BACP Accredited Counsellor in Central Leicester
Helping you with your emotional and relational problems by providing individual or couples counselling
Counselling has proven to be effective for many people who are struggling. I am a BACP accredited counsellor/psychotherapist helping people with their emotional and relational problems. I provide individual and couples counselling in my Leicester city based practice as well as online. I am a therapist of more than 10 years' experience and I can help you with a your mental health and wellbeing. Examples of the struggles people come to me about include (amongst others):
- Anxiety and fear
- Depression
- Bereavement
- Low self-esteem
- Marriage and other relationship issues
- Trauma
- Mental health concerns
- Loneliness
- Sadness
- Feeling bullied
- Boarding School Syndrome
How I Work
I provide a supportive, confidential environment either in my Leicester counselling practice or online. My core training and way of working is in psychodynamic therapy (although I do incorporate other models of counselling where relevant). This means that together we explore your experiences, both now and in your past, including the emotional impacts. Through this therapeutic exploration, my aim as your counsellor is to help you release emotional 'baggage', make sense of what is going on for you and learn what works - and doesn't work - for you. Ultimately this can help with building your sense of self-esteem and resilience, with the many benefits that can come about through improved confidence, self-worth and resilience.
Similarly, with relationship counselling, we explore how you relate as a couple and your experiences of relationships in the past. By exploring, you can uncover the models of relating you both work to, your differences and pain points. You can learn how to communicate with each other as a couple so that you can navigate your differences and create a relationship that works for you.
The First Counselling Session
The first session, an initial consultation, is all about us getting a feel for whether working together in a therapeutic way is the best way forward for you. I will be asking, amongst other things, about what brings you to counselling. I will want to find out about your life at the moment as well as your life in the past. This way I can learn about you, what the problem is that brings you to therapy and a little about your background.
At the same time that I am learning about you, you will be starting to get a feel for what working with me will be like. You may feel nervous at first, and perhaps a little uncomfortable talking about yourself to a complete stranger. However, the therapeutic relationship going forward will be important, so you will be assessing how likely it is you will feel comfortable working with me going foward.
My Counselling Practice Business Hours
I offer both daytime and early evening appointments (for those who need an after work session) from my comfortable Leicester city centre counselling room or online.
My business hours are:
Monday 9am - 12.30am
Tuesday 11am - 7pm
Thursday 11am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Counselling Through Your Health Insurance
I am a registered therapist with both AXA and Aviva health insurers. You can access counselling with me through them if you have the relevant health insurance. Please contact your insurer first to obtain the necessary authorisation.
Counselling Fees
For the initial consultation, which can be up to 50 minutes, I charge £25. After this, counselling sessions are held weekly at the same time each week, with each session lasting 50 minutes. Individual counselling fees are £50 per session and for couples/relationship counselling, £60 per session. I usually take payment by bank transfer before the start of a session. However, if you would prefer to pay by cash or cheque, just let me know.
Regular, weekly counselling is an important part of the counselling process. However, sometimes it is necessary to cancel sessions, eg: holidays or sickness. I won’t charge for any session I need to cancel and I aim to give several weeks’ notice, although in the case of illness, for example, this may not be possible.
If you need to cancel a session for any reason, I charge a £25 cancellation fee and I charge the full session fee if I am given less than 24 hours’ notice. Sometimes, it may be possible to re-arrange a session that one of us would otherwise have had to cancel, and we can discuss this the session beforehand.
Face-to-Face Counselling in Leicester City Centre
I provide face-to-face counselling at my practice in Rutland House, a beautiful listed building on Friar Lane. Near the cathedral, it is accessible by public transport and there is nearby car parking. This makes my therapy practice easily accessible for anyone living or working in central Leicester, the surrounding areas and Leicestershire as a whole. Sometimes it is possible to find street parking, however most people park in the Newarke Street mulitpurpose car park which can be found on Google maps under Newark St Car Park, York Road, Leicester LE2 7AD.
Please be aware that, because of the listed nature of the building, there is no lift and access to my therapy room is by the stairs. If access is a problem, then we can always arrange to meet for therapy online.
Online Counselling
For some people, online counselling is the better option. For example, if you are unable to manage stairs, have health issues that make travelling into the city difficult, or live outside of Leicestershire. For those of you who would prefer online counselling rather than in-person, then I am happy to accommodate this. When you enquire, just let me know that this is your preference.
Whether we are working together face-to-face or online, when you feel ready to leave counselling, just let me know. We will then discuss and agree your last session date. This may be after only a short period of time, or it may be longer - it’s up to you.
Counselling & Psychotherapy Trainees
For those of you who are counselling/psychotherapy trainees, I am BACP accredited and my core training was in contemporary psychodynamic counselling. In common with many practioners, I do, however, incorporate other models of thinking into my practice.
“It doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you don’t stop.” - Confucius
