Over the next few months we have 3 more Counsellors joining Attend2Health. Karen Batchelor has been at Attend2Health for around a year. Karen is a fully qualified, experienced, psychodynamic counsellor, and belongs to The British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP). Donna Robbie will be joining in July. Donna is a fully qualified integrative trained counsellor who belongs to the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). Zoe Hopkinson is a fully qualified, experienced Person-Centred Counsellor and a Registered member of the BACP. She has an interest in helping children and will be starting soon.

Amanda Lonergan works with adults as an integrative counsellor which means she incorporates the various disciplines according to my client’s needs. Amanda uses person-centred as her baseline and then draws on Psychodynamic, CBT and Gestalt approaches for example depending on what’s useful/appropriate and how the sessions progress. From time to time she may also include some creative interventions, such as drawing or clay work.  Amanda also works at Attend2Health as a hypnotherapist so hypnotherapy can be included if appropriate.

More information about counselling can be found on our website https://www.attend2health.co.uk/index.php/counsellor/.

Room used for Counselling

Here is some information Donna Robbie has written to introduce herself and explain more about Counselling…

Counselling is for everyone. Yes, Counselling can help you deal with past trauma. Yes, Counselling can help you cope with challenging current life events and situations, such as bereavement, addiction, relationship breakdowns/difficult relationships, anxiety, depression, life-limiting illness, low self-confidence and self-esteem, lack of motivation, the list goes on.

But maybe it’s time to start seeing Counselling as a positive life-enhancing opportunity. I like to think of Counselling as a healthy coping strategy. If you experienced a physical illness or ailment, you would seek treatment to relieve yourself of physical pain and distress and yet often we don’t apply that strategy to our mental health. There is pain in being alive, it’s part of the human condition and it is natural to want to avoid pain but when we don’t deal with our pain or we use unhealthy coping strategies to avoid or alleviate pain, we turn our pain into suffering. We don’t often do this consciously but the result is the same.

Counselling is self-care and self-compassion. In exploring your thoughts, feelings, actions and behaviours, you can better understand yourself, your motivations and beliefs, your values and your strengths, your insecurities and your fears and move towards positive change. You can achieve this with the right guidance, tools and understanding and this is what I offer you.

I have felt confused, helpless, hopeless, overwhelmed, lost and disorientated, unsure of where to turn or what to do next. I was helped, supported and encouraged by some fantastic Counsellors and the process was life-changing for me and is the reason I trained to become a Counsellor myself.

Counselling can be a journey but it is firstly a process and one that can painful, scary, frustrating and challenging; it can make you feel vulnerable and exposed but I understand and respect the process and I will be there to support you through this.

As a Person-Centred Counsellor, I will offer you a safe, confidential and congenial environment for our sessions. I will work to ensure that you feel heard, valued and understood. I will aim to respect your autonomy, allowing you the time and freedom to work in a way that you feel comfortable with and at your own pace. My role is not to provide answers, give advice or tell you want to do but to encourage you to connect to the truth and wisdom that is within you through a process of reflection and awareness.

If you are interested in working with me, I offer a free 30 minute Zoom or telephone consultation for us to meet and decide if we’d like to work together. The consultation is an opportunity for you to ask any questions you have about counselling, or me, for us to discuss your reasons for wanting to engage with a Counsellor and the practicalities, including available days/times for sessions, whether you would like face-to-face sessions or online, the cost of sessions etc.

Contact me on 07704 128150 and if I’m unable to answer your call, please leave me a message, text or WhatsApp me and I will get back to you when I can. Or alternatively, you can email me at donnarobbiecounselling@gmail.com