Gary McKendrick

I work in-person or online using Google Meet, or by regular phone call if needed. 

My private therapy room is located at Plawsworth Hall estate (DH2 3LD) on Monday's 10am-6pm, and Thursday's Noon-8pm.

I also understand the need for flexibility so I can normally find a scheduled date and time that works for us both.  

I have been the one receiving counselling, in 2009, and back then, I would not have imagined I would ever become the one giving the counselling. I felt completely stuck, lost, helpless and hopeless. 

It is now my mission to help people achieve changes that they feel are unreachable or impossible. Through our sessions, in-person or online, or even by phone, we can create a professional helping relationship that helps you get to the other side of your current struggles.   

I primarily work with men who want to move beyond their existing coping mechanisms of silence and substance abuse.  We look at what's happened, what's in the now, and what's next. A process of opening up about the past, controlling the controllables in the now, and creating targets & vision for a hopeful future. 

Like a Personal Trainer in the gym, he can't do the reps for you but will help and support you in your goals. Counselling can be like a PT for the mind. I can't do the reps for you, but you do the reps by showing up and being vulnerable and open, and this process, over time, can change your life lens.  

It can change how you view yourself, what's happened and how you see the world now and who you want to become.   

I'm Gary, 49 yrs old, from Durham.  Knowing who I was might be as useful as who I am today.  I have been the booze addict, the high-functioning work-hard play even harder guy, joking and partying through life, whilst hiding from and escaping from the hurt inside.

In 2009, at 33, I experienced the power of counselling and transformed my life. I'd read that "we all have two lives, the one we're currently living and the one we're capable of living". That hit me hard.

So I joined a gym for the body, and found a counsellor for the mind. I'd already been to the Doctor and he just told me to stop drinking and put me on a 12month waiting list for counselling. Well, amazing advice and I couldn't wait 1 year. Change needed to happen, I needed to open up and uncover what was going on.

And now, here I am, sober since 2009, and on a mission to help others, especially men, to create the life they're capable of living. Through the power of talk, in a trusting relationship with someone who has been there. I will meet you where you are right now, and help you move through it, to process it, to get to a place where you like who you see in the mirror.  

Working in person is best, however, if you're not in the north-east, working on video-call or by phone-call is also an option. 

I work in person-centred but pluralistic way which means I use the theories & techniques I feel are best for you, with what you bring to each session. And where I feel useful for the client, I am a fan of CBT and solution-focused methods.    

I work mainly with men; however, my experience includes females and also ages from 6 to 63.  

My main therapy room is located in Plawsworth, Durham DH2 3LD and provides a private room setting, also surrounded by nature where some walking & talking can be done (weather permitting of course).  

I used to think that counselling wasn't for me, but I had never even tried it. Once I'd tried it, found someone I could connect with and talk to, the change process started. 

I offer a 30min initial chat for free. 

This helps you get over the first hurdle of reaching out and talking, I know it can create anxiety, or stress. 

So we just talk, get to know each other a little, you tell me what's happening, and I'll ask a few questions to better understand your current situation and your ideal outcomes, and we then decide if we work together. 

There is no obligation. We can chat over a regular phone-call, a video-call, or meet in person in my private room.  

On deciding to work together, we will normally base it on a block of 8 sessions, done weekly, on the same day & time we both commit to.  You may have all 8 sessions, you may have more, you may have less; this will work itself out as we go.  

The first session will need some contractual documents taken care of and completing an assessment document, so we are on agreed terms and I can better understand you and your situation.   

The first session can often be an avalanche of words, it might seem chaotic, maybe emotional or you may clam up and not know where to start. This is all entirely okay and normal. The work is done through building our professional relationship, I am here to listen and to help you process and makes sense of it all.  

Perhaps if sitting in a room feels too clinical, we can get outside and walk & talk. We adapt. That's the beauty of the work, we build rapport and find what works best.