Counselling in Totnes

If you’re struggling or finding things difficult, you’re not alone. Maybe you feel stuck, confused or overwhelmed. Maybe you feel lost, alone or disconnected from life, yourself or the people around you. Maybe you lack purpose or meaning in your life. Maybe you don't really know what the problem is but would like some support. I am here to listen, support and encourage you as you explore the issues you face, help you understand yourself better and see things more clearly. I can help you work through difficult thoughts and feelings, and find ways to manage them so they have less impact on your life and wellbeing.

You may come to therapy feeling stuck, overwhelmed, grieving or just struggling with the stuff life throws at you. Counselling can both ease emotional distress and empower you to move forward with your life. As a Counsellor I will be with you as you explore your thoughts and feelings, present in the moment and able to be with you in what may come. I can use humour in the sessions, acknowledging the absurdity of life and as way to break from intense thought cycles. I believe that taking joy in the moments and in all that life can bring has great value in difficult times.

If you struggle with being in the world, with accepting yourself, or with a particular historical issue, I am here to support you journey towards recovery. I am especially interested in gender work - I particularly welcome men who wish to explore masculinity, and women who want to explore their relationship with men. Healthier relationship with ourselves, and others, is an achievable goal, and relies on empathy, compassion and challenge - I notice, and encourage attention on what is revealed in the moment. I understand struggle - I experienced, and have healed from mental health issues in my past, following an unsettled childhood.

As a psychotherapist working with all age groups, I use my professional skills and experience to provide a safe, judgement-free space for children, young people and adults to explore what might be underlying their difficulties. I support clients with a wide range of issues including anxiety, depression, anger, isolation, identity, sexuality, low self-esteem, school difficulties, friendship issues, loss, grief, bullying, abuse, neglect, parental separation and other issues. I also provide parent work sessions for parents who have concerns about their relationship with their child/children and family dynamics.

Do you feel your potential in life is thwarted by past or present difficulties or trauma? Has your equilibrium, confidence and self esteem been undermined by this? Do you feel disempowered and unable to move forward? Sometimes, life's difficulties can prevent us from forming healthy relationships with ourselves and others, and prevent us thriving. I am a UKCP Psychotherapist in training, working to support people suffering with mental and emotional distress find more ease, balance, meaning and health in their lives.

I am a registered psychologist and doctor of counselling psychology offering psychotherapy underpinned by a contemporary reading of the most relevant literature. I work from an attachment, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural perspective, integrating these to offer tailored ways of understanding and working with issues that will be unique to each person and set of circumstances. Most of the work happens in the room, though sometimes we might also set things outside of it, where appropriate.

I have over 20 years of experience working in the NHS, specialising in child and adolescent mental health. This has allowed me to gain extensive experience in working with children, adolescents, young people, siblings and parents to overcome a wide range of psychological, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

I have been working with children, young people and their families all my professional life, and have 30 years experience. I work collaboratively with my clients to build a safe and trusting relationship, with which we can explore the range of difficulties we experience in life. Distress can take many forms and children and young people often express this in their behaviour. Many of us can experience different types of trauma, from the road traffic accidents, bullying at school, divorce and separation, non typical development to more complex traumas such as abuse, bereavement and going into care.

I am a fully insured and qualified Counsellor registered with the BACP, working with ages 13+ through to seniors, coming from different backgrounds and life experiences both face to face or online. Sessions are ran entirely at your individual pace and specific to your needs and ways of working. They are also open ended, meaning you are not bound to a set amount of sessions. I work with a whole multitude of areas, not just what is set out on this profile, and you’re always welcome to enquire if you are unsure.

Welcome Welcome Welcome! I imagine if you are reading this you are looking for someone who can help with whats troubling you and help you find some answers and relief. I have over 20 years experience helping clients with a wide variety of issues and vulnerabilities and offer a warm, safe, confidential and supportive space.

I offer caring informal support to help you move forward with reflection, fresh ideas and new perspectives. We might look at old patterns of behaviour that have outlived their usefulness, belief systems that don’t seem right anymore or emotional wounds from the past. There is a desire to change, to move forwards, and to live more fully. But how do you do it?

I have a lot of respect for anyone who chooses to begin counselling. It takes courage to be open with someone, and I don't take that for granted. As an Integrative counsellor, I have a range of therapeutic tools to help towards a breakthrough, particularly for clients who live with anxiety, depression, or present difficulties relating to past traumas.​ As human beings, we are wired for survival, and continually adjust to protect ourselves from threats and challenges. As our circumstances change through life, we may notice that the patterns which once kept us safe are now holding us back.

I work with adults and young people and offer both short and long term therapy. Sometimes life’s challenges may feel overwhelming, emotionally exhausting or relentless and we may seek professional support to help us find our way through. Anxiety, depression, feeling lost, lonely, confused or traumatised are just some of the many issues people bring. Whilst our personal stories and the reasons for our distress are ultimately as unique as we are, I have found that clients of all ages share a common goal; the desire to gain new perspectives and deeper understandings of themselves and to explore the possibilities and means of change.

Anxiety is normal. Yes, I just said that! Yet many of us grow up with the idea that anxious feelings are negative and to be avoided at all costs. I spent years trying to escape my anxiety, which only made it worse. The more I pushed, the more it pushed back, until I spent all my time pushing. It was exhausting, resulting in OCD behaviours and panic attacks. Then I learnt to change my relationship with anxiety. I realised that to be anxious is to be human. I stopped struggling and instead began to work with my anxiety in new ways that gave me more options, both in the moment and in the long term.

If you have experienced something very upsetting or traumatic, your mind/body might still be reeling in the aftermath. Your wonderfully clever autonomic nervous system works hard to keep you safe: to fight, or to flee, or to numb everything out, before your conscious brain has even noticed what’s happening. These unconscious responses may not always serve you, however. When traumatic charge is held in our bodies long after the threat has passed, we can experience all sorts of debilitating symptoms, from anxiety, to depression, insomnia, self-hatred, comfort eating, self-harming, or relating to others in ways that we later regret.

With nearly twenty years experience I offer highly skilled and evidence-based psychotherapy to individuals and groups in my private practice. I also work as principal psychotherapist within a specialist NHS psychology service for adults with severe, complex and enduring mental health problems. Within the NHS I supervise other mental health professionals as well as seeing patients for one-to-one and group psychotherapy. In my private practice, I work with a wider spectrum of people experiencing everything from mental and emotional distress to major life changes as well as those who are seeking to make more meaning in their lives.

A supportive, authentic therapeutic relationship for help with Anxiety, Depression, Grief, Adult ADHD, Relationship Issues, Developmental Trauma, Attachment Issues, OCD Behaviours, Intrusive or Obsessive Thoughts, Addictions, etc.. My approach is Integrative; Person Centred, Gestalt, CBT, IFS, Inner Child Healing, Somatic Focused, influenced by ten years experience as a practitioner of Integrated Energy Healing (mind/body therapy). Focusing on what is happening in the here and now, we have agency to affect healing and change.

Everyone can use a little extra support from time to time. Sometimes specific things happen to throw us off balance and sometimes we find ourselves stuck in unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling and behaviour. Research has shown that verbalising your feelings has a significant therapeutic effect on the brain. Taking care of your brain is as important as taking care of your body and talking about the challenges you face will improve your overall wellbeing.

My name is Talya. At the heart of how I work is the belief that everyone's choices and experiences are understandable if we give the time and attention to understanding them. When we are supported it becomes more possible to gain insight into the ways we feel limited, to acknowledge and release the feelings that can keep us stuck and to find new ways of being. Therapy can provide a chance to heal from the hurts that accumulate within us and help us find the resources to meet life fully. Through our time together, you may find that new ways of relating to yourself and the world around you become possible.