"The first step towards change is awareness. The second step is acceptance."
Hello and Welcome
Emotional support, grounded in compassion.
Hello, My name is Sue. I am an experienced, BACP registered Humanistic counsellor working long and short-term with individual adults through face-to-face, online and telephone sessions.
I offer a respectful and reflective space where you can share your story with someone who is listening with empathy and focus. Together we will explore your feelings so you can make the right decisions for you.
Loving and accepting ourselves for who we are, scars and all, is one of
the most courageous things we can do and allows us to feel at home in ourselves. This self-acceptance brings with it the benefits of:
- More confidence
- Higher self-esteem
- The ability to feel calmer in stressful situations
- Taking better care of yourself
- Knowing your needs and communicating them effectively
- The ability to say No
- Being able to enjoy long term relationships
Being listened to with compassion and
understanding is the start to uncovering your true potential; and getting the help you need before you reach crisis point.
Sometimes the smallest steps in the right direction end up being the biggest steps in the end.
How Counselling Can Help
Sometimes we face difficulties that lead us to feel we no longer enjoy the things we used to love. We find ourselves lost and stuck in life, feeling as though we are endlessly repeating the same patterns but with no idea of how to break free.
Counselling allows us to find a secure, confidential and compassionate space where we can meet regularly with a counsellor trained not only in listening with sensitivity and empathy; but able to detect patterns of behaviour by looking at the whole of the content we bring.
Through having this consistent support, you can be given tools to help you get on top of the difficulties.
This is the chance to dig deeper; an opportunity to gain clarity as to why you react the way that you do, giving you insight as to what is at the source of your issues.
Having this insight allows you to view yourself with curiosity and not judgement; increasing self-compassion and improve your relationship with yourself, which in turn improves the relationships in your life.
Understanding yourself in this way means you have the power to choose the life you want to live.
To find out more about my approach to counselling, visit my How I Work page.
How I Work
I am an experienced and qualified, BACP Registered Humanistic Counsellor, who works one-to-one with individual adults (aged 18 years and above). I have many years of experience effectively supporting clients with a variety of issues. I understand how daunting it is to begin your journey into therapy and I appreciate how important it is to find the right therapist for you.
I believe there is no 'one-size-fits-all' approach to counselling, as the best therapy for you will always be as unique as you are.
I tailor my approach to bring the greatest benefit to you and we will always work at a pace that you feel comfortable with.
My goal is to help you stop feeling overwhelmed and isolated by your difficulties – and to start guiding you back to where things feel more manageable again.
I have worked with clients experiencing:
- Loss of identity after the death of loved ones
- Low self-esteem
- Anxiety and Depression
- Relationship issues
- Trauma
- Difficult childhood experiences
I believe that my role as your counsellor is to build trust with you, working together to explore your life experiences, and how that might have affected how you relate to the people in your life. Looking at past ways of being and how they may no longer be serving you can be the way forward to finding new, healthier ways to cope. We will find the right questions so that you can get the answers you need. Let's find a new perspective for you that will allow for change.
I am a lifelong learner who enjoys developing my practice through continuing professional development by attending courses and conferences, reading articles, books, and listening to podcasts. I am always looking to gain new perspectives, inspiration, and insight into different approaches.
To remain as collaborative as possible, we will regularly review our progress together, and then mutually decide on an appropriate time to work towards a therapeutic ending. I work in line with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical framework and as such, all of my work is overseen by a BACP accredited supervisor in order to ensure that you are receiving the best possible support. All client details remain confidential.
Being a counsellor is inspiring. I love supporting people to find the strength that is already within themselves to transform their lives. I believe that therapy should address the ‘whole’ person – their mind, body and spirit.
Qualifications:
- FdSc Humanistic Counselling | University of Greenwich (BACP Accredited)
- CACHE Level 3 Award in Counselling Skills and Theory
- CACHE Level 2 Award in Helping Skills
- NCFE Level 1 Award in Interpersonal Skills
- Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling – Counselling Tutor 80-hour course
If you have any questions, please get in touch or check out my FAQ.
My Location
As well as offering telephone counselling and online sessions for clients in Surrey and beyond via Zoom; I also have a private office located in Farnborough.
Contact me to find out more about how book sessions with me.
Fees & availability
I provide individual adult one-to-one counselling sessions, either face-to-face, online via Zoom or by telephone. They each last for 50 minutes and usually take place weekly at a cost of £60 for online or telephone or £65 for face-to-face (paid by bank transfer within 24 hours of the session).
Cancellation Policy
Please note that I operate a 48-hour cancellation policy – meaning that cancellations without 48 hours' notice for any reason are chargeable at full rate
FAQ
Therapy can be vulnerable and new, so it is natural to be nervous. It can be daunting to think of opening up or crying in front of someone new, perhaps fearing that it will be awkward and uncomfortable. The fear around that can feel overwhelming. It takes courage to start going to therapy. The fact that you are on this website, looking for help, and reading this right now shows that you are being proactive about helping yourself.
Therapy is a space where you can be yourself and welcome all of the feelings you might have, including feeling nervous. I am committed to finding a way to care for your nervousness and ensure sessions are as comfortable as possible.
I’m here if you want to talk about it during a free 30-minute phone consultation.
During the free phone consultation, you can ask me questions about my approach, ask how I work as a therapist, or any other questions you may have that are specific to you. You will also be able to share briefly what is going on for you, and we can decide together how I can help.
The first sessions are like an experiment to see how things go. During the sessions, you will be able to see how you feel working with me. My approach is not going to work for everyone. I don’t believe that my role as a counsellor is to give you advice or tell you how to live your life. If I do that, I feel that I am going to be doing you a huge disservice by taking away your power to make your own life choices. What I can do is support you by truly listening to your story, be a container for any difficult emotions you may be feeling and support you by exploring with you how you relate to yourself and the world.
What is most important to me is that you find someone who you feel is the right fit for you. We can explore that together. Take your time to read through my website. If you sense that I may be a good fit based on what you are reading, you can email me.
It is natural to not want to immediately share some of the painful or difficult things we have been through. During our sessions, it will always be up to you if you feel ready to talk about something or not. We will collaborate on understanding what you feel ready to open up about. Together we will work through the difficult stuff.
You can also share with me that you are nervous to open up about something, and we can talk about that too. Whatever is present for you, bring that to the session, and we can explore it together.
If you open up to me, I will not think you are too sensitive, I will think you are unique and human.
Many of my clients have had the same fear. Working with my clients has shown me that the challenges you are facing are normal and natural. I feel very privileged to be trusted by you for sharing your vulnerability.
I know we all have our strengths and weaknesses; we may have gone through very hard times; we might be emotionally drained from the ups and downs. Whatever it is you are going through, I provide a calming, respectful space, and listen with focus and compassion.
As a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), I follow their Ethical Guidelines which ensure that all information you share in our sessions is kept confidential (unless there is imminent danger to yourself or someone else, or if you are involved in terrorism or money laundering). A requirement of registered members is that I regularly discuss aspects of my work with a supervisor to ensure that I keep my work to a high standard; I want to reassure you that your identity is never disclosed and that my supervisor is also bound by confidentiality. I highly respect your privacy and value your trust.
If you have specific questions about how confidentiality works, you can ask during your during free phone consultation, or anytime during our work together.
Overall, you can think of the first session as a structured assessment that helps me get to know you and the challenges that brought you into therapy.
I will invite you to share more about yourself. Some questions that I like to ask during a first session include:
- What brought you to therapy?
- What goals would you like to reach by going to therapy?
- What do I need to know about you to understand your current challenges?
You can ask me questions as well. You might be curious about my training or what our sessions will be like.
The most important part of a first session is that you see if you feel I’m a good fit for you. If you feel supported, listened to, and at ease with me, we can discuss if you would like to meet again.
I am here to talk during a free phone consultation where you can share what is going on for you, and we can decide together how I can help.
Email me today to arrange your free 30-minute phone consultation.
People come to me for help on a wide range of issues. Here are a few of the more common difficulties that can be supported through counselling:
- Stress
- Trauma
- Depression
- Anger
- Relationship problems
- Problems with confidence or self-esteem
- Anxiety
- Sexuality
- Problems with addiction
- PTSD
- Work or retirement
- Abuse
- School or family life
Get in touch
Making the decision to see a counsellor is a big step to take, but it can bring many benefits. Reach out to get your free 30-minute phone consultation.
Drop me a line via email at: suecounselling@protonmail.com or fill in the contact form below so that we can arrange a convenient time for an introductory phone consultation. I endeavour to respond within 24 hours.
During your free consultation call, you can share a bit about what is bringing you to therapy at this time, and I can answer any questions you might have about how I work. This is also a good opportunity to see if I am the right counsellor for you, ensuring you get the best possible help.
If you are ready to take the next step, contact me now – and I look forward to speaking with you.