Counselling in Staffordshire

Hi, I’m Gav and I’m an accredited Psychological Therapist based in Birmingham. I have 15 years of experience supporting & empowering people to improve their mental health and transform their lives. Ultimately my passion and drive is to support people to rediscover happiness, connection and fulfilment and I can support you to achieve this by a tailored approach to meet your individual needs. I work on the premise of self-development and growth, utilising a combination of evidence-based therapies and tools to help you move forward, feel confident and succeed in every area of your life.

I have 25 years’ experience as a solution-focused therapist, psychologist and coach: helping couples to communicate effectively and let go of resentments; and helping individuals to overcome trauma, anxiety, childhood abuse, OCD, ADHD and other problems. I will help you to clarify your goals; identify what it is within you that is blocking achievement of your goals; find out where this comes from in your biography; and help you to process the experience to permanently resolve your problem. This person-centred therapy enables you fully to overcome your problem, not simply to understand or manage it, enabling swift transformation.

I recently celebrated 25 years as a CBT therapist. I am now also qualified in EMDR In. addition my therapy practice I have taught CBT for many years. I was programme director for post graduate CBT training at Manchester and Lancaster Universities, I have lectured at most UK universities and also abroad in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, Spain, Holland and Brazil. I have been widely published on the relationship between negative life events and psychological distress including as a first author in The British journal of Psychiatry

I am an accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT) with 20 years of experience of working within a range of psychological settings within both the NHS and private sector. Gathering from my experience, I can utilise various models of therapy such as CBT, EMDR and DBT. I have a particular interest in working with individuals who are struggling with PTSD, both single and complex presentations, using both CBT and EMDR approaches, which I have found to be effective methods. I am also keen to work with individuals who have long term physical health conditions and low self-esteem.

I have been counselling since 1997 offering clients the opportunity to explore, understand and change. I am an integrative therapist and I always aim to adapt my approach to suit client needs. I can offer short term counselling or work to a more open ended agenda. I spent twenty years working at Relate where I developed skills that have enabled me to work with a broad range of client needs. I can offer counselling to individuals, couples, young people and families. I work from my own office in the village of Rock in North Worcestershire.

Life is not straightforward and sometimes overwhelming. Often we know what our difficulties are, sometimes we don't. I offer a friendly, supportive environment in which to talk about what matters most to you, and find ways to move forward. I am a psychotherapist working for Prohealth UK (www.prohealthuk.org) and privately. I have worked in varied settings, providing psychotherapy services for NHS patients, Staffordshire Fire & Police Service, Staffordshire County Council, East Staffs Borough Council, Salford Hospital and local charity.

Thanks for looking at my profile. I work with a broad range of clients, and understand that no two clients are the same. I tailor and specialise my clinical work to meet the specific needs and goals of each individual. I'm interested in the subconscious, how we may adopt coping strategies in order to avoid pain, and how this in turn may exacerbate pain further. I'm also interested in how addictive behaviours may develop, and how I can pick apart addictive processes and help to modify them into more constructive strategies. I have specific interest in chronic pain/conditions, and have a variety of strategies to help in this area.

I offer something unique and valuable to each of my clients: a supportive, safe, and compassionate space for addressing your mental health needs. I’m passionate about helping individuals of all ages and backgrounds. I've supported individuals addressing more common challenges such as anxiety and depression, as well as those facing more complex needs, including severe panic attacks, phobias, trauma, and PTSD. I have a particular interest in providing an adaptive approach for people with ASD and/or ADHD comorbidities. Each person's situation is unique, and my approach revolves around personalised support to address your distinct needs

As a Doctor of Counselling Psychology my training has been in a wide range of theoretical approaches as accredited by the British Psychological Society and this enables me to work effectively with people with a wide range of psychological difficulties and mental health problems.

Life often presents us with challenges and each one of us develops their own ways of dealing with adversities. Sometimes, however, we might feel ‘lost’, incongruent with how we would like to be, how we would like to relate with others and engage with life. Our difficulties may present themselves in different forms and we often use words such as depression, anxiety, stress, low self-esteem, panic, phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, trauma, relationship difficulties, sexuality concerns, grief and loss to describe our experience.