Warmth, understanding and respectful listening
When we are experiencing distress, painful emotions or dissatisfaction with life, sharing our experience, and receiving empathic understanding, can be healing and empowering. I offer warmth, acceptance and respectful listening; the chance for you to talk through your difficulties at your own pace, in confidence. Counselling is not about giving advice but, instead, supporting you to use your own inner resources and resilience - in order to move forward. For example, developing compassion and respect for yourself, recognising your choices, risking change, communicating your needs effectively and noticing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours. Our sessions will give you space to reflect and be open to your thoughts and emotions. After all, our thoughts are just thoughts, they don't always reflect reality.
I am an Integrative, relational Counsellor and Psychotherapist in central Guildford, working with individuals and couples. This means that I draw on a range of approaches - that include mindfulness, cognitive behavioural therapy, attachment patterns, mentalisation, narrative and psychodynamic theories - and tailor them to you as a unique individual. I will value whatever you choose to bring to your sessions - your personal experience.
With couples counselling all of the above applies; in addition, my role is to support you, as a couple, to communicate to each other what you are finding difficult, what you would like to change and what steps you might take to understand and renew your relationship. For couples counselling to be effective, it's important that both partners take responsibility for the relationship.
Making the decision to see a counsellor can feel daunting; by reading this you have taken the first step. Our initial session will help you to decide if counselling is for you.
Counselling Guildford and Woking
I offer daytime counselling and psychotherapy appointments, either online or in central Guildford, near Woking, both as an independent Psychotherapist and through Guildford Counselling at The Wellbeing Centre, Guildford Institute, corner of Ward Street and North Street, Guildford GU1 4LH. The Wellbeing Centre entrance is next to the bus stop in North Street and opposite Guildford Library, close to car parks, buses and trains.
Issues I Work With
I have experience of a range of issues, including:
- Grief, loss and bereavement
- Relationship Issues - couples and individuals
- Depression
- Anxiety and stress
- Anger
- Low self esteem and self blame
- Shame
- Developing a sense of identity
- Loneliness
- Abuse
- Chronic and life limiting illness
- Living with cancer
- Trauma
- Emotional health in pregnancy and peri-natal period
- Life stages such as menopause and retirement
Special Interest
My ongoing work at The Fountain Centre, Royal Surrey Hospital, has led to a special interest in working with the emotional impact of living with cancer and untreatable cancer as well as bereavement counselling.
Surrey Psychotherapy
My Surrey Psychotherapy and Counselling practice is in Guildford, near Cranleigh, Godalming, Merrow, Ash, Farnham, Haslemere, Compton, Hindhead, Ripley, Farncombe, Shalford, Burpham, Send, East Clandon, West Clandon, Bramley, Chilworth, Wonersh, Jacobs Well, Shere, Abinger, Gomshall, Albury, Liphook, Elstead, Woking, East Horsley and West Horsley. I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and adhere to the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.
Photographs by Megan Walden www.meganwalden48.squarespace.com
