Training & approach

Having completed training courses in a variety of approaches during my counselling career, I then undertook a Masters degree in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Central England (now Birmingham City University) and achieved my MSc in 2006.

My earlier training in Psychology had been from a psychodynamic stance. Subsequent courses have included those based around the following approaches:_

Person centred

Cognitive Behavioural

Transactional Analysis

Gestalt

The theoretical orientation I have developed over the years has the core conditions of the person centred approach as its foundation but I integrate techniques and strategies from a variety of other models, particularly Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Transactional Analysis.  I have a basic working knowledge of most of the other approaches.

Some clients are aware from previous counselling, from things they have read or from being told by someone else of the type of counselling approach that they would like to receive. Many however are not familiar with this theoretical aspect.

My practice is to engage with the client at an initial exploratory session to hear any thoughts they may have about what sort of counselling they would like to receive and to explain anything they need to know about counselling generally or about specific approaches to counselling. We can then decide together what is going to be most helpful for them.