Counselling for adults,
children and young people
children and young people
Counselling and supervision sessions can take place remotely either by online video call (usually Zoom) or by telephone. Working this way offers all the benefits of face-to-face appointments with the added convenience of not having to travel. I enjoy working effectively with clients all over the UK and further afield. Please do get in touch if you are interested in finding out more.
I also offer Face to Face sessions from my first floor therapy room in Tring, Hertfordshire (HP23 5ED) and Walk and Talk sessions in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire (HP22 5).
You may have experienced trauma, or be stuck in a way of living that is causing you stress and unhappiness.
Talking to friends, family or colleagues can often help. Maybe you don’t want to burden them, don’t have anyone to talk to, or maybe they’re part of the problem.
Sometimes we need someone who is outside of the situation, who will really listen to us and our concerns and work with us to help us sort things out, so that we can feel better.
I am a qualified Trauma Informed Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist. This means I use different ideas and techniques to suit you as we work collaboratively. I incorporate the link between brain and body in our work, as many issues can have both physical and emotional effects.
Sessions can be singular, a few in number, or on a longer-term basis.
I work with adults and young people. I also work with couples.
I offer a friendly, secure, and confidential space where you can be heard, held, understood, and valued.
I have worked with many different issues. If you’re struggling with things in your life, past, present or future, or you’re not even sure what the problem is, counselling might be the help and support you need.
I offer a free initial 20 minute meeting, or a 50 minute first session at a reduced fee, so that you can meet me before you decide. This gives you the opportunity to ask any questions you might have and is without any obligation to continue.
Please get in touch with me by telephone or email if you are interested in learning more or to arrange an initial appointment.
Contact Sophy on 07749 937706 or email sophy@aplacetobeme.co.ukCounselling Directory LinkDo you need urgent help:
I am a Trauma Informed Integrative Counsellor, Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor. I am a Registered Member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP), and an Accredited Professional Member of the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). I have a Diploma in Integrative Therapeutic Counselling, as well as other post graduate training and clinical experience including working with Trauma, PTSD, Eating Disorders, and working with Young People.
I work with individuals aged 11 years and older, and with couples.
I believe that to be let into someone’s life is a real privilege. I am very committed to working responsibly, ethically and sensitively to help you get what you need. I won’t sit there with a clipboard, cold and aloof. Instead, together we will try to build a valuing relationship based on honesty, understanding, equality, warmth and acceptance. Each client is an individual, and I hold this in mind this with every person I meet.
I work with many issues, and have special interest in working with Trauma, PTSD and Complex PTSD / C-PTSD. I have completed extensive Post Graduate study in this area and am trained in number of approaches that enable me to work to support you with tools, help you process your trauma and move ahead with your life. My training includes the body to brain-based therapy Brainspotting, the Rewind Therapy Technique, and others. My approach and training mean that I have a good understanding of trauma and can support you to develop the tools and skills necessary to effectively work with trauma in safe, strategic, and systematic manner. By working somatically, we pay attention to what happens in the body as well as in the mind.
I also have a special interest in working with children and young people. I have extensive clinical experience in this area. Alongside my Private Practice, I am the Lead School Counsellor in a Private Day and Boarding School for children aged 8 years to 19 years (since 2018). Between 2013 and 2018 I worked with two local senior and primary schools as a school counsellor.
As well as my work as a counsellor since 2013, I have many years of professional and voluntary experience in other roles within the commercial corporate sector, the support sector, and the voluntary/fundraising sector. I appreciate the stresses and demands that the balance of everyday life, work and family can place on us.
As a Trauma Informed Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist, I combine a variety of theories in my work, incorporating the link between the body and the brain. These theories include Person Centred Theory, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Transactional Analysis (TA), Attachment theory, Psychodynamic theory, Mindfulness, Gestalt theory, and creative work.
My Post Graduate trauma trainings and clinical experience enable me to include the body-brain therapy Brainspotting and Rewind Therapy. I am trained to offer STAIR Narrative Therapy (Skills Training in Affective & Interpersonal Regulation), Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Imagery Rescripting and Reprocessing Therapy (IRRT), Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PET), as well as other approaches.
Counselling is collaborative. We will discuss together what you might want to work on, how we approach this, and review your progress throughout the work we do. My belief is that whatever theoretical approach(es) we use, the most important aspect of our work will be the relationship we develop together.
My aim is to provide warmth, empathic understanding, and respect for whatever issues you choose to discuss. We go at your pace, working collaboratively where you want to go.
I have attended additional training courses and post graduate training for working with Disordered Eating including Anorexia, Bulimia, ARFID, Binge Eating and Nutrition for Disordered Eating. I have also attended post graduate training modules specifically for Working Therapeutically with Children and Young People.
I have clinical experience of working with parents and carers supporting them with many issues including post-natal depression, anxiety, panic, anger, infertility, addiction, relationship breakdowns, loss and bereavement, alcohol, abortion, depression, long term health issues and stress.
I adhere to the BACP Ethical Framework. and the NCPS Code of Ethics. As per these frameworks:
I work with adults of all ages.
It’s not always easy to talk about feelings and emotions. I will offer you a friendly, safe, supportive and confidential space where you can talk without fear or criticism, and where I will accept you, without judgement, for who you are.
I see clients from all walks of life and all backgrounds. Emotional distress, stress and mental health issues can affect any and all of us. Each year one in four adults will experience a mild to moderate mental health problem. This can be the result of sudden unexpected events, planned transitions or from early trauma resurfacing when current life events trigger past experiences and memories.
Counselling can be an opportunity to explore your concerns with me, without bias and in a way which you may not be able to do with your friends or family. We can work together so you’re able to identify ways to improve your wellbeing, and help you make the changes in your life that you would like to happen.
I’ve had the privilege of working therapeutically with clients on a wide range of issues, including include low mood, feeling sad, anxiety and anxiety disorders, fear, stress, self-harm, suicidal ideation, school/life stress, work-life balance, depression, panic, neglect, abuse, many different relationship issues including separation, affairs and divorce, neglect, sexual abuse, trauma, PTSD, complex PTSD / C-PTSD, body image, bullying, domestic abuse, abortion, disordered eating (including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, ARFID), Neurodiversity including Autism (ASD) and ADHD, anger, low self-esteem, fertility and infertility, miscarriage, alcohol, low self-confidence, post-natal depression (PND), chronic fatigue (CFS), short and long term illness, loss, bereavement, and as many other issues.I work with children and young people aged from 11 years old.
Counselling helps a child or young person to better understand their situation. It also provides time and a space for children and young people to explore their thoughts and feelings about changes, personal issues or other difficulties they may be going through.
It can help them cope with their emotions and enable them to make positive choices. Ultimately, it can help children and young people to feel more safe, secure and happy in the family home, at school and in their everyday lives.
Issues I have worked with children and young people include stress, low self-esteem, self-harm, anxiety, anger, sexuality, friendships, body issues, neglect, family or relationship breakdowns and problems, school problems, bullying, loss and bereavement, suicidal ideation, depression, bullying and many other issues.
As well as counselling (talking therapy), I use a variety of techniques to promote and develop resilience and emotional health, including creative work and therapeutic play.
I am also happy to provide counselling for parents, carers and families to support the family unit.I am able to accept referrals from local schools, GP surgeries and Social Services. Please contact me directly to discuss this, or pass on my details to the person who may be interested in counselling:
07749 937706 or email sophy@aplacetobeme.co.ukThis is something we will talk about in detail when we meet.
I believe that trust and feeling safe is vital that in the counselling relationship. By feeling safe, this enables you to talk about your deepest thoughts and feelings. The counselling room is somewhere for you to talk about whatever you want, but there are some rules that I have to adhere to, to ensure safety for you, myself and other people.
Discussing confidentiality is also important, so that you know what, if anything, that you say is discussed outside of the counselling room.
I work and adhere to the BACP’s Ethical Framework.
“Respecting clients’ privacy and confidentiality are fundamental requirements for keeping trust and respecting client autonomy. The professional management of confidentiality concerns the protection of personally identifiable and sensitive information from unauthorised disclosure. Disclosure may be authorised by client consent or the law. Any disclosures of client confidences should be undertaken in ways that best protect the client’s trust and respect client autonomy”.
As counsellors, we all have our own way of offering confidentiality, and others may differ in their approach to it. My approach to how I maintain my client’s confidentiality is as follows:
The ethics and law around confidentiality are very complex, so it is always worth talking it through if you are concerned about any doubts you may have.
I will ask you to sign something to say we have discussed the confidentiality as part of our working agreement. We can refer back to this at any point in the work, should you need clarification on what it means for what you want to discuss in the room. Once we have discuss the limits of the confidentiality, you can talk freely about what brought you to counselling in the first place.
There are some additional considerations when working with children and young people. I would ask you as a parent/guardian to sign paperwork to confirm we have discussed confidentiality and its limits for the counselling work.
It is vital when working with young people that they want to come for counselling. It needs to be their counselling and their space. In coming for counselling they will have a safe confidential space in which to think about and share what’s on their mind. It can be hugely beneficial to simply have someone who is not family, school or friends to really listen.
It’s important to let your young person share as much or as little as they want about the counselling, or simply nothing at all with you as parents or carers. You will have worries or concerns about them but it is crucial that they can trust that what they say is private.
When we commence working together, we talk through a working agreement where confidentiality and the limits of this are discussed in detail. In exceptional circumstances if child protection issues should be raised, or if I’m given information that the young person or anyone else was in danger or at risk of serious harm, I may have to break confidentiality. I always endeavour to gain the young person’s consent to disclosing information to the relevant persons or authorities, but if consent can’t be obtained I retain the right to take action independently.
I require a parent or carer's written permission to work with any young person under the age of 18, and expect safe travel arrangements to be put in place if we are working face to face.
Depending on the age of the young person it is sometimes helpful to have a joint meeting at the start of the counselling with parents/carers and the young person. This is not always necessary or desirable.Counselling can be used to explore many, many issues. Some issues can be very traumatic and involve long term work. Other issues may be less challenging or obvious, or involve shorter work.
Things you may seek counselling for include:
Counselling allows you the opportunity to move towards living in a way you feel to be more satisfying, fulfilling and resourced to manage with what life brings your way.
My job is to help develop an honest, genuine relationship which allows you to feel accepted, understood and valued, so that together we can explore your world, gain understanding and process (work through) whatever comes up.
You may be able to achieve your personal goal in just a few sessions of therapy, but you may equally need more time than that. It depends on the nature of your discomfort and how you are as a person. Everybody is unique and individual, and so are the problems they bring to counselling.
It may also be worth asking what the challenge or issue itself is costing you now, in terms of your work, your relationships, your family. Many clients come to see counselling as a very worthwhile use of their time and money.
One of the most important factors in whether counselling will be effective is whether you want to undertake it. If you are doing it to please someone else or because someone is pressurising you into it, it is unlikely to be helpful.
Counselling is very different from going to see your doctor. We tend to expect that once we have explained what the matter is to our doctor, he or she will give us something that will remove the problem. Counselling however, is not something that is done to you, or given to you, like medicine or advice. It is “emotional work” and it is important that you see it as your work, with your counsellor working alongside you. If you want someone to take away your emotional distress without you having to do anything yourself, it is unlikely that you will find counselling helpful.
If you are unsure whether counselling is the right thing for you at present, you could ask yourself three useful questions.
If you can answer yes to these, it is likely that you will benefit from counselling.
One further thing to consider is that you need to feel strong enough to bear the difficult emotions that may be touched on in the course of the counselling. To move forward you may have to go through a period of feeling worse than you are at present, before you can start to feel better. You need to be aware of this before agreeing to undertake counselling. We can discuss this when we have our initial conversations, so we can think about how to address any concerns you might have about this.You may have some questions so hopefully you will find the answers here. Please feel free to get in touch if you can’t find what you need here.
Location:
As well as working with clients remotely all over the UK, I offer Face to Face sessions from my first floor therapy room in Tring, Hertfordshire (HP23 5ED) and Walk and Talk sessions in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire (HP22 5). My therapy room in Tring is accessed via stairs. Unfortunately there is no lift available.
Both locations are served by many regular bus services and routes, as well as being within easy reach of:
Fees:
Individuals:
Couples:
Payment
I accept payment via bank transfer. Payment is due at least 48 hours before the appointment day for the session to take place.
Cancellation Policy:
I have a cancellation policy of the full 100% session fee is payable if appointments are cancelled 48 working hours or less before the appointment day. Cancellations made between 48 working hours and 72 working hours are chargeable at 50% of the session fee.
Payment for all sessions including cancelled sessions is due no later than 48 hours before the day of the appointment.
By booking an appointment, you are agreeing to these terms.
Appointment Times:
Counselling “offers you a safe confidential place to talk about your life and anything that may be confusing, painful or uncomfortable. It allows you to talk with someone who is trained to listen attentively and help you improve things.” British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
Counselling doesn’t suit everyone, it’s true. But it’s also true that for many people it does work well.
According to research by the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists, (BACP), up to three quarters of clients report improvement, when they compare before and after counselling. For more detail see: http://www.bacp.co.uk/research/resources/
Recent Studies from the International Centre For Clinical Excellence showed that 80% of clients in Counselling and Therapy end up better off than those who didn’t seek help.
At the beginning, you may feel worse before you feel better, as you are looking at difficult issues.
Although family and friends may want to help, counselling allows us to work with someone who is more detached. It offers a space separate from our everyday lives to feel, think and see clearly. We can reach a different understanding and sense of ourselves by working with a counsellor.
No. You do not need to inform anybody that you have come for counselling unless you wish to. It does not go onto your GP or medical records.
I follow the BACP professional guidelines on confidentiality.
There are some limits to confidentiality which will be discussed at our initial meeting when we establish our working agreement. These limits are:
If you know you're going to miss a session, please let me know and I am happy to re-arrange subject to my cancellation policy below: