Kent > Gillingham > ME : 7 > Judy Whitehead Name:   Judy Whitehead    Inner Sanctum Counselling & Hypnotherapy I practise at:   Gillingham, Kent ME7 and at:   The Millennium Centre, Gatekeeper Chase, Rainham, Kent ME8   Website:   http://innersanctumcounselling.co.uk     Phone:   07950614768      Professional    membership:   HS  -  National Hypnotherapy Society   NCS  -  National Counselling Society   Sometimes the causes of our problems seem fairly clear and we know where to turn for assistance. At other times, our problems are difficult to understand and we find no answer from within ourselves or those close to us, in whom it may be hard to confide. Talking to a counsellor, who is impartial, can help people work through personal difficulties and find solutions to problems. Counsellors are trained to listen and to help others explore their feelings, thoughts and behaviours in a safe, confidential and non-judgmental way. Counselling does not claim to be the answer to all human difficulties, but it can help people find their own answers and offer support. In this way counselling assists us to move towards more effective ways of coping, enabling us to have a greater control of our own lives. If you are: feeling down and low, anxious, worried or over-stressed about something suffering from panic attacks, a traumatic experience or phobia going through a crisis, bereavement, redundancy, early retirement or illness having to face a separation or divorce and wanting some help suffering from the effects of physical, emotional or sexual abuse wanting someone to share your thoughts and feelings with, to help see a way through wanting to work on your personal growth then I may be able to help. Individual Counselling The Counselling experience provides an opportunity to share problems with someone skilled in listening. It aims to assist people, for example, to understand how past experiences and current behaviour may be linked, or to see things in a new way, which can lead to a more creative understanding of a situation, and assist to make changes where needed. It allows space to explore thoughts and feelings about oneself and relationships with others in a safe way. Services: short-term counselling 6 - 12 sessions to look at specific goals or for support. Approaches include, Bereavement Care; Anxiety and Anger Management; CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) to assist with issues such as, Phobic reactions or OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorders); Brief Solution-Focused Counselling; Brief Psychodynamic Counselling. Longer-term counselling When more time is needed, usually where help is needed with more longer-term, deeper-seated issues. You can enquire about this, in confidence, at your initial consultation. Counselling is a growing part of life today. It offers a person, or a couple, a chance to explore the options at a critical time in their life; a time when the old ways of doing things seem not to work any more, or when a new situation appears, such as a marriage breakdown, a bereavement or redundancy. Counselling provides a framework in which you yourself can make decisions and move forward through a better acceptance of your feelings and acknowledgment of your identity. Do not expect direct advice. You may feel you would like to be told what to do, but this is not really part of counselling, because it is recognised that giving advice is not really a long-term solution. In contrast, conciliation is the means whereby a mediator helps a couple come to agreement on particular areas in dispute before a reconciliation or separation is finalised. Whatever the outcome, if you have counselling, it is likely that you will gain a greater understanding and control of what is happening in your life at this time, an understanding you might not have gained otherwise. Who might benefit from talking therapies? Talking therapies are for all sorts of people. They can help whatever you background, age, gender, ethnicity, religion, social or working context, or sexual preference. They may also help if you are on medication and already receiving help from your GP or medical practitioner. People can find talking therapies particularly helpful if it is offered at a time when they are ready for it. Your GP will discuss with you the option of talking therapies regardless of your background or your particular difficulty. One GP said: "I think a lot of patients would like counselling. They often want to talk, but there is no-one there to talk to." If you see your GP or a psychiatrist for an emotional or a mental health problem, you may be prescribed drugs such as anti-depressants to help with the symptoms. Some people often say they would like to use a talking therapy as well as, or instead of, taking prescribed drugs; a chance to talk about themself and their problems within the context of their life. You can ask your GP for talking therapy regardless of any medication you are on. Most counsellors will be happy to work with you while you are taking medication. There are few reasons why medication and talking therapy should not be used together. Some research has found that a combination of the two works better than either on its own. However, to reduce or come off of medication will likely be helpful. LOCATION We are based at the beautiful Millennium Centre in the centre of Rainham in Kent, located to the rear of the ancient parish Church of St Margaret's which can be easily reached via the M2. There is a public car park attached to the centre. ( Behind Cricketer's pub) Our counsellors hold qualifications in hypnotherapy and counselling recognised by professional bodies. They are members of the Hypnotherapy Society and the Counselling Society and are accredited by the Royal College of Nursing and the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council. They are members of the NHS Directory of Complimentary and Alternative Practitioners. Every counsellor is covered by professional insurance and attends regular supervision and continuing Professional Development courses. We abide by the BACP codes of ethics. What happens next? Upon receiving your inquiry you will be asked to come for an initial consultation to explore your needs and to see what kind of help and method of approach would best suit you. Appointments MAKING AN APPOINTMENT The Initial Consultation (Assessment) Arrangements for you to come for an initial assessment for counselling can be made. This will give you a chance to talk about your problems and to explore the kind of help you are seeking and need. It will also be an opportunity to see if counselling or hypnotherapy is appropriate for you and usually takes about an hour.Should it become apparent in the consultation that some other form of help may be more suitable, we will do our best to recommend an alternative agency. Ongoing counselling When ongoing counselling is offered, a counsellor will arrange to meet with you once a week for a 50 minute session, at the same mutually agreed time each week, unless other arrangements are made. To enquire about making an appointment for counselling, hypnotherapy or for further information, please telephone or email. Approaches THERAPEUTIC MODELS PSYCHODYNAMIC COUNSELLING Patterns of Behaviour Human beings have a tendency to repeat patterns of behaviour and even when they would like to change, they find themselves unable to do so. These patterns may repeat themselves in the counselling room and this enables the client to look at his/her behaviour patterns without fear of rejection. Personal Therapy In this model of counselling, the relationship between the counsellor and the client is central to the work being done. As part of their training, all counsellors have their own personal therapy. We believe this to be an essential experience for psychodynamic counsellors in their work with clients. It allows the counsellor a greater inner freedom and enables him/her to have a clearer understanding of the client's experience, both within the therapeutic relationship and outside of it. Theoretical Basis Psychodynamic counselling is based, among other things, on the understanding of the unfolding of a person's life from birth onwards. It includes an understanding of the network of relationships that develop during growth into adulthood. It draws on the insights of psychoanalysis as a way of understanding the human personality, including the way individuals interact with each other. It takes note of the unconscious mind as well as conscious attitudes, and aids the resolution of unconscious conflicts, which allows for the development of a person's full potential. The Counselling Relationship The counselling relationship is different from social relationships in that it is limited to the counselling sessions. It provides a safe place in which to explore past and present feelings and the meaning of past and current relationships. COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT) When clients seek counselling for emotional problems, they typically describe their problems in terms of their feelings, or in terms of situations with which they cannot cope. The anxious client, for example, may describe how panicky he feels and how hard he finds it to deal with social situations. People rarely come for counselling complaining about their thinking, although self-defeating thinking is often a major reason for their difficulties. A common assumption made by many clients, and by people in general, is that other people or unfortunate circumstances are directly responsible for the unpleasant way they feel. For example, one often hears comments such as 'He makes me so angry' or 'She really made me look stupid'. These statements assume that the other person caused the client to feel in the way he did. If this were true, then everyone in a particular situation would experience the same emotions, a fact which is evidently not the case. Take, for example, the case of public speaking: Three speakers may give the same talk which is equally well received by the audience. One speaker may notice the applause and be pleased about the way she performed. The second speaker might feel depressed because he thought that the audience was only clapping to be polite and that actually, they were bored. The third speaker might feel angry because she had put a great deal of effort into preparing the talk and she thought the audience was not sufficiently appreciative. It is clear from this example that the same event may lead to a range of emotions depending on how the event is interpreted and evaluated. It is, therefore, not events that produce bad feelings, but the way these events are appraised. This central tenet of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be summed up in the, now famous, words of the philosopher Epictetus in the first century AD: 'Men are disturbed not by things but by the views which they take of them.' At the heart of CBT lies the idea that our interpretations of our experiences are hypotheses or beliefs, rather than facts and, as such, may be correct or incorrect to varying degrees. Furthermore, when people hold unrealistic and negative beliefs about themselves or their experiences, an emotional upset will result. If this negative thinking is extreme or persistent, it may lead to an emotional disorder. Depression is likely to result, for example, if a client starts to hold false beliefs such as his life being totally pointless and that he is worthless. A major difference between CBT and psychodynamic therapies lies in the degree of importance given to exploring early childhood experiences for the origins of early maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaviour. In CBT it can be very helpful to explore early experiences to enable a client to place his or her problems in a historical context, but this is not seen as a major part of counselling. The CBT view is that people are not so much disturbed by past events as by the way those events are viewed in the present. Take, for example, the case of a depressed person who believes she is worthless. Her depression is not produced by a childhood experience, such as her mother telling her that she was useless, but by the fact that she continues to think and believe this. CBT seeks to help a person think more realistically, to question the false assumptions and core beliefs that create consequential bad feelings and maladaptive behaviour patterns about themselves, other people and the world in which they live. BRIEF SOLUTION-FOCUSED THERAPY Solution-focused brief therapy is an approach to counselling that is brief and effective. It can be brief because it is future-focused and because it works with the strengths of those who come by making the best use of their resources. It can bring about lasting change precisely because it aims to build solutions, rather than solve problems. People seek help for an enormously diverse range of troubles including stress, depression, anxiety, sleep-problems, relationship difficulties, mental health problems and work-related concerns. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy aims to offer help over 6-8 sessions. Fees There will be a charge for the initial consultation, otherwise called the initial assessment, which is charged at £50.00, as for ongoing sessions, the cost is currently set at £45.00 for a 50 minute counselling session, or £50.00 for a 50 minute Hypnotherapy session, with the exception of a Smoking cessation session which takes between 1.5 to 2 hours at the cost of £120.00 and is a stand alone session. CANCELLATIONS We are generally very busy so could you please give at least 24 hours cancellation of an appointment. Unfortunately, any cancellations made less that this may be charged at the full session rate. 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