Counselling in Exeter

I provide counselling from my private practice at my home in Melksham, Wiltshire. This is a private room providing a safe and confidential space for our work together. I can offer various daytime and evening appointments throughout the week. My training helps me to provide you with a reliable, regular, non-judgmental space where you can begin to talk about whatever is on your mind. I work in what is called an integrative way, using a wide range of therapeutic models, but primarily focusing on humanistic counselling.

I welcome working with anyone who is troubled by specific issues, family, work, loss, addiction relationship & sexual issues. There are times in most of our lives when we need some help to make sense of happening to us, to find directions to deal with a specific issues. Often stress, anxiety, loss of confidence, loss of any kind. Talking our issues through with an experienced therapist, confidentially, can help us to resolve the issues, deal with emotions/situations and help us see more clearly, understand feelings & find solutions

I work in a very individually tailored way, I believe in the healing potential within each person and my focus is upon building a strong therapy relationship to facilitate support, awareness, insight and personal growth towards changes. I have over 17 years experience working with adolescents, parents and professionals . I work with a number of clients dealing with trauma, anxiety , depression and bereavement and loss . Other issues I work with include relationships, self-esteem, post-natal depression , transition and changes , divorce, separation . Adolescent and young adult issues include body image, eating disorders, depression.

Life is messy and throws us off course. We experience pain, stress and anxiety for many reasons - life events, work issues, grief and loss, relationship difficulties, or feelings of low self-esteem that makes you feel stuck. We may simply feel adrift, struggling to find meaning and our place in the world. Confronting and solving problems can be a painful process which many of us avoid. Avoidance can result in greater pain and the inability to flourish both mentally and spiritually, but by working together to fully understand your issues and goals we can work towards a more fulfilled life.

I offer a warm, safe and confidential space for you to be listened to. I work at your pace, helping you to explore what you really want, both from the counselling therapy and then concentrating more specifically, on areas of your life that you'd like to change or improve. If you have problems that keep going around and around in your head. If you are unhappy and can't identify why. If you are really struggling to cope with life, then Counselling can offer an amazingly good emotional release. Offering you the comfort of feeling truly listened to, empathised with and not judged.

I endeavour to provide a safe, comfortable, quiet space for clients to explore sensitive issues. The relationship between myself and the client is at the heart of my approach. I believe that being with a client and offering a compassionate holding presence while they share their story is essential to establish a working therapeutic alliance before offering insight and psycho education. I adapt my approach to suit the needs of each client and integrate suitable interventions or tools work with whatever issue the client is presenting.

I am very passionate about my work and what I love most is seeing my clients progress. Observing their changes and seeing how good they feel within themselves is a wonderful journey to share. I offer support with all kinds of issues. You may be suffering with an anxiety disorder, depression perhaps, an issue within a relationship, an addiction or something else. Whatever your issue is, my aim is to spend time getting to know you, finding the root cause to your problem and any other factors that may have to be taken into consideration. Then, together we can work towards a solid plan for you to more you forward as an individual.

Are you looking for change? Do you want to move beyond the pain of your current situation or past traumas? Are you experiencing relationship difficulties and don't know how to go beyond the current situation? Whatever the issues you are facing, I will work with you to help you move towards the place you (both) want to be. I have extensive knowledge of working with clients with a range of mental health difficulties, including people in emotional crisis. I believe that every person has the potential for recovery and growth, with as an individual or within relationship with another person. Transformation is always possible.

The experience of coming for therapy is an opportunity for you to discover for the first (or subsequent) time in life that you can let go of all the judgements, the fear and hesitation, and begin to talk about what is bothering you. We become wounded within a sense of connectedness - in families, relationships, friendships and society - and paradoxically it is within a sense of connectedness that we can begin to heal. Healing the emotional brain takes time, but it is a creative and deeply fulfilling process that brings wonderful gifts with itself. I help my clients to begin to feel more balanced and calm within their mind and body.

Coming for counselling for the first time can be a bit daunting. You don't know what to expect, or how it might be able to help you, but I hope to provide a safe and trusting environment where you will be able to feel supported to bring whatever you need to to the therapy session, and to know that you will be fully listened to and accepted. You may be going through a difficult time in your life and need to find your way through, or you may be looking at having longer term therapy where you look deeper into exploring issues from the past that still affect you, in order that you can live a happier and more fulfilling life.

Hi there, I'm Nicola and a very warm welcome to my page here at Psychology Today. You have taken the first step in moving forwards towards a more full filling life. Within our counselling relationship your issues, whatever they may be, can be discussed, acknowledged, accepted and addressed. Whether these are the bigger life transitions such as bereavement or relationship breakdown, or everyday frustrations such as breaking free of habits that no longer serve you.

I am a qualified counsellor and teacher, I have studied Counselling and Substance Misuse at FdSc level and have a Diploma in Social Work, as well as having a wide range of work and life experience. My down to earth nature empowers me to be accessible, approachable and non-judgmental which is an essential part of a successful working therapeutic relationship. Aiding people to work through their own life challenges is my absolute passion and driving force behind Brighter Pathways Counselling.

With 30 years of experience, I respectfully help you to access a life that makes sense to you and is governed by you. Sessions are as dynamic or quiet as you wish them to be. No judgment, no pressure. You are free to think, feel and share as much or as little as you need. Book a single appointment and decide for yourself if this is the right way forward.

I am BACP and EMDR Europe accredited Consultant for both adults and children and young people. I work within the professional standards required for these professional bodies. I have 19 years experience providing therapeutic intervention for adults, children and young people who have experienced trauma from a wide range of difficulties, such as bereavement, abuse, relationship issues, depression, anxiety . This enables me to be creative and flexible in relation to the way my clients wish to work. I recognise the importance of working within the BACP ethical framework, which informs me of best practice and professional integrity.

If you have experienced trauma as a result of your past and you find that is affecting you and your relationships in the present, I can help you gently explore these difficulties and support you to make the changes you need to make. Through childhood experiences and life events we try to fit into the world we live in. From very early on we tend to adapt ourselves to meet the needs of others, to be loved, liked and accepted. We twist and manage ourselves into expected ways of being and mask what is really going on for us. In doing this we lose the sense of who we are before we ever know.