Awakening Your Capacity To Change
If you are struggling with depression, anxiety, stress, anger, relationship problems, or need help with any other kind of mental health issue, I am here to help you bring about meaningful change to your life through personalised counselling in Staines, Surrey, and online. This is a space for you to talk about your feelings and take an active role in discovering your own innate capacity for positive change, with us working collaboratively in a strictly confidential environment. I can use a range of different therapeutic techniques, from CBT to mindfulness to solution-focused therapy, to ensure you receive the right form of support.
To learn more about my counselling in Staines, Surrey, and online, feel free to get in touch with me at any time and I’d be happy to arrange an initial counselling session. My working days are Wednesday and Thursday. APOLOGIES - CURRENTLY NOT TAKING ON NEW CLIENTS (25.9.2024)
My Approach
I start off by using a person-centred approach to counselling, giving you the space to bring what you feel is important to the therapeutic space. Building that strong trusting therapeutic relationship is so important, as this allows us to properly explore troubling issues. This is your space to process problems in a way that makes sense to you. Once we have an understanding of your situation as you see it, I will draw from a variety of therapeutic modalities to provide the right kind of personalised help.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
I will often use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to gain a clearer picture of your thought patterns and how they reinforce problems like anxiety or depression, ahead of replacing these automatic interpretations with more compassionate ways of relating to yourself and others.
Working Creatively
I recognise that not everyone finds it easy to communicate their problems through words, especially teenagers, which is why I often employ a range of creative interventions as an alternative route towards expressing how you feel. Working in this way can be less intimidating for some and makes it easier to achieve important breakthroughs. This could include play dough, puppets, drawings, and any other creative methods that enable you to express yourself.
Some of the Life Challenges I work with
Depression
People can find depression especially difficult to talk about, particularly men, whose suicide rate is far higher than women. I know it can be painful to explore these challenging emotions but reaching out for help is the most important part of the journey towards feeling better. My practice is a completely confidential space where you can feel seen, understood, heard, and actively work towards challenging these difficult thoughts and replacing them with a healthier worldview that doesn’t reinforce your depression.
Anxiety
My counselling in Staines, Surrey, and online covers most forms of anxiety, such as generalised anxiety disorder, panic attacks, social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Many of us hold a great deal of tension in our bodies, which morphs into a constant sense of unease and tendency to catastrophise. Together we will get to what lies behind your anxiety and come up with ways to manage its triggers when they show up in the future.
Trauma
When it comes to depression, anxiety, addiction, or many other issues, the underpinning factor is often trauma. That is why we may work with your inner child – understanding how childhood traumas continue to inform the way you think, feel, and behave as an adult. When we are sad, angry, or anxious, we are essentially reliving the pain we experienced as children in real time. It’s not us who is hurt; it’s still the child inside us. Our work therefore looks at communicating with this inner child and giving you the space to process difficult present-day feelings that take their root in childhood emotional experiences.
Young People Issues
I am fully qualified to work with adolescents as young as 13, specialising in providing a form of counselling that includes psycho-education.
Young people face a range of unique issues on their journey from childhood to adulthood, such as low self-esteem, self-harm, exam stress, isolation, body dysmorphia, family issues, bullying, and social anxiety. My aim is to listen to their issues from their perspective, creating the right conditions for that young person to feel comfortable enough to communicate how they are feeling.
Initial Consultation
Feel free to give me a quick call before our first appointment to ask any questions and get a feel for how I work as a counsellor. Our first session will be a 50-minute consultation, during which we will explore your reasons for coming to therapy and decide whether we would be a good fit working together. By the end, we will have a good idea of the kind of therapeutic support you need. And if you are comfortable to proceed, we will arrange further sessions – generally at the same time each week or fortnight.
All sessions last 50 minutes and cost £60.
My Location
I work from a private ground floor room in my home in Staines – a secluded, cosy, casual space that immediately puts you at ease. There is plenty of parking right outside.
Supervision
Along with working as a counsellor in Staines and online, I am a fully qualified clinical supervisor with a passion for providing creative interventions for both trainees and qualified counsellors. My service also extends to charities, emotional wellbeing workers, youth workers, and domestic violence workers.
I can offer both individual supervision and group supervision – both online and face to face. Counsellors are required to undergo 90 minutes of supervision a month, and I always take care to work around your schedule. This is your time to bring any troubles you may be having within your profession and receive compassionate personalised support from those in your field.
All supervision sessions last 60 minutes and cost £60.
About Me
My early career was spent as a youth worker, taking a particular interest in recognising difficulties young people experience and how we can give them the most effective form of support. I took a keen interest in family systems therapy, learning how individuals relate to others within the family sphere and the dynamics that emerge to cause certain behaviour patterns.
Looking at how people communicate and behave in the way they do has always been a fascination of mine, which is why I trained to work as a counsellor a number of years ago, specialising in children’s services ahead of branching into other areas in order to provide targeted help to as many people as possible.
Alongside my counselling and supervision work, I teach counselling at postgraduate level.
Qualifications
Master's degree in Therapeutic Counselling and Psychotherapy, Middlesex University
Diploma in Counselling Supervision, Waverley Abbey College
CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, Guildford College
Diploma in Trauma Focused Play Therapy and Counselling with Children and Young People
BSc (Hons) Psychology with Educational Studies, Roehampton University
Abuse: Understanding Multi-Agency Approach
Child Sexual Exploitation: Offenders perspective
Parental Substance Misuse and Its Impact on Children
Youth Mental Health First Aid
Mental Health: Everybody's Business CAMHS training
Suzy Lamplugh Personal Safety Programme
Foundation Modules 1 & 2 Safeguarding
Enhanced DBS
Get in Touch
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how counselling works, or to arrange an initial assessment appointment. This enables us to discuss the reasons you are thinking of coming to counselling, whether it could be helpful for you and whether I am the right therapist to help.
You can also call me on 07525006295 if you would prefer to leave a message or speak to me first. I am happy to discuss any queries or questions you may have prior to arranging an initial appointment.
©2022 Hayley Barnett
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