Counselling in Tonbridge

Life is full of twists and turns, some are pleasant while others are more problematic. You may feel like you've been hit with a sledgehammer or gradually eaten away by woodworm, leaving you struggling to know who you are or how you can find fulfilment in life. You may be wondering why you behave in certain ways or why you struggle with seemingly straightforward tasks or relationships. Your thoughts and feelings may appear out of control at times. Do you wish you could understand yourself more: your feelings, thoughts, behaviour, relationships? Do you want to take more positive action and be truer to the person you aspire to be?

Hi, my name is Alex, and I am a qualified Psychotherapeutic Counsellor registered with the BACP. I offer caring, personalised talking therapy to adults and young people. I believe that counselling can open up a better understanding of what drives our behaviours, strengthens resilience and supports us to make positive changes. I am trained to work with a range of issues and concerns, including grief, matrescence, low self-confidence, depression, anxiety and workplace-related stress. I have a particular interest in working in maternal mental health and also within the education sector.

I offer safe, professional video-call or face-to-face sessions at my consulting room in Tonbridge. Combining a client-led approach with a range of methods, we can work together to help you find relief from anxiety, anger, feeling ‘different’, low self-esteem, family and relationship problems or the tendency to behave in ways that are harmful to yourself or other people. I believe that each of us shares one basic desire - to discover and live to our fullest potential. This can mean to have more self-confidence, to worry less or simply to feel more accepting of yourself and the world around you. Contact me for a free consultation.

My clients like the informal, friendly approach, tailored to their individual needs. My work is informed by the highly effective Human Givens framework, embodying thorough scientific but holistic understandings of how to help people make good changes. I've been a solution-focused psychotherapist/counsellor and clinical hypnotherapist for more than two decades. For the past four decades, I've also been a professional storyteller, chaired the Society for Storytelling in the 'nineties, often tell appropriate stories as part of therapy sessions with both adults and children.. Clients work with me to achieve specific goals.

It can feel uncomfortable to acknowledge that things are a little too much at the moment or that we’re not quite feeling ourselves. Counselling is a time and space for you; it is a place for us to explore – together – your thoughts, feelings and actions in an environment that is safe and free from judgement.

My name is Sally and I am a humanistic counsellor, I use a Client Centred, non-directive approach which consists of looking at a person as a whole. I believe you have the inner resources to make changes in your life, I see my role as a facilitator of your process of these changes. I offer you a safe, non-judgemental, supportive and confidential space where you can gently explore your difficulties. I work with a wide range of issues and have listed some that may bring you into counselling. These are examples and ‘I just don’t feel right’ or ‘I don’t know why I am here’ are just as important.

Everyone's life experience is unique and important and often this can create questions in our minds on how these influence our life and choices now. These may be questions from childhood, trauma based, gender or sexuality questioning, anxiety, loss or a neurodiversity. You may feel that the day-to-day is simply overwhelming or tainted by those life experiences. Sometimes, when those hard times flow into our every day life it may feel that you are unable to be happy, think clearly or feel able to cope. In the safety of your own home (or a space that works for you) we can explore and process this together.

I am Dr Diana Goldsmith, a Chartered Clinical Psychologist registered with the Heath and Care Professions Council (HCPC). I am Clinical Director and Senior Psychologist for Foundations Child & Family Therapy – www.foundationschildtherapy.co.uk- a psychological therapies service offering UK-wide psychological therapy and clinical supervision. We offer support for children, young people and their families. We also offer ADHD and ASD assessments and follow-up post-diagnostic services. We aim to provide a supportive, understanding and compassionate service that works alongside families and their children.

I am a clinical psychologist providing short and long-term therapy and autism assessments to children and adults in a private practice Kent. I provide a safe and non-judgmental space where we can develop an understanding of your difficulties. I draw on a variety of psychological approaches including psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural (CBT), and systemic (including narrative and solution-focused). I have 9 years of experience working with a variety of difficulties including depression, anxiety and trauma. I have worked with children diagnosed with Autism (including PDA profile) and supported them their families for many years.

Are you facing some of these issues ? A negative cycle of arguments that never seems to get resolved? Are you struggling with the affects of an affair? Changes you are having difficulty adjusting to e.g. the birth of a baby, health problems or retirement? Are you worried about your child and not sure how to help? Do you wish you could talk more frankly about sex without hurting your partner’s feelings. Do you feel that your relationship is over and need a place to mourn its passing. Do you miss the feeling of closeness and intimacy you once had and want to rebuild your connection?

I can speak from experience that when difficulties affect your day-to-day wellbeing, every person can try to find a way towards their desired outcome, should they choose to. I would be honoured to take that journey with you. I believe that taking the first step in considering speaking with someone is often the hardest step to take. I aim to offer you a safe, relaxed and confidential space in which to hold your thoughts, fears and triumphs. Together we will work towards building a therapeutic relationship based on an honest, trustworthy and non-judgemental foundation.

You may have a sense of the person you want to be but find there are many obstacles in your way to becoming that person. This might be because of things that happened in the past or difficulties in your current circumstances. You may be aware of repeating patterns of feelings, thoughts, or behaviour impacting your relationships and sense of well being day to day and preventing you from moving into a place of thriving which you long for but always seems out of reach. As a trauma informed experienced therapist I work in a range of ways to facilitate the resolution of past events, and present difficulty empowering you to move forwards.

I am passionate about working with children and young people and have spent many years working within the educational sector. As adults we sometimes have better coping mechanisms or ways in which to self help, however children do not always have those skills. So I feel it is extremely important to be there to help guide and listen, to help better understand themselves and situations that may appear. I also work with adults helping to explore anxieties and stresses of every day life, within home, work or personally.

I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to offload and unpack any extra weight they may be carrying. What this looks like will be defined by the individual. Whatever it may be that brings you to counselling, is valid and deserves a place to be seen and explored. I have worked with a wide range of presenting issues; nothing is too big or too small. I am adaptable in my approach, whether it be a listening ear or goal orientated. My person centred foundation believes that we are experts in our own lives. I am not here to judge or offer advice but to work along side you, as we discovered the answers together.

A crisis is often a call to personal growth and development, to find a new path through life. The drive of the unconscious part of our nature is towards wholeness. In analysis we listen to the compensatory, complementary and sometimes prospective communication from the unconscious....hearing the voices of the soul balancing the relationship of conscious and unconscious. Individuation is the process of coming into psychic balance. In analysis you can learn to listen and understand your inner voice, gain a deeper sense of self, meaning and purpose in life, to become the person you are meant to be.

You might be feeling depressed, or low, for a known reason or perhaps for no identifiable reason. Sometimes it is not always possible to speak to your friends or family. You might not want to burden them or might fear judgement. I have helped clients with issues including: bereavement, loss, grief, workplace, sexuality and weight issues. I am a qualified counsellor and can offer you a warm, empathic space to examine and explore your feelings, patterns of behaviour and thoughts.

As a woman, do you put other people's needs above your own and find it difficult to say no? Maybe it's hard to say how you really feel or to ask for what you need? Do you find being nice all the time and avoiding upsetting anyone could be taking it’s toll, especially when you already feel stressed and overwhelmed by the many roles and relationships in your life? I wonder what life would look like if you felt calmer and more confident in yourself? How would it change your personal relationships and your life in general? What would it feel like to be able to voice what it is you want? It's certainly challenging being a woman today.

At various points in our lives, we all experience feelings, thoughts and events that we find challenging. You may be feeling anxious or depressed, finding it difficult to come to terms with something that has happened in the past, or worried about what the future will bring. Perhaps you feel stuck in a difficult situation, or caught between what seem like impossible choices. You may be seeking an opportunity to think about who you are, what is important to you, and the kind of life you want to lead.

I am a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT) and an Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) trained therapist. I am also trained in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and have attended trainings in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). I currently offer online therapy only (due to the corona virus pandemic). I have over 15 years experience working within mental health. The consideration to access psychological therapy can be an uncomfortable process. You are not alone. Statistics show that 1 in 4 people experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year.