Hello and welcome to my profile. I would like to tell you a bit about myself and how I like to approach psychotherapy. I am a chartered counselling psychologist and registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which means I adhere to the highest standards of psychotherapeutic care. I am also a fully qualified Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT) and fully accredited with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists (BABCP). I am a compassionate, supportive and gently challenging psychologist. My approach to psychotherapy has been developed through my extensive experience of working with people presenting with a wide range of mental health issues, across the full spectrum of severity. My clinical experience has been largely been from working with primary and secondary mental health NHS services in the South West of England. I work integratively with people, families and groups using a range of psychotherapeutic models to best support the client(s) to work towards their goals. I use diagnostic labels cautiously as I am reticent to endorse medicalised notions of human distress and suffering. As a result I bring scientific as well as critical and intersubjective modes of understanding in my therapeutic work. I have an interest in psychodynamic psychoanalytic therapies, cognitive behavioural therapy, systemic psychotherapies, cognitive analytic therapy and compassion focused therapy. In my experience, no one therapy suits everyone and I use a combination of approaches to best suit you. For short-term therapies in which there is a focus on achieving immediate/medium term goals then CBT is great starting place. However, for some people whom find they experience relational problems with people around them or have experienced earlier traumas then psychodynamic and systemic therapies allow us to delve deeper into these issues safely whilst attending to the therapeutic relationship between us.   I work with a range of psychological issues: stress | depression (including post-natal depression) | low self-esteem | all areas of anxiety | (including: generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), health anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, fears and phobias)| feeling sad | low self-confidence | suicidal thoughts | obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) | depersonalisation disorder (disassociation) | post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | trauma | abuse | self-harm | bereavement and loss | relationship difficulties | family issues | social media | addiction. My work is with people over 18 years old. I have specialist experience in working with male farmers and men who experience suicidal thoughts and feelings. I have recently completed a research into ‘Walking and Talking with male farmers about suicidal feelings: An interpretative phenomenological analysis’, which I hope to publish as an article soon. As a member of a busy farming community, I also work closely with farmers and their families during times of psychological distress. Please feel free to speak to me about this if any of these issues resonate with you. I also specialise in working with adults with dementia and older people. The needs of older adults are phenomenologically different. Often the older we are the wiser we are, and we have obtained skills and experiences that have helped us to overcome challenges in the past. However, natural aging comes with challenges such as changes to physical health, decline in mental health, transition in roles/identity, bereavement and uncertainty about the future. My work with older people is specialised and focuses on the needs of the client. I work integratively to help you resolve problems and realise your potential at any age. Recognising that you are not okay and talking about your experiences can be an important step towards recovery. Counselling psychology provides a safe space to address these difficulties with a trained and experienced professional.  My focus is on listening openly, without judgment, to whatever you bring to the sessions.  Together we will explore the challenges you are facing to improve your mental wellbeing. What should I do next? Give me a call, text or e-mail to discuss booking an initial session. If you have any questions I’d be happy to chat these through in advance. Tel: 07903609334 or email: calmmindpsychologydevon@gmail.com I currently offer secure on-line appointments, or telephone sessions, in-line with the BABCP guidance.  Due to Covid 19, I am not currently offering sessions in person. What should I expect from the first session? Asking for support and revealing yourself to a therapist is a difficult first step, and finding the right therapist for you is vital. And for this reason I offer all my prospective clients a one-off reduced rate introductory session. Here we will meet for 50 mins to discuss your needs and expectations of therapy. We can address any practical issues getting in the way of starting/maintaining therapy. At the initial session we will explore your reasons for seeking support and what you hope to get out of counselling.  We can begin to outline a plan for therapy and agree the areas to explore.  If you have specific changes in mind, we can prioritise these and consider manageable steps towards them. If you are happy to work together we can arrange further sessions. You can either opt for an agreed number (usually between 8-12) or we can work in a more open ended way especially for deeper rooted problems.  The approach we take may depend on your reasons for coming to therapy and what you want to get out of it. If for whatever reason you do not feel I am the right therapist for you, there is no obligation to continue. If you are unsure of anything please just ask.