Welcome to Seaforth Counselling Services
Welcome and thank you for visiting Seaforth Counselling Services. I am a counsellor providing both short-term and long-term therapy to adults and young people from 11 years upwards in Penarth and the surrounding areas.
About Me
Hello, I am Julia, a fully qualified integrative therapist working in private practice in Penarth and for a mental health agency based in Cardiff. I work with individual adults and young people aged 11 years onwards. I offer long-term and short-term counselling depending on your needs, in person, online and via telephone. I am a certified online and telephone counsellor and can deliver remote counselling.
I am an integrative counsellor, working from a person-centred perspective. This means that I am able to bring together elements of different therapeutic approaches to suit your individual needs. I use a variety of approaches and counselling theories in my work, depending on the issue(s) you wish to bring to counselling and most importantly what feels right for you. My approach is relational, focusing on connecting with you and developing our relationship. You can find out more about this approach here.
I am a genuine, warm, honest and empathic person and will offer you the opportunity to be heard and respected, with whatever you may wish to discuss with me. I fully appreciate the courage it takes in being vulnerable with someone.
Ultimately, the important thing is that we can work well together and that you feel able to share your thoughts and feelings freely without judgement. I do my best to ensure you are able to put your trust in me and our work by offering a confidential, judgment-free space with warmth and respect. I will encourage you to be self-reflective, engage in self-exploration into your thoughts, feelings, emotions, experiences from early life and the beliefs you hold. The aim is to uncover new choices, options and possibilities.
I focus on creating a warm, empathic and nurturing relationship in which you feel heard, supported and accepted; helping you develop and see positive change in your life. I believe the counselling relationship can also help you better understand your relationships and patterns of interacting with other people in your life, both in the past and present. It can enable you to enhance how you relate with others and even yourself.
We can work together to explore your difficulties, with the aim of uncovering new choices, options and possibilities.
You may have a particular issue you wish to address, or you might simply need the space and time to make sense of things. Together, we can explore your challenges, so you can gain clarity and move forward.
I have extensive experience in a variety of educational settings including supporting and coaching teachers in university and as an advisor for local authorities in England and Wales.
As a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) I fully adhere to the principles, commitments and requirements of their Ethical Framework.
I am fully insured and receive regular clinical supervision as well as undertaking ongoing training towards continuous professional development. I am registered with the ICO, complying with the data protection requirements with regard to client confidentiality, and I have a current enhanced DBS certificate.
Counselling
I can provide a warm, understanding space where you can explore matters important to you without judgment or advice, but with empathy and acceptance of your experiences. Having the opportunity to be heard and to view things from a new perspective can help make more positive life choices and allow us to implement changes we would like to see.
Counselling can assist in managing mental health issues like depression or anxiety. It can help work through major life events such as bereavement, relationship breakdowns, or work stress. Counselling can also help in overcoming difficult emotions like low self-esteem or anger, as well as emotionally and psychologically traumatic events.
Since the therapeutic relationship is at the core of the counselling process, it is important that you feel you have chosen the right counsellor for you. During counselling sessions, difficult or painful emotions may surface, and it is therefore vital you feel comfortable and safe with the person you choose.
There is never any expectation to talk about anything unless you feel ready to.
How I can help
If you are having a bit of a wobble, struggling with something, feeling overwhelmed or just curious, it can help to talk. We all encounter challenges in life that can leave us feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed at times. Discussing these difficulties with someone outside our regular social circles can be beneficial.
Here are a few of the more common difficulties that can be supported through counselling:
Abuse, Anger , Anxiety, Ageing, Bereavement, Depression, Health related issues, Life changes, Loss, Mental health problems, Personal development, Post-traumatic stress, Redundancy and Retirement, Relationships, Self-esteem, Self-harm, Stress, Trauma, Work and study related issues.
This list is not exhaustive, so please contact me to discuss with me as I may still be able to help.
Working with me
Taking the decision to come to therapy can feel daunting and you might have questions around this process and what to expect.
I will email you my counselling contract and client intake form, which we will discuss in our first session. We will also explore your expectations and goals for change you may have.
Therapy is not like any other appointment you might have. Each client is different and a kind of therapy that works for one person may not work as well for someone else. Your therapy will be unique to you and unlike anyone else’s.
I offer an initial 20 minute free consultation which will give you the opportunity to decide whether you want to work with me. The relationship between a counsellor and a client is at the core of counselling’s success, so it is important that you feel happy with the counsellor you choose.
Sessions are usually 50 minutes long.
It will be your choice – some people find that a few sessions help them, particularly if they have a specific issue. Other people choose to continue for longer, but you are never committed to any fixed number of sessions.
As a registered member of BACP (the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) I adhere to their Ethical Framework for counsellors. I have regular supervision where confidentiality of clients is strictly maintained.
I comply with data protection requirements and keep all client details secure. I have a current enhanced DBS certificate and my practice is fully insured.
I work with adult individuals and young people aged 11 upwards.
I offer online, telephone and face-to-face counselling.
What's the difference between Counsellor, Psychotherapist and Psychologist?
There’s probably less than you think, especially between a counsellor and a psychotherapist. All three can use various techniques but some specialise, for example in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, whilst others use several techniques because some may lend themselves better to you and your situation.
Counsellors and psychotherapists
Counsellors and psychotherapists may specialise in working with individuals, small groups, couples, adults or children. They may have particular interests e.g. in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or couples therapy and their training and experience will reflect that. Whether someone calls themselves a counsellor or psychotherapist can be down simply to the way they see their work; counselling tends to bring to mind a more conversational and apparently less structured and informal exchange (despite often using structured techniques) and that may sum up the therapist’s view of how they work. A psychotherapist may see themselves as having a more structured approach, and having a more formal relationship with their clients. Both psychotherapists and counsellors will have professional qualifications and experience and belong to a professional body that regulates their practice.
Psychologists
Psychologists’ titles, such as clinical psychologist, or educational psychologist, are protected in law (unlike a counsellor or psychotherapist) and will be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. People using those titles are guaranteed to have completed the appropriate training and are regulated by the HCPC. Psychologists use psychological research and theory in their therapeutic work (often counsellors and psychotherapists do too) but will almost certainly have a greater expertise and depth of psychological understanding underpinning the way they practise. They often treat the same psychological problems as psychotherapists and counsellors but may also be involved in more complex cases where clinical knowledge enables them to diagnose and work with other medical professionals.
TestimonialS
‘Having a consistent place for me to be honest without judgement was really helpful for me to process the trauma I had experienced. Julia was an incredibly important part of making me want to keep going and to help me look toward the future. I will miss the sessions with her’. Paul Face to Face, Cardiff.
“Before I sought counselling, my mental health was at it’s lowest and I was under a high degree of work-related stress. Just six weeks of counselling with Julia has dramatically turned things around and I feel so much more capable of dealing with difficult events. I wasn’t sure if the process would work for me. I expected answers and strategies to be offered me. Julia addressed this and reassured me to simply follow the process and it has been incredibly insightful to step outside my comfort zone” Sarah, Online
MY LOCATION
I work from my private and comfortable therapy room in central Penarth, the Vale of Glamorgan which is easily accessible from the surrounding areas such as Dinas Powys, Barry and Cardiff.
INITIAL CHAT
It is important that you feel happy with the counsellor whom you choose – the relationship between a counsellor and client is at the core of your future success. Therefore, I am happy to have an informal chat with you before starting counselling.
FEES
My charges are £55 per session. It is entirely up to you how many sessions we have; some people find the support they need pretty quickly, for example help with specific issues or simply to offer some support in time of crisis. Other clients come for longer.
CONTACT ME
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how counselling works, or to arrange an initial assessment appointment. This enables us to discuss the reasons you are thinking of coming to counselling, whether it could be helpful for you and whether I am the right therapist to help.
All enquires are usually answered within 24 hours, and all contact is strictly confidential and uses secure phone and email services.
View my privacy notice here.