In Person Counselling in Bracknell

Are you feeling sad, anxious, or overwhelmed with the demands of everyday life? Are you a mum struggling with the ups and downs of parenthood? Is your child struggling to manage big feelings and you don't know where to turn? I am here to help. I have over a decade of experience supporting children, adolescents, and adult women facing challenging times. Some of my areas of focus include anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, perinatal mental health, eating disorders, self-harm, and chronic illness. I provide both short-term, goal focused therapy and long-term work where we can explore your past and how it impacts your present.

Hi my name is Amy, I understand that seeking help can be scary, especially if you have felt let down in the past or you haven't ever opened up to anyone before. Healing takes time and I will be alongside you for as long as it takes to feel safe and secure in expressing difficult and painful life experiences and feelings. I won't ever try to force you to open up, sometimes I might suggest using creative tools to express how you feel if you are finding it hard to put things into words. My approach is tailored to you and what you are comfortable doing.

Collaborative working is at the heart of CBT and its important for clients to take control and contribute to their recovery. To help clients reach their goals I guide them to their own realisations and encourage them to challenge their bias negative thinking and unhelpful behaviours. Clients often want to be heard and understood but importantly to learn coping skills to make changes to improve their life experiences.

I'm trained and experienced in helping young people (13+) and adults who are struggling with their mental health, and in gently assisting them in their search for the roots of those feelings. I work closely with LGBTQ+ folk, and with those who are and/or love neurodivergent people (ASD, ADHD, AuDHD, etc). I'm also an experienced School Counsellor, a role I greatly enjoy. I'm trauma-informed, anti-oppressive and culturally attuned. We will use your personal values and beliefs as our reference points during therapy, so that we can safely explore what's going on for you from the only appropriate perspective: your own.

As an experienced and qualified counsellor, I will help you to make sense of what's happening in your life as I believe that this understanding will open up options for you to move forwards and past the uncomfortable feelings you are experiencing. You might be wanting to deal with past/current difficult and distressing experiences; improve personal or work relationships; overcome fears or anxieties; develop confidence or self-esteem; or find more purpose, motivation or fulfilment in your life.

Do you want to talk to someone? Are you considering therapy with a qualified counsellor? If you are feeling confused, unhappy, overwhelmed or worried I can work with you. Do you want to make changes but are not sure what or how? Do you feel stuck in a rut or afraid? Do you feel alone, isolated or different? Are you struggling with low-self esteem? I will listen to your thoughts and feelings, supporting you to become more empowered and autonomous. I will offer you unconditional positive regard, whatever you tell me. I do not offer advice but together we will explore your concerns so that you can be more content .

I work with a variety of issues within my sessions and am happy to work with whatever needs you bring as the client. I work as a Pluralist Counselling which means I am well versed in Psychodynamic therapy (looking at and working through your childhood), CBT (changing behaviours and a more practical approach) and person-centred (working in the here and now, putting the clients' needs first). I will work in collaboration with you, and making sure that you feel you are getting the most out of your therapy session, checking in with what you feel is working and what you would like to change whilst offering an empathetic safe space.

Life can offer wonderful experiences, but it can also present challenges that can be difficult to manage. Similarly, the people in our lives can bring us joy but relationships can be stressful and can leave us feeling overwhelmed. Navigating life's journey isn't always straightforward, and discovering our own path can be difficult. Sometimes we may need help in order to make sense of it all, this is where I can support you.

Life is full of its ups and downs, and during the difficult times it may feel, for some, that there is no one to turn to. It can be daunting asking for help and sometimes it feels like no one understands what we are going through. However this does not need to be the case, as you can get support and understanding through counselling. It's really about finding the right counselling relationships- if you've tried before and it didn't work... it was the wrong therapeutic realtionship- please don't give up, You are worth not giving up for.

My particular interests are: helping men and women who have suffered trauma, from mental, physical and sexual abuse; and working with couples - around commmunication and relationship issues. Providing a safe, supportive space, I employ a Relational Approach, using the unique therapeutic relationship between me and each client as a way for us to mutually understand the personal dynamics of each person - how they interact with themselves, and with the world - and to help facilitate personal change. Through our therapeutic relationship we can help change patterns of thinking, feeling and behaviour causing pain and distress.

I am a clinical psychologist trained in a diverse range of therapeutic models including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with a special interest in Schema Therapy. I have received formal training in Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) as well as experience of delivering Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) interventions. I have 11 years of experience working within the NHS with children and adults with a range of psychological difficulties including anxiety, depression, and personality disorders.

I am a qualified integrative Child and Adult Counsellor and ADHD Coach As an ex-Detective working in the Child abuse team, I saw how childhood traumas can affect childhood through to adulthood. The lasting effects are life debilitating and can be crippling. I believe in working collaboratively with your mind, body and soul to bring your body back in alignment. Whether that's through talking therapies, or hypnotherapy.

Thank you for taking the time to view my profile and find out more about my experience as a therapist and how I practice.  If you, or someone you care about are struggling, and certain aspects of life are feeling overwhelming, reaching out for help is such an important first step. Many of us are affected by mental health issues at some point in life, through our own experiences, or somebody close to us. I am dedicated in helping you to better understand these difficulties and to provide you with the tools you need to achieve emotional wellbeing.

I support clients who are experiencing anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties or who are struggling with a life event. I aim to build a therapeutic relationship with you that is unique to you and offers what you need. We would carefully work at a pace and depth governed by you, to explore coping strategies and understand what has gone on in the past, what is going wrong now and have the ultimate goal of empowering you to find greater control over your life and a different way forward to a better place.

Let it be anxiety, depression, parenthood, general worries, grief or another specific theme that you have in mind, nothing is too little to be explored in therapy. Taking the first step towards entering therapy might not always be easy, being vulnerable in front of a stranger might be intimidating. My goal as a therapist is to give clients a safe, empathic, warm and non-judgemental space so that we can speak freely and you can have the psychological support you need, may this be in a short-term therapy concept or longer term.

Are you finding it difficult to get up and face the day ahead? Struggling to connect or maintain your relationships? Tired of pretending to be something you're not, yet afraid of judgment? Do you feel stuck while others move forward? Are you experiencing low mood, stress, or anxiety? With irritation and anger surfacing frequently? Maybe you're overwhelmed by mixed emotions, made even more challenging by guilt or shame for feeling that way? Perhaps you feel different, and fear being left behind. Are your nights consumed by uncertainty and worries life will always be like this?

By combining my therapeutic models, I am able to provide a unique approach for each client which will help you to gain insight into your issue, enabling you to bring about change. The therapy lies in the realationship between the client and counsellor, where trust and respect is developed and at the centre of each session, and is integral in the way I work. I have experience working with adults and young people, helping with a wide range of issues. Therapy offered can be either short or long term at flexible times during the day and evening depending on the needs/requirements for each client.

We can all at times experience life as challenging and stressful. Clients contact me for a variety of reasons including:partners of childhood sexual abuse survivors, anxiety, work stress, bereavement, depression, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, loss of direction as well as wellbeing for men. Couples also come to my practice. Some come to improve how they communicate, some wish to find a way through their current difficulties and to find a way forward, some wish to separate with compassion and understanding, whereas others come to keep their communication open via couple tune up sessions after the main therapy has ended.

I am an experienced, qualified counsellor. Counselling offers a unique and compassionate experience based on forming a relationship of trust and respect. I work with individual adults, couples and young people helping them to make sense of their lives, life events, thoughts and emotions. I have spent time working in schools with young people and their parents helping them to deal with the difficulties and challenges life can bring, especially in this age of social media. I offer a safe and non-judgemental environment in which I can help facilitate reflection and clarity on life events, thoughts and emotions.