Thomas Pounds

• Mornings
• Afternoons
• Evenings

• Mornings
• Afternoons

• Online or Telephone anywhere within the UK
• Face to face locally

Please feel free to get in touch to discuss what would work best for you.

Welcome, my names Tom. I’m a counsellor based out of Bournemouth, Dorset, offering both local face to face sessions and online or telephone sessions to clients based anywhere within the UK.

I’m an Autism-Informed counsellor with lived experience and additional training in working therapeutically with neurodivergent clients. I work in a Neurodiversity-affirming way, and Autism and ADHD are key areas of my continuous professional development and training. 

I work within a Humanistic Integrative Counselling Approach and I aim to help you to find your own answers and to make decisions, choices and changes that align with your values and beliefs. I will provide a therapeutic relationship that's authentic, understanding and non-judgmental, where we can process and explore your unique thoughts, feelings and experiences together.

How I can help

I offer a safe, supportive space where we can talk about what’s troubling you, at a pace that feels comfortable. For example, if a past experience or trauma is stopping you from living how you want to, we can gently work through it together. If anxiety is becoming hard to manage, we can explore what is causing it and create coping strategies to help. If you’re struggling with relationships in your life or finding yourself repeatedly in the same situations, we can uncover patterns and make connections that allow you the choice to do things differently. Or if low self-esteem or low confidence is a problem, we can explore where these feelings come from, challenge unhelpful beliefs and work on building your confidence and self-acceptance.

You're welcome to get in touch if you'd like to talk more about how I can support you with your specific needs.

I’ve supported a wide range of clients with various problems, issues and difficulties, such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, self-confidence, anger, stress, bereavement and more.

My Autism-Informed training means that I have a good understanding of neurodiversity differences and how this may impact the way that someone might view, experience and interact with the world. I work in a Neurodiversity-affirming way and I can tailor my support to the unique challenges and difficulties that you might face, such as masking, heightened anxiety, sensory overload, meltdowns, shutdown and burnout.

I can also support with a navigating a range of thoughts, feelings and emotions that can come up around diagnosis, whether that’s before, during, or long after. This might include imposter syndrome, struggling with self-acceptance, making sense of your identity, or re-evaluating your life through a new lens. You do not need a formal diagnosis to work with me. I warmly welcome self-identified neurodivergent people, and I understand that the journey of understanding yourself can be deeply personal, complex, and ongoing.

Sessions will usually take place on a weekly basis; however, duration and frequency of sessions can be adjusted to suit personal needs if required. I’m happy to explore this with you.

• Online and Telephone Counselling is £45 per 50-minutes
• Face to Face Counselling is £50 per 50-minutes

I understand that it’s important that you find a counsellor who's the right fit for you, so I offer a free, no obligation, online video or telephone consultation. In this, we can explore what's brought you to counselling, go through any questions that you might have, discuss how I might be able to support you and see if we feel we’re a good fit for each other.

After this, our first session will feel a little different from the ones that follow. It’s a chance for me to get a fuller picture of your life, what’s brought you to counselling, and what you’d like to focus on. I may ask a few more questions than usual, sometimes about specific areas, just to help me understand your experiences better. There’s no pressure and you only need to share what you feel comfortable with. After this, our sessions are led by you. You might want to explore the same issue over time, or talk about whatever feels most present on the day. This is your space, and we’ll go at your pace.