People come to counselling when they are “down and troubled, and they need a helping hand” (to paraphrase James Taylor). Or rather, they come when they need a helping ear; when they need helpful conversations.

Sometimes talking to a trusted friend can be enough. But when the issues are delicate or personal, that may not be possible or appropriate. Here counselling can offer a safe, neutral, supportive space for us to tell our stories. Where we can explore troublesome experiences or aspects of ourselves, without fear of judgement. Where we will be helped to deepen our understanding and compassion for ourselves, and to mobilise our own capacities for healing, growth and renewal.

As a qualified and experienced Person-Centred counsellor, I have been offering such helpful conversations to my clients since 2011 – mostly in private practice, but also for a long while as a volunteer counsellor at Pilton Community Health Project.

I can work alongside you to help you through a difficult patch in your life, maybe involving stresses at work or in your relationships, or to help you in your search for direction or meaning in your life. Or our work together might involve explorations of longer term difficulties, such as persistent experiences of anxiety or depression.

Or you might be carrying the burden of old, untold (and hence unresolved) experiences from your past, of neglect say, or of bullying and abuse – physical or psychological. I have particular experience in helping people to process the impacts of such traumatic early life events, helping them give voice to parts of themselves and their experience that have maybe been hidden – so that they can lose their ‘charge’ and hold over us, enabling us to move forwards in our lives in more satisfying ways.

Whatever your difficulty, I will work with you in ways which are respectful and collaborative, offering conversations grounded in openness, compassion and insight.

My Postgraduate Diploma in Person Centred Counselling is from the University of Strathclyde. I am a Registered Member of BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and work within their ethical framework.

Website: peacetalkcounselling.com