Welcome to Your Space Counselling
Do you feel you need help navigating the issues you face?
Do you feel you want deeper understanding?
Do you want to move forward?
Your space to Talk, Explore and Grow. Your space to be.
Beginning a counselling journey can be daunting, may be even scary- let’s step through it together.
We all experience life (and its curve balls) differently. I believe that with the right environment, support and conditions, a person can address their mental and emotional wellbeing and move forward in a way that feels good for them (whatever that looks like for each unique individual). In the space we create together, we can see what your struggles have looked like for you up to this point, what this means for you in the here and now and how you want that to continue or change for your future.
It is my aim, with compassion and a genuine desire to support, to provide a space built on trust, safety, security. A space where you can be free from judgement where you can be yourself and bring whatever you need to bring. I hope this means that you feel safe, seen, heard and validated. Our work will be centred on you and the things you want to work through, using your strengths and growing those qualities that you feel you want to develop.
I will sit alongside you and hold a space for you to explore and understand whatever you are experiencing.
About me- who is Emma?
Hi, I’m Emma- I know how daunting this process can be at the start. Let me offer some reassurance here. This process will be your process and can be as short or long term as you wish. I can offer short term therapy (usually 6 sessions) or we can work to a longer time frame of your choosing. However you choose, I can help you explore whatever it is that you are carrying.
It can be difficult to find the right counsellor for you- maybe you’ve had a few different ones or maybe this is your first experience of counselling or maybe you’re somewhere in between.
Whatever your circumstance or reason for approaching therapy, at Your Space Counselling I have created a safe and relaxed space, offering support and understanding. I am welcoming, empathic, and open; this helps to create a therapeutic relationship and gives us a solid basis from which to explore what you have decided to bring.
I offer therapeutic sessions in a variety of ways: face to face, online, over the phone, indoor and outdoors.
In addition to private counselling sessions, I also offer sessional counselling within an organisation. I am also a tutor of counselling skills for a local counselling training provider. Tutoring students who are currently in the process of qualifying as a counsellor themselves.
I qualified in the field of mental health over 20 years ago and since then have worked with children and adults in a variety of roles. One thing always remained the same- my drive to empower those I worked with to achieve what they wanted to- whatever that might look like for them.
Within my years as a counsellor, I have delivered therapy in GP surgeries, for third sector agencies and in private practice. I am also extending my passion into teaching other people to do the same.
Qualifications & Training
I am a qualified counsellor and am a registered member of the professional body the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
Since becoming a qualified counsellor, I have become certified in:
- Telephone and online counselling
- Walking/outdoor therapy
- Trauma techniques
- Certified in therapy for pregnancy and infant loss, pregnancy after loss, infertility
- Advanced certified practitioner- infant and baby loss
- Foundation sand tray training
What will our therapy together look like?
Just as finding the right person can be incredibly important, so to is the type of therapy. My aim, through the relationship we build and the journey we go on, is for you to feel seen, heard and understood.
My approach to therapy
I am an integrative, humanistic counsellor and work relationally, so we can work together to explore the difficult thoughts, feelings and behaviours that are having an effect on you.
I work from a person-centred base but bring in aspects of other therapeutic approaches as and when needed. What this means in the therapeutic space is that our work together will always be centred on you and what you need.
The person-centred approach means that given the right conditions, a person can reach their full potential, becoming their true self. This underpins our work together, but we might invite different therapeutic approaches as needed, depending on where this journey takes us.
There are a variety of different techniques from different therapeutic approaches that we could use: existentialism, gestalt, mindfulness practices, emotion focussed therapy and creativity.
Types of therapy
Individual therapy- in person (based in Llansamlet), online, phone
Walking therapy- This can be walking in a variety of fully assessed routes within Swansea (currently along Swansea Bay front, Oxwich bay and Penllergaer woods). This type of therapy can also just be outdoor (so we would find a location that we can sit in and conduct our session there)
Both these options are fully risk assessed and we would contract accordingly (there are specific differences in this type of therapy, especially when it comes to confidentiality)
Infertility, pregnancy and Infant loss therapy- My therapeutic approach remains the same, with you at the centre. However, I have trained specifically in Pregnancy and Infant Loss and supporting bereaved families. I can support you with the grief, anxiety and guilt around pregnancy or infant loss, supporting you after termination, pregnancy after loss and the complex feelings involved in this, and pregnancy specific fear and anxiety. I feel very passionate about this as an area of support for mums, dads and grandparents. Please reach out if this kind of loss has affected you.
Sand Tray therapy- This is a part of therapy that is conducted using a sand tray and small figures to create a story in the sand. This often shows how clients think, feel, and relate to the world around them, tapping into elements of the unconscious.
Using a sand tray to facilitate talking about the experience can help clients express emotions and work through problems.
FAQs
You may have had many therapists, or this may be your first experience of counselling. These are some of the most frequently asked questions to help you find the information you might need. Anything not there just contact me and I will do my best to answer
What is your availability?
I teach counselling to new students on a Tuesday and Wednesday, but I can be fairly flexible around this depending on whether you want online, in person, outdoor or walking therapy. This includes some weekend hours.
These are subject to changes and also availability and as such I would invite you to contact me for availability.
Where are you based?
Room based face to face sessions- Suite 4, Copper Court, Phoenix Way, Swansea Enterprise Park, Swansea, SA7 9EH
Online- wherever you are
Walking therapy:
Penllergaer woods- Penllergaer SA4 9GS. On site charged parking
Oxwich Bay- SA3 1LS, charged car park or on road parking
Swansea Bay Seafront- SA1 3SN/SA2 0AY (meeting place to be decided to suit you). Parking variable
What are the charges per session?
Individual counselling session £50 per hour. A therapeutic hour is 50 minutes.
I offer concessionary rates (students, unwaged, low waged, etc) and would encourage you to contact me for further information. You would need to provide proof of why you are requiring a concessionary rate
How do I start the process?
Contact me on any of the methods given on the 'contact us' page and we will have a 10-15 minute free phone call to see if you feel we can work together and that it is the right way forward for you. I will always encourage you to take some time to think things over and will email you the following day to see if you would like to go ahead with therapy with me.
What will my first session look like?
This is the session where we will discuss the contract and all the elements within that; this is to ensure we both understand how the work together will take place. I will tell you a little bit about how I work and what that can or might entail.
It will then be "over to you"- I will invite you to tell me something of your current situation and what is like for you. At the end of each session, I will invite you to book for the next.
You do not need to prepare anything for this session; I invite and encourage you to come just as you are. But if you would feel more comfortable bringing something to help you to talk (a comfort object, a fidget or notes to remind you of what you want to include) then that is fine.
Will it really help me?
There is no cut and dried answer to this. We all experience the rollercoaster of life in different ways. Sometimes this might cause us to struggle, and other times it may not. counselling might be just one of a raft of things you try in order to help yourself.
Counselling can help people in a variety of ways; it can help you navigate the challenges you have in life, improve your emotional health and wellbeing, help you know yourself better and help you feel that someone understands you. But can only go as far as an individual would want it to. '
The heart graphic- I like the graphic, but could we caption it with something like- 'Experiences from clients who have had therapy with Emma'.
Eventually I would like to put it on a separate tab called 'client experience'.
How many sessions will I need?
As with everything that we do in our therapeutic relationship, we will keep you at the centre and work together to decide what is needed. Initially, I would encourage a weekly session so that we can build a solid relational base for the work. Unless you specify you would like a short-term block of sessions, we will work together for as long as you feel is needed. We will review regularly to make sure that we are on track with what you need and want.
Endings are particularly important in counselling so that we can bring our work together to a nourishing and meaningful close. Where possible, please let me know if you are planning to end our sessions.
Get in touch
Feel free to email me if you have any further questions about how therapy works or to arrange an initial appointment. You can also contact me or leave a message on 07951496688.