Sexual Abuse Counselling in Shaftesbury

I am an experienced Humanistic counsellor and am passionate about the positive changes therapy can bring. Sometimes our lives become overwhelming, complicated and confusing and problems get bottled up. A skilled listener can help you explore your thoughts, behaviours and emotions to help gain understanding, insight and clarity. This can lead to more positive choices, renewed resilience and feeling more in control again. I believe that the counsellor/client relationship is at the heart of successful therapy, so I aim to establish a warm, trusting, safe and non-judgemental space where you feel confident to express your concerns.

When life gets tough we can find ourselves feeling stressed, anxious and overwhelmed. At these times talking to someone else can be helpful to make sense of what is going on. Perhaps you are experiencing loss or bereavement, or a significant transition in your home, work or relationships. Living with uncertainty and change can stir up uncomfortable feelings in us like anxiety, depression, anger or sadness. Whatever is going on for you, I can provide you with the time and space to think things through, and together we will work to make sense of what is going on and find a way forward.

I offer you a safe place to explore your emotions and the issues that trouble you and will work with you to find solutions which will improve your life. Therapy with me is about preparing to make changes. I will help you release the thoughts that trouble you, your fears and despair and help you contain those most intense feelings so we can look deeper into the reasons why you are not functioning as you would like to. We can't always change the way those around us behave, but we can change our attitude to life and to others.

My expertise lies in assessing and treating individuals following one or more traumatic events, which can lead to a number of moderate to severe mental health problems or diagnoses. These include; obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), personality disorders, chronic depression and anxiety, insomnia, low self-esteem and confidence, and, in some cases, physical disabilities including, chronic fatigue syndrome or ME. I also work with clients experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties, which do not have a traumatic origin, including, relationship difficulties and life challenges.

All of us can encounter moments in our lives where our habitual ways of doing things don’t seem to work any longer and we get stuck. Counselling can help working through these difficulties, by becoming aware of what we do and how we do it and whether our ways of thinking or doing things are helpful or not. This awareness is the foundation for change and together we can find new perspectives and kinder ways of engaging with yourself, that enable you to experiment with a wider variety of choices and support you leading a happier and more satisfying life.

Hello and welcome to my profile. I am an experienced, BACP Registered Counsellor. I have private practise for just over 5 years. I have work with people from all walks of life, which include different cultures and religions. Being a therapist of colour, I understand the cultural difficulties that clients may have face. I believe in treating everyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion. I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs. Each client is different, so therapy should be unique to each person.

Are you feeling overwhelmed, stressed or traumatised by what is happening in your life? It can be very helpful to express and explore your worries with someone who can listen to you non-judgmentally. I believe in the healing qualities of therapeutic relationship. My aim is to create a restorative and reflective environment that recognises your personal experiences and develops new perspectives to help facilitate any changes that you wish to make.

If you're looking on this site then I'm guessing that there is either a crisis in your life or you have been feeling unhappy, depressed or anxious for some time. Sometimes when we're in the middle of a situation, feeling depressed or anxious, it isn't always easy to see what the difficulty is or gain a perspective on events and relationships. Talking to someone who has no personal 'agenda' or involvement can help you to gain a clearer perspective and identify behaviour patterns that are unhelpful or damaging to yourself and your relationships.

As your counsellor, I help you deepen awareness and curiosity about your present and past experiences, enabling you to gently veer from repeating unhelpful patterns relating to situations, others and yourself. I provide a safe and friendly counselling space. I am not there to judge or tell you what to do but to support you in moving beyond your current experience at a safe and grounded pace.

I am an integrative psychotherapist/counsellor, meaning I have been trained to use a variety of approaches to be able to work fluidly with you and whatever issue has led you to seek therapy. Part of human experience is to encounter challenges in many different guises. Sometimes these challenges upset our inner equilibrium and that can feel very difficult and overwhelming to cope with. Maybe you have been coping with something for a long time? Perhaps you are looking for support beyond family and friends? My strength is in my ability to create a warm, supportive space in which you can talk without fear of being dismissed or judged.

We can all at times experience life as challenging and stressful. Clients contact me for a variety of reasons including:partners of childhood sexual abuse survivors, anxiety, work stress, bereavement, depression, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, loss of direction as well as wellbeing for men. Couples also come to my practice. Some come to improve how they communicate, some wish to find a way through their current difficulties and to find a way forward, some wish to separate with compassion and understanding, whereas others come to keep their communication open via couple tune up sessions after the main therapy has ended.

When life events past or present become overwhelming, it can feel hard to cope with things alone & often hard to reach out to family or friends. If you are experiencing trauma & PTSD symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, flashbacks, panic attacks, anger issues, self-harm, low self-esteem, disconnection, shame, loss, isolation, we can work together at your pace to help you move through these feelings & behaviours. "Trauma is not what happens to you, it’s what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you. Trauma is that scarring that makes you less flexible, more rigid, less feeling and more defended." (Dr Gabor Mate)

Life is full of its ups and downs, and during the difficult times it may feel, for some, that there is no one to turn to. It can be daunting asking for help and sometimes it feels like no one understands what we are going through. However this does not need to be the case, as you can get support and understanding through counselling. It's really about finding the right counselling relationships- if you've tried before and it didn't work... it was the wrong therapeutic realtionship- please don't give up, You are worth not giving up for.

Hi, I'm Dawn. I can help you with the overwhelming feelings of anxiety, depression, stress, grief or anger. In particular, I can support you to understand the impact of childhood experiences on your adult life. If you struggle to understand or self-regulate your emotions, or if you are feeling stuck, you may be feeling as if you are not yourself. I work with clients who have experienced trauma such as childhood sexual abuse and domestic abuse. However, I can also help with the after effects of any challenging life experience. I will work alongside you to help you understand and overcome these difficulties.

I am qualified to work with people with anxiety, bereavement and loss, depression; identity confusion and change; coming out; self-esteem and shame, trauma and post-traumatic stress and also survivors of sexual abuse. I work with both individuals and couples. I am experienced in working with young people and adults and with people in a range of relationship styles including monogamous, polyamorous and open relationships. I work with all members of LGBT+ and those who do not identify as such but are questioning or exploring this aspect of their sexuality, regardless of their sexual orientation.