Ruth Nicholls

I offer online and face to face sessions.

I predominantly work on Mondays and Wednesdays but can be flexible with times.

You might be navigating a relationship that has changed - or ended. You might be in the middle of a life transition that has left you wondering who you are now, or what you actually want. Perhaps you have spent so long attuning to others that you have lost the thread back to yourself. Or perhaps you can see the patterns clearly enough - the way you abandon your own needs, repeat the same dynamics, or stay when you should go - but knowing is not the same as changing.

If any of that sounds familiar, you are in the right place.

As an experienced integrative counsellor, I can draw on different therapeutic approaches to meet your own individual needs. I believe that no two people are the same and that counselling should be shaped around you, your experiences and what you want to achieve.

For me, the relationship between counsellor and client is central to the therapeutic process. I aim to create a warm, safe and non-judgemental space where you can feel comfortable being open and honest about your thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Working collaboratively, I can help you to explore what may be happening to you, develop a greater understanding of yourself and consider the options available to you. I won't tell you what to do, but I can offer support, perspective and gentle challenge when it may be helpful. My aim is to help you build confidence in your own ability to make choices and create changes that feel right for you.

Feedback from my clients suggests I am kind considerate knowledgeable and engaging and I work hard to ensure that every individual can feel this way about me and the support they receive. I believe that counselling should feel like a genuine conversation while still providing the structure, knowledge and professional support of a trained counsellor.

I support people through a wide range of personal and emotional difficulties. Common areas of my practice include relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, family and childhood experiences, bereavement, difficult life experiences and periods of change and uncertainty.

I have a particular interest in relationships and the ways our early experiences and family backgrounds can influence how we see ourselves and relate to others. I support people to develop a better understanding of themselves, recognise patterns that may no longer be helpful and develop healthier ways of relating.

With a career as a nurse and then a counsellor, I have gained experience supporting people facing health-related difficulties and the emotional impact that illness, treatment and changes in circumstances can have on individuals and their relationships. These experiences have given me an understanding of working alongside people during some of life's most difficult and uncertain times.

My own life experiences have also given me an appreciation of how relationships, family life, loss, single parenthood, health challenges and major life changes can affect our sense of self and our wellbeing. I bring this understanding to my work while maintaining a professional and client-centred approach.

The kind of things people bring to me include:

• Relationship breakdown, divorce or the complicated feelings that follow.

• Patterns in relationships that keep repeating, however much you wish they wouldn't.

• Midlife identity shifts - when the life you built no-longer fits quite right.

• Big decisions, life crossroads, and the anxiety of not knowing which way to go.

• Loss and bereavement, health anxiety or health related changes.

• Reconnecting with what you actually want, value and need.

Whatever has brought you to counselling, you don't have to face it alone. I offer a supportive space to explore what is happening and help you find a way forward that feels right for you.

I offer a free 15 minute telephone consultation before arranging an initial session. This gives us an opportunity to briefly discuss what has brought you to counselling, what you would like support with and whether I am able to meet your needs. It also gives you the opportunity to get a feel for me and how I work, and to ask any questions you may have. We can discuss practical arrangements such as session times, frequency and fees, including whether a concessionary rate may be appropriate.

The first session is primarily an opportunity for us to begin getting to know one another and for you to talk about what has brought you to counselling. We will explore what you would like to gain from counselling and, where appropriate, agree some initial goals or areas to work towards.

My aim is for you to leave the first session feeling that you have been heard, understood and have a clearer sense of how we can work together.