Counselling With Courtney

Sometimes what brings us to counselling is the feeling that there’s something wrong with us. Something that means we find it hard to cope in the world, or to make the best of ourselves. This could present as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, problems with alcohol, drugs or food; or as repetitive patterns in relationships, or struggles communicating at work or with loved ones. Often the people I work with have been told they are ‘too sensitive’ – a judgement that I personally think is unhelpful.

My overriding belief is that there is nothing ‘wrong’ with who you are. My role is to help you uncover what’s making you respond to what you’re struggling with in the way you do. The therapy has no agenda – it is about you, your experiences and what you want to explore. I promote a sense of wholeness in my approach – helping you foster gentle curiosity towards the ‘helpful’ and ‘unhelpful’ parts of who you are, even in the midst of anger, pain, grief or inner turmoil. Whilst I will help deepen your self understanding, I won’t push you to discuss things that you don’t want to.

My core training was in Person Centred counselling and psychotherapy, but I draw on other therapies, mainly Compassion Focused Therapy. I also have an interest in body based approaches for trauma recovery. However, the core aim of any Person Centred therapist is to create a therapeutic relationship where you can be your full, authentic self, free of judgement or expectation, and that’s my primary aim.

As well as my Professional Diploma in Person Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy, I have qualifications in the impact of trauma on mental health, mental health peer support and suicide prevention. I also hold a BA and MA in arts related disciplines, having worked in the arts before retraining as a therapist.

I have extensive experience working with a variety of people in mental health settings. I recently set up a new charitable support service for people experiencing gambling harm, both gamblers and people impacted by another person’s gambling. I have also worked at some of Scotland’s leading mental health support organisations – Penumbra and Samaritans Scotland. In 2021 I set up a peer support programme for people living with incurable blood cancer.

I have a special interest in substance use, having worked in the UK’s only NHS residential drug and alcohol dependency service. One of my proudest achievements is having co-produced an award winning recovery toolkit for people living with Alcohol Related Brain Damage, voted in the top 10 of patient information resources that year by the British Medical Association.

As part of my counselling practice I’ve also supported people with depression, anxiety, bereavement, physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse, relationships, life transitions, academic issues, explorations of sexuality and navigating potential neurodivergence.

I understand what it’s like to go through a difficult time, and was drawn to training as a therapist due to my own experience of how helpful having someone listen can be. I still remember the relief of being both seen and heard by my first therapist. I felt understood and unconditionally accepted, perhaps for the first time.

I believe that humans were designed to provide support to each other – it’s written into our DNA. Perhaps ironically, our super connected society can lead to feeling isolated and this human connection has been lost, or corrupted by societal pressures. The modern world can be a hard place to live in, despite our material comforts. I believe that therapy helps to repair these bonds of human connection, which, in my experience, helps improve people’s general wellbeing and sense of belonging. Experience has shown me that this leads to positive impacts outside of the therapy space.

Something that was a ‘lightbulb moment’ for me was understanding the impact of trauma on mental health. Once I learned about how trauma impacts the brain and the body, a lot of things made sense, which is why I am a passionate advocate of a trauma informed approach. I’m also a passionate believer in post traumatic growth – that negative experiences, once understood or processed, can (in time!) lead to greater empathy, understanding and connection with others.

More generally, I’m interested in people. Meeting so many people and navigating life together – in both good times and bad – is the joy of being a therapist.