, respect and gentleness.
Expressive Therapy
Expressive therapy is another way of working through issues/difficulties or for personal growth
through the use of various media such as art materials, movement, sound, working with
miniatures.
If you wish to know more about working in this way I would be happy to discuss this with you.
Hypnopsychotherapy
Hypnosis is a state of altered awareness in which imagination rather than intellect is active. Contrary
to widespread believe, it does not involve becoming unconscious and has nothing to do with sleep.
Hypnosis cannot be forced upon people, but is a state that clients allow themselves to enter. In this
sense, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Hypnotic states occur naturally in every day life, in the form of
daydreaming, vivid remembering, fantasising.
In the clinical setting, hypnosis goes with a very pleasant state of physical relaxation that in itself is
very beneficial, especially in the treatment of symptoms induced or aggravated by stress. In such
cases it is not a substitute for medical treatment, but a very useful supplement to it. Hypnosis cannot
perform miracles but it is a state of awareness that can be used for self-help.
Psychological problems, from unwanted habits to irrational anxiety states, can usually be traced to
distorted, one-sided, or unbalanced attitudes, deeply imbedded in the mind, often at the subconscious
level. By the time they come for help, clients have usually exhausted the resources of their logical,
critical, conscious minds.
In the hypnotic state, clients can draw upon inner imagination and experiential resources, and be
open to suggestions that encourage positive change.
For some conditions, regression techniques are used. This means re-experiencing imaginatively
significant events in your life. Sometimes this is used to discover within yourself qualities and
resources which, when made available in the problem situation, will resolve it. Sometimes traumatic
experiences that have had a distorting effect on the mind can be reassessed and their harmful
effects eliminated or reduced.
It is not possible to get ‘stuck’ in the hypnotic state, like sleep or any other natural state of mind,
people emerge naturally from hypnosis, especially when there is a need to do so.
I tend to use hypnosis in a person-centred way. Any suggestions are after discussion with you and
to benefit you. I work with whatever you present, at your pace, your agenda. It might be that you
choose to have a combination of counselling with some hypnosis. Your needs and wishes can be
discussed at the initial consultation and reviewed at any time.
What Hypnosis can help
- Breaking unwanted habits; eg smoking, nocturnal enuresis, nail biting, stuttering
- Obtaining relief and often remission from symptoms such as: asthma, migraine, gastro-intestinal and neurological disorders
- Dermatological conditions such as eczema, Psoriasis, neurodermatitis, herpes simplex and even Warts
- Pain control for minor surgery, dentistry, arthritis and general neuromuscular aches and pains
- Hypnosis can free people from phobias, compulsions, emotional problems, insomnia, and inhibitions
- Sexual dysfunction such as impotence, premature ejaculation, frigidity
- The use of self-hypnosis will help prevent stress and tensions caused by modern day living, reduce high blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease
- Hypnotherapy can be used for effective weight control, increasing work/study/sporting performance improving concentration and memory, developing the imagination, boosting self-confidence and achieving your potential
Supervision
I provide supervision for Counsellors, trainees, NHS staff, teachers, managers, groups
and for a wide variety of people who work in related service industries.
Supervision provides a safe non-judgemental space to bring the whole of you. It is a
place to share difficulties and successes.
I offer a caring, supportive, confidential environment where the supervisee can look at
his client work, bring personal concerns, and explore him/herself in relation to his/
her client.
Each supervisee is an individual and I work with each according to their needs.
Supervision is usually in 1.5 hour sessions (the minimum recommended by the BACP) per month.
additional sessions can be accessed when the need is felt e.g. at times of additional stress, increased client load.
I am also available by telephone or email should the need arise for additional support.