Is therapy for me?

I help clients mend from past hurts; emotional issues including relationship problems, depression, social anxiety, generalised anxiety and panic attacks, as well as lack of confidence and assertiveness or loss of direction, focus, concentration and purpose.

How Does It Work?

I do meet clients Face to Face but most clients prefer Telephone meetings or Online live chat, as then geography is not a problem.

Online Therapy is an exciting departure from traditional face-2-face or telephone treatment. Apart from the obvious advantage of accessibility anywhere with an internet connection, you have the session in text to reflect on later. I took part in an NHS research trial (Ipcress) with Bristol University, delivering CBT online to patients referred with depression/anxiety. Successful results were published in The Lancet : Volume 374, Number 9690, 22 August 2009.

Wherever we meet you can be assured it will be in a confidential setting and our relationship can continue as long as you need it to be there.

I abide by BACP’s code of ethics.

A brief description of options follow:

enables you to understand yourself better, explore and heal from the past and how it has affected your personal foundation, relationships and patterns.

are cognitive approaches exploring the way you think which affects the way you feel. They are the NHS treatment of choice for many problems including depression and anxiety. If your thoughts are not useful we explore ways to change them to more resourceful thought patterns. It’s all about what works!

is about feeling great and enhancing your performance in whatever you do. Stress or lack of confidence can hinder your effectiveness at work, in sports and developing relationships. NLP was developed by modelling very successful people in their fields; is commonly used in sports and business and just as useful in your personal life. It can help remove the impact of a nasty memory and teach you the control to create a confident and motivational state instead.

is a pleasant, peaceful experience engaging the creative subconscious mind which is responsible for stored learning and producing habitual behaviours without the need of conscious thought, which is why logical decisions to change habits may not always work. Hypnotherapy is particularly effective to stop smoking, overcome phobias, build confidence, relieve stress and restore a sense of well-being.

 

STOP SMOKINGClient Endorsement:
The best £70 I ever spent!
One thing that amazed me was that after the one-off treatment to stop smoking, I went out with friends for the evening.  They were both about trying to make me smoke and I didn’t have the slightest wish to smoke.

MP

 

SNAKE PHOBIA
Dear Avril, Just wanted to write to say thanks for the hypnotherapy sessions we had to cure my phobia of snakes. The results are amazing after just two sessions.
Previously I couldn’t even see drawings, cartoons or split second clips of snakes.
Now I can go to a Reptile house and go right up to the glass to see them.

In India I heard the music of a snake charmer and felt a bit ‘nervous’ but went to see the snake none-the-less. I couldn’t believe it. I was standing there watching a live snake!!
My next ambition is to touch a snake…who knows maybe that will be my next pet.

I haven’t had nightmares since the therapy.
I can’t tell you how that feels…..bloody amazing.
I can’t thank you enough for the treatment, now I can move on without worrying about this old problem.

SD

My perspective as a therapist

I help people resolve emotional matters in a warm, yet rational, deliberate manner.

All my work is under-pinned with my strong conviction that, with understanding in a safe, accepting environment and the right problem-solving skills, your problems may even turn out to hold your potential. I enjoy seeing my clients build a strong sense of self confidence, clarity and well-being.

I am accredited with BACP as counsellor, psychotherapist and clinical supervisor; and with UKCP as a psychotherapist and specialise in helping clients stop anxiety spoiling their lives. I am experienced in different approaches, (see below) and will tailor therapy to suit you as a person.

A bit about my background. Starting out with a psychology degree, I graduated from the Psychosynthesis & Education Trust; qualified as an Art Therapist and worked within the NHS for a while, before starting in private practice. I designed and led Art from Within workshops for 10 years and have practiced as a counsellor and psychotherapist ever since.

Having been astonished at the creativity of the unconscious mind through art therapy in particular I fulfilled a long-held ambition to qualify as a hypnotherapist in the 90s.

Nowadays I am a life coach too, helping people reach their potential and design their lives creatively, but do not be concerned if you feel too bruised to go for goals and achievements and want a safe, warm, accepting space to heal, because I can help you work through the past, or empower you to create a good future. I will explain the difference between therapy and coaching if that interests you, and help you decide which the best approach is right now for you.

Whether brief solution-focussed, or a longer journey, our relationship can continue as long as you need it to be there.

“I was feeling very stuck when I first went to see Avril. I found her exceptionally skilful in helping me to understand and resolve many of the issues which were holding me back. As a therapist she is warm and empathic, but also firmly practical, which enabled me to make unexpectedly rapid progress. Avril’s calm, incisive manner and skilful use of a wide range of therapeutic techniques made me feel very safe and enabled me to make significant, positive changes in my life. I owe so much of my progress to the work we did.”
RB – Teacher

Before meeting with Avril I found myself in a very dark and scary place. I developed IBS and with that a strong case of anxiety. I was anxious of leaving the house, of seeing people, of going to work. This made my job as a primary school teacher really hard and left me wondering if I could even continue the job that I love. I was determined to get some help and get back to being me. I was very interested in Avril’s work as she mixes hypnosis with CBT. I knew from my first meeting that I had made the right decision. Avril is very easy to talk to and seemed to understand me and my problems. Avril helped me to understand my anxiety and to learn that I can manage it. Two months on and I am me again! I am happy and have learnt the invaluable lesson that I am in control of me and my thoughts and I can get through anxious situations. I could not recommend Avril enough… Don’t suffer the way you are get help.

HH - Teacher
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