Counselling and Psychotherapy online or by phone
from Frome, UK - available nationally and internationally
Welcome to my website. Take your time to have a look round and to see if I might be the right counsellor for you. An experienced psychotherapist based in Frome, Somerset (near Bath), I offer therapy online or over the phone and I‘d be happy to explore with you the support you need. Perhaps you're feeling generally stressed or there might be something specific you‘re struggling with: a current relationship, a past trauma or something else.
I've been a practising counsellor in Somerset and Wiltshire since 2011. I now work exclusively online or by phone (and am fully qualified to do so, having gained an OCST certification) so, no matter where in the UK (or beyond) you live, we can still work together. I am committed to providing counselling and psychotherapy in a safe, confidential and non-judgmental environment.
I work on an open-ended basis or for an agreed time period with the aim of enabling you to enhance your life and to live it more fully. Some people do what they need to do within a couple of months (8-10 sessions). More commonly, people work with me for 20-30 sessions (6-9 months) and some continue their work with me for several years. The choice is yours - you'll know what you need and when you've done what you needed to do. I do ask that, when you feel that the work is coming to an end, we discuss and work towards that ending. It's an important part of the process.
I am experienced in helping many clients struggling with:
- Stress
- Relationships
- Panic attacks
- Anxiety
- Bereavement
- Redundancy
- Depression
- Life changes including family, work, retirement, menopause, divorce
- Trauma
- Recurrent, uncomfortable patterns of behaviour
- General feelings of dissatisfaction, confusion or “what’s it all about?”
- Feelings of worthlessness, low self-esteem or directionlessness
- Sexuality concerns
- Physical illness/caring for a loved one who is chronically sick or dying
Don't forget, as I work online and over the phone, wherever you are - Frome, Bath, or anywhere else in the UK or in a different country - if you need a counsellor, I can help.
About diagnoses and labels
For some, getting a diagnosis of, for example, depression and/or anxiety may feel comforting and I respect and understand that. For me, though, they are symptoms of an underlying and probably deep-rooted distress. It's this distress that we need to get to and (gently and respectfully) explore in order to understand the reason the emergence of such symptoms in the first place. Only then, I believe, can any of us fully understand ourselves and, in so doing, take better care of ourselves at which point, we will experience life in a healthier and more contented way.
Perhaps more controversially, I hold the view that the collections of characteristics we are used to calling ADHD and ASD are not fully explained and attributable to neurobiology alone. I am more and more convinced that there is, at least in part, a trauma response at work in those of us who experience these characteristics.
There is an ever-increasing number of "disorders" being identified and medicated for; an approach which I don't support. People need people to heal. Medication can sometimes help but it's rarely the answer alone