about me
Hello, my name is Julie and I have over 10 years experience in therapeutic and holistic counselling. I have worked within a youth Counselling service, a Family Contact Centre, the Prison service and I have run a counselling service at a large NHS Health Centre and currently work part time as a counsellor in a local high school as well as running my own private practice.
I have experience of working with clients with a wide range of mental health issues including anxiety, panic attacks, depression, self-harm, suicide and suicidal thoughts, loss, self-esteem, self-worth, sexual abuse, social anxiety, family issues, relationship issues, generalised anxiety disorder, stress, trauma, bereavement, loneliness, affairs and betrayals, eating disorders, menopausal issues, OCD, work-related issues, bullying, body dysmorphia and more.
I hold a Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling and I also have a Diploma in Spiritual counselling. I am a registered member of the BACP and I work according to their Ethical and Legal framework. To ensure that I am giving a professional and ethical service of high quality,
I attend regular clinical supervision with an accredited and experienced supervisor as required by the BACP.
I adopt an Integrative approach as every client is unique and has different needs. I work with the Psychodynamic Theory, I also like to use mindfulness and some CBT.
What is mindfulness?
Professor Mark Williams, former director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, says that mindfulness means knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment.
"It's easy to stop noticing the world around us. It's also easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling and to end up living 'in our heads' – caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour," he says.
"An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. This means waking up to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment. That might be something as simple as the feel of a banister as we walk upstairs.
"Another important part of mindfulness is an awareness of our thoughts and feelings as they happen moment to moment.
"It's about allowing ourselves to see the present moment clearly. When we do that, it can positively change the way we see ourselves and our lives.".
What is Psychodynamic theory?
Psychodynamic therapy is based on psychoanalytic ways of understanding personal and emotional development. The way we see and relate to the world develops though relationships made in infancy, childhood and alter life.
Disturbances in these relationships can produce continuing vulnerabilities, and symptoms and relationship problems in later life. Symptoms have a meaning in the context of our lives, and difficulties in relationships often follow patterns laid down in earlier life.
The therapist offers a reliable and professional relationship, where old patterns may be repeated, but can be thought about and understood in a way that frees people to change. (Royal College of Psychiatrists)