Trauma-Informed Counselling and Psychotherapy in Brentwood, Essex and Online
“The past effects the present even without our being aware of it”
Francine Shapiro
Offering In-person and online Psychotherapy
EMDR UK Accredited Practitioner
I am an Accredited EMDR Practitioner and trauma-informed psychotherapist and use the latest research in neuro-biology to get to the roots of how you feel, why you feel the way you do and how to change that so you can live the life you want.
My Therapeutic Approach
What happened to you?
I have recently been struck by the messages we tell ourselves: that if we are not happy or we are depressed, anxious, stressed or just feeling bad, that there is something fundamentally wrong with us. <b. In Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry's book: 'What Happened to You', the conversation takes us away from blame and shame that there is something fundamentally wrong with us but to look at how we were treated, how we were loved as a child and how we were treated - this is at the heart of therapy. And if we can address those early, difficult years, we can get to the root of what happened to you so that we can help you to love life and embrace who you are.
Counselling and psychotherapy offer a way to gain insight into our distress and how we come to be how we are - that what happened to us, effected us then, as a child, and continues to effect us in the present.
EMDR therapy
For really profound change, I offer EMDR (Eye Movement Reprocessing and Desensitization) a treatment recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence. Please see the website of the EMDR Association . Recent research and developments in neuro-psychology, the brain and body have shown that certain adverse childhood experiences effect the way we live life in the present; the way we deal with change, stressful situations, family breakups, bereavement and lots of everyday situations, in our life now. Insight doesn't necessarily lead to change. EMDR can provide lasting and profound change, not just insight. EMDR can be a quicker and more profound way to deal with a number of common issues such as: depression, anxiety, stress, distress, ptsd, phobias, addictions and many other life-affecting problems. If we assume that these distressing, yet pretty common issues, are the result of deeper problems and earlier distressing experiences, they become easier to 'fix' and their effects are certainly easier to change so that we can live life well.
There are articles in the press explaining what EMDR is and how it helps here and here.
Attachment, authenticity and the mind/body connection
Reading and listening to Dr. Gabor Mate and his work on Attachment vs Authenticity has also had a profound impact on how I work. In this 4 minute clip, Dr. Mate explains how we have all survived childhood in particular and life in general - and the compromises we have make in order to survive> This is our adaptive self insight and knowledge, has fundamentally changed the way that I work - focusing on our early attachment experiences and how this effects and infects our daily life and relationships in the present, both our emotional health and our physical and psychological health.
I would encourage you to look at Dr Mate's website: Dr. Gabor Mate and specifically his research on the mind/body connection and his book When the Body Says No.
Issues addressed in therapy are:
anxiety and depression
problematic personal relationships
work-place stress
loss and grief - of a partner, parent, child
phobias
addictions
self-esteem and self-confidence
ptsd (post-traumatic stress disorder)
In addition, therapy addresses the causes of the 'Functional Diseases' and the alleviation of symptoms from:
- IBS
- Chronic Fatigue
- Fibromyalgia
- Other unexplained medical conditions
Confidential Counselling for Anxiety, Trauma & Emotional Wellbeing
I offer a confidential, supportive and caring space for you to explore what is troubling you so that you can make sense of your life. Whether you are looking for short-term support or want to explore deeper issues, I am experienced in working with a wide range of symptoms from anxiety, depression, low self-worth and self-esteem, childhood abuse and trauma. After our first or second meeting, we would certainly have an idea about how I can help. Please see the page on Counselling and Psychotherapy
My Location
My counselling and psychotherapy practice is in Brentwood which is close to Billericay, Shenfield and Chelmsford areas of Essex. I am ideally placed near Brentwood station for easy access to and from Chelmsford, Romford in Essex and London. I am a 2-minute walk from Brentwood Station which is on the Elizabeth Line giving easy access to London.
I also offer online therapy via Bilateral Base, which is specifically designed for EMDR work.
Therapy is dependent on the relationship we create and in these troubled times, online therapy offers a safe and comfortable way to get your needs met, whilst remaining in the comfort of your own home.
Get in touch
To arrange an initial appointment please call me on 07445-672295
On contacting you I will arrange a date and time for an initial appointment.
All messages and calls will be treated in strictest confidence. Both my e-mail account and mobile answer phone service are only ever accessed by me.
All enquires are usually answered within 24 hours, and all contact is strictly confidential and uses secure phone and email services.
Some frequently asked questions
Yes. Since the Coronavirus has exploded into our lives, people are naturally very anxious and yet are worried about attending therapy face-to-face. Online therapy offers a perfect way to get to 'see' a therapist and to stay safe.
No - the most usual route to get counselling and psychotherapy is self-referral: you contact me directly and we agree to meet and discuss what you feel you need. However, I also take referrals from G.P.s, psychiatrists, other medical consultants, private medical insurance companies and Employee Assistance Programmes.
Although the terms counselling and psychotherapy are both used, counselling tends to be shorter and more solution-focused, whereas psychotherapy is more open-ended and allows for deeper, more meaningful work. While psychotherapy can include certain aspects of n, it is also an opportunity for you to explore your problems and difficulties in more depth. The main difference in the two ways of working is in the training: psychotherapy training is longer and more in-depth and we are required by our accrediting body to be in our own therapy for the length of training, and usually beyond. Personal work continues in workshops and trainings which I then bring back into my work with clients to expand and deepen the work we do. Counsellling training does not often mandate being in personal therapy at all or, if there is some requirement, it is usually short-term.
EMDR - EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITISATION AND REPROCESSING - is a treatment approved by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence for the treatment of a number of disorders, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. I use EMDR in conjunction with talking therapy and find it very effective and provides subtle and quicker results than just talking therapy on its own. In brief, counselling and psychotherapy provide insight but EMDR can provide profound changes. Come and give it a try!
I work with men and women of all backgrounds and sexualities and I work mainly with individuals.
This will be an opportunity for both of us to get a sense of each other. It will also be a chance for me to gather some detailed information on your background and what has brought you to counselling or psychotherapy. We will discuss whether you want insight or change and how best to support you in that. If we together decide that we can work together, we continue. I often suggest that we contract for 6 sessions and re-assess at that stage. If, after this time, you are happy and getting something out of the therapy, we continue. If you feel that you have got what you need in terms of therapy, we end.
Therapy works best on a weekly basis. If you are in a lot of distress, twice a week may be helpful but we would discuss what is right for you.
We try and meet at a regular time each week. I invite you to be curious about yourself and without judgement. We all have behaviours we are not proud of but trust that these are developed for a reason, a long time ago so we may have forgotten what that reason is.
Sessions usually last 50-55 minutes. However, there may be times that we schedule in a longer session if needed and if so, I charge pro-rata for whatever time we use.
There is not a typical time for someone to be in counselling/psychotherapy - depending on what you bring, what you would like to work on and in what depth. It also depends on what you are hoping for in terms of the challenges in your life and your childhood experiences.
Short-term Counselling tends to be anything from six weeks to a year or more. Long-term Psychotherapy, which is about real change, tends to take longer. Psychotherapy usually explores issues in greater depth and leaves a more lasting effect. EMDR makes for real, tangible and profound changes.
My fees are currently from £95-£120 and change each year. If you have genuine financial difficulty that may exclude you attending therapy, a form of sliding scale exists where fees are negotiated according to what you can comfortably afford. I would rather you were able to come to therapy than not, if the only obstacle is financial. If the financial situation should change at any time during therapy, it is assumed that the fee would be re-negotiated.
NHS counselling through GP surgeries is often time-limited and you may have to wait a long time to see someone. Usually counselling is not offered on a weekly basis and you are unlikely to have much choice about who you see, when you see them, or the approach they offer. Some counsellors are not registered/accredited to UKCP or BACP.
No. CBT is the favoured approach offered by the NHS for everything from depression to stress and bereavement. I do not offer CBT. Whilst CBT works for some people some of the time, it does not work for all the people all of the time. If it has not worked for you, it may have left you feeling even worse as you may feel like you're the failure and even more hopeless. If this is your experience, you are not alone - this is not unusual. CBT is a top-down approach, meaning that it works to change your thought patterns and then your behaviour. Whilst this works sometimes, for most of us fear, anxiety, depression, trauma, fear, etc is not just about our thoughts but something much deeper. There are many good articles on the internet about CBT and I encourage you to check out whether this form of therapy would work for you. For example: check out this article
Yes. The contract covers issues such as confidentiality, cancellation policy, etc. If you contact me via email or we are meeting online, I will send you the Terms and Conditions before we meet. If we are meeting in-person, I will give the information when we meet. I will always ask if you have any feedback and if you are ok with the documents. I am happy to discuss any concerns you might have and welcome any comments. (If I forget to give these documents to you, please give me a nudge!)
Yes I have a privacy statement which I can give you when we start working together if you would like a copy or it can be found here.