About me
Hello, my name is Denise, i am a professionally qualified counsellor accredited with the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society. Thank you for visiting my counselling therapy page, i understand this takes huge courage to reach out and look for help.
I have a passion and experience of working with and supporting people that feel overwhelmed, feel different for whatever reason, doubt themselves, tend to please others rather than themselves. I help them to regain control of their lives and find their true authentic self. This enables them to discover their full potential. This new awareness creates choices that align with their dreams, enabling them to feel valid, live as their true self, help them to speak out with confidence. To embrace and celebrate who they are, celebrate their unique inner shine. Choosing to be who they want to be and live how they want to live.
I started my private practice Shine counselling therapy because I wanted to support people who feel overwhelmed, a failure, different. Who have low self confidence, who are struggling with their thoughts and emotions, feel incapable, feel alone, not as good as everyone else for whatever reason. I understand these feelings as I have lived most of my life with undiagnosed Dyslexia, I am also a parent to a Dyslexic child. I wanted to use my personal experience together with my professional skills as a counsellor. I have worked with hundreds of clients at Mind Mental Health Charity and Counselling on Sea, supporting them to experience the freedom to be who they want to be and live the life they want to live. Many clients I have supported have been Neurodiverse or suspect they may have ADHD, Autism or Dyslexia.
I also work hands on as a support worker with young adults in the community that have physical and learning disabilities and see the impact not only the young adults but the ripple effect and the need for mental health support for their parents, siblings, carers, friends.
What to Expect from Counselling Therapy
I work in a calm non judgmental way. I am friendly and empathic creating a warm comfortable relaxed space for therapy.
Often when a client starts therapy they are like a fledgling, (baby bird) emotionally under nourished, confused, in pain and discomfort, weak and overwhelmed, exhausted with daily life. This could be for any reason maybe an undiagnosed condition such as Dyslexia, Autism or ADHD, or maybe it is a parent of a child, struggling with school or work demands or a partner who is supporting an aging parent who is struggling. It may be a parent or carer, partner that supports someone with a mental health condition, illness or disability. It may be a mother who is on an emotional rollercoaster juggling family and work life or experiencing a shift in hormones due to pregnancy, birth or the menopause, who has lost their identity.
The process of therapy
I understand counselling therapy can be daunting, especially if you have not experienced it before. In the process of therapy I use different tools and techniques which are individual to my clients needs. I am a Person Centred therapist which means I work with what the client wants to bring to therapy each week. I use CBT, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which works with exploring a clients thoughts which in turn links to how we feel then how we behave. I also work with the Inner Child, the part of the client that can feel scared, anxious, alone and sad, so that they can feel safe and comforted enabling them to discover their inner shine. In the work that I do together with my clients I can build up that baby bird, nourish and nurture them, enabling them to find their strength, find their worth, to be free and ready to fly the therapy nest.
In my counselling therapy I see patterns in clients, wanting to be what others expect of them, they often feel that they are incapable, not bright enough, a bit thick, not intelligent enough, all over the place, overthinkers, and are their worst critic. This may have been experiences in childhood at school maybe. Through working with the Inner Child I can help soothe those difficult emotions of feeling overwhelmed in adult life, of feeling different.
How can Counselling Therapy help me?
Therapy gives an awareness, a new understanding of ourselves which in turn creates choices. Working towards an acceptance and celebration of who you truly are. You can choose who you want to be, and what you want to do in your life. You are unique, valid and special and have every right to be your true self, you have the right to speak out, and to be heard. To be your authentic self rather than what others want you to be. Therapy builds our resilience, acceptance, self worth, contentment and inner peace.