Janet McGrath

Wednesday and Thursday appointments available 

Mornings from 10am to 12noon,

Afternoons from 1pm to 5pm 

Early evening on Wednesdays from 6pm to 7pm

When life issues are up in your face, it can feel bewildering to figure out who is a good person, a safe person, to help you find your way through it all. I want to welcome you, to hear and understand the anxious, confusing, frustrating and hurtful experiences. I offer you a therapeutic counselling space to sort through it all.

Your well-being is my focus and I want to foster a relationship that feels caring and secure for working together in counselling. I take very seriously the trust my clients place in me and I hold deeply the privilege it is to counsel. I work to provide a safe, confidential space for you to explore issues and find positive ways forward. We work at your pace toward your goals.

To start with…

Before arranging an initial session, I like to set up a free 20 minute phone call with you. This gives you an opportunity to tell me a little bit about what you would like help with and what you hope to achieve from therapy. You can ask me any questions you may have. If you feel like our match is good enough then we can discuss meeting times, fees, and arrange an initial session. Please know that, if after our initial session you don’t feel you want to continue working with me, then you are in no way obligated to continue.

How I work when Face to Face

My training is in integrative counselling which means I am not limited to one type of therapy, but can tailor how I work according to each person’s needs. For example, I can use CBT to help you when anxiety, panic or depression is a problem, as it can help you explore feelings, thoughts, underlying beliefs, and evidence for and against the thoughts. All this is so to help you form an alternate, more realistic way of thinking about something which in turn helps you feel better. Or I can use Psychodynamic therapy for working with past experiences that keep presenting themselves in your current relationships and experiences. It is helpful to understand your unique web of relationships since they so often influence your present.

I always work to be present with you in a way that really gets what you are feeling.

My particular interests are working with the effects of trauma, past or present and the negative self-beliefs they can create in us. My way of working is to explore the parts of us that carry difficult emotions and experiences. I want to help you create internal connections, building a stronger sense of your adult self which is your wise mind.

Working face to face allows both client and therapist to witness more of the physical effect of interactions. It helps both of us to get a sense of what happens physically and the ‘energy’ between us. It also opens the way to exploring how the body holds and feels different emotions, impulses, memories, whether recent or from the distant past.

Working face to face also facilitates collaborative, hands-on ways for us to work with writing, diagramming, art and objects, even movements and role play.

Before a first session...

I like to arrange a free telephone call lasting about 20 minutes.This gives you an opportunity to tell me a little bit about what you would like help with and what you hope to achieve from therapy. You can ask me any questions you may have. If you feel like our match is good enough then we can discuss meeting times, fees, and arrange an initial session. Please know that, if after our initial session you don’t feel you want to continue working with me, then you are in no way obligated to continue.

In our first session

In our first session I want to learn what has brought you to counselling at this time and to hear something of your life context for the issues you face. I want to learn what your understanding of counselling is and your expectations for counselling. I will explore with you some things about your mental health. Lastly, I will explain how I work and my professional organisation’s ethical framework which underpins this.

I am available the following times:

Wednesdays 10AM to 8:30PM

Thursdays 10AM to 8:30PM

Fridays 1PM to 7PM

Finding someone you feel safe to work with when you have difficult things in your life can seem so uncertain and put you off trying. I want to welcome you, to hear and understand the confusing, frustrating, anxious and hurtful experiences you carry. I will never judge you but rather listen for the deep parts of your heart.  I offer a therapeutic counselling space and adjust my way of working to suit your particular need.

I consider each person unique and part of a web of relationships and past experiences that influences their present. Your well-being is my focus and I want to foster a relationship that feels caring and secure for working together in counselling. I take very seriously the trust my clients place in me and know deeply the privilege it is to counsel. I work to provide a safe, confidential space for each person to explore issues and find positive ways forward. We work at your pace toward your goals.

As an integrative counsellor, I weave several therapeutic approaches to tailor the counselling to each person’s particular needs, including CBT, Psychodynamic and Person-Centred.

I meet with people face to face or online using Zoom or FaceTime.

As a Christian pastor’s wife, I have 40 years’ experience walking alongside people in their life changes, loss and deep disappointments, baby loss, bereavement, abuse, divorce, crises, traumas, anxiety and core issues of self-esteem, security and significance. Should someone also want to explore the spiritual aspects of the issues they face and how their belief/faith impacts those issues, I am open to help this exploration as well.

I meet with people face to face in Edinburgh on Thursdays or online using Zoom, WhatsApp or FaceTime.

In the first session I want to learn what has brought you to counselling at this time and hear something of your life context for the issue(s) you face. I want to learn what are your hopes and your expectations for counselling. Lastly, I will explore some things about your mental health. I will explain how I work and the Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s ethical framework which underpins this.