Sheila Pope

Mondays: 8am - 5pm

Wednesdays: 8am - 5pm and 7.30pm - 9pm

Thursdays 8am - 5pm and 7.30 - 9pm

Saturdays: 9am - 10am

I work face-to-face or online using Zoom (UK only).

I have been in practice for nearly 25years; I am fully qualified, insured and supervised and I work one-to-one with adults either short-term or long-term. If you are experiencing anxiety, depression, acute stress or a breakdown in a relationship then a short course of sessions with me can highlight what's not working well in your life and is causing you distress and start you thinking about what you want out of life and how to get your needs met. I will be interested in your thoughts, feelings and behaviours and be curious about your relationships.  Working over a longer period, I will encourage you to explore your past and how your problems developed in the first place, which will enable you to understand more deeply why you relate to others in a particular way. This insight means you'll be better able to support yourself when you make changes in the future. I use ideas and models from Transactional Analysis which help us both to understand your typical way of engaging in relationships and we can do creative exercises to deepen your exploration.

I am also experienced at working with older people: as we age, our views on life and relationships change and what used to serve us might no longer do so. If you want the space to take stock at a crossroads in your life,to review where and how you are, then please contact me. I see clients face-to-face or online via Zoom and I also work outside using one of the local nature reserves.

An initial assessment session is £25; further sessions are £50. I am keen for counselling to be accessible; if your finances are uncertain, I have some flexibility in my fee structure.

Talking with someone about your issues in confidence gives you the chance to find out about yourself, the choices you've made, your relationships with others and with yourself.  I am passionate about understanding how the jigsaw puzzle pieces of relationships fit together: how do you connect with others and what happens when you do, what is your experience, how do others impact on you, what effect do you have on those around you? Together we'll think about why your puzzle piece has its particular shape, how you fit in the larger puzzle and how that affects you. Counselling is a place to explore these questions and more, to find out about yourself, your experiences and your choices. Once you've discovered more about how you fit in the picture, you can decide whether you want to redesign your piece of the puzzle - what might you need to change and how might you do that?

We'll start by having an assessment session to explore if we feel comfortable working together and, if so, we then decide how many sessions might be needed for you to get to the place in your life where you want to be. We will keep an eye on how you're doing and will work towards an ending in a carefully managed way so that you can continue to support yourself once your therapy comes to its conclusion.

When we first meet, I'll ask some questions about your past, your general health, prepare a family tree and look at what you want to achieve.  You will have the chance to decide how you feel about working with me: does it feel safe enough for you to tell me about your experiences, thoughts and feelings?  What can we do to help your exploration process?  What do you need from me?  Are you committed to improving your own wellbeing?  What will you do to ensure that you reach your goals?  How can I support you in that?  I have a contract that you will need to sign: this sets out the details of how we will work together.