Rate Claire James

I am a qualified counsellor based in the United Kingdom . I have 4 years of professional work experience within both an agency setting and independent private practice. I am also a born again Christian with some experience helping clients through issues related to faith and spirituality.

I am a warm and friendly person. I understand how important it is for people to experience warmth, acceptance, love, and above all, a non judgemental counselling experience. I understand that people can shut down and become traumatised if these basic conditions aren't met.

During my practice, I have helped many people with difficulties in the following areas: relationship problems, coping with grief and loss, trauma, eating disorders, abuse, neglect, abandonment issues, anger management, suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, self-harm, low self-esteem, trauma and abuse, bullying and much more. I also have experience with helping clients to work through their life changes.

I have done lots of voluntary work with homeless young people, and I have practiced in colleges as a trainee. Occasionally I come across people who need help that I am unqualified to provide, but I can help to find the right support by making referrals and signposting people to additional help when necessary.

Although my core practice is person centred counselling, I am qualified to integrate different models of counselling and tailor make the treatment programme to suit your own individual needs. In the UK we call this "integrating" therapeutic approaches, and we include you in this process. We trust that you are the expert of your own life, and that you have many strengths that will assist you in overcoming the things that challenge. I accomplish this through discussion, negotiation and a regular review process.   

I understand that people seek counselling for numerous reasons. Perhaps you feel stuck in a place you no longer want to be? Perhaps you do not know what is wrong, but you feel unhappy. Are you suffering with repeating patterns of emotional pain? Have you recently suffered a trauma, bereavement or a loss? Whatever your reason for seeking help I will work with you to find the right treatment.

It is common for people to suffer with repeating patterns of emotional pain, and some of these patterns are easy to identify, but others can be hidden from our awareness. If you feel hopeless, or if you are yearning to reach your full potential then you might be locked in unhelpful patterns that you don't recognise. Sometimes there are triggers for our emotional pain, and they can be seen in our relationships and in the ways that we think and feel about ourselves. I like to help you find these triggers and set you free. I achieve this by giving you the right conditions to fully understand yourself, and why you feel the way you do. We often attempt to avoid our pain by running away, distracting ourselves, using drugs and alcohol, being a perfectionist or living in denial for example. Without identifying and changing our patterns and triggers, we persist in repeating our behaviours. I aim to bring about freedom by facilitating lasting change that comes from new ways of thinking, being and doing. I aim to help you develop a new way of seeing yourself and others, and when your perspective shifts you will know what changes are necessary for you to lead your best life. 

I also recognise that sometimes it's not just life's difficulties that bring people to therapy. Some people use counselling to help and support them through general self development. Self development is about striving to improve yourself, and it can be about anything. We can generate specific aims and objectives together, or we can centre it around general self improvement, self confidence and well being so you can truly live your best life.  Some examples of how you might use counselling for self development would be preparing for an interview, a presentation at work or other big life events. We can spend our time together focusing on your goals and help to increase your motivation. I can support you with assertiveness, self confidence, help with public speaking, interview skills, preparing for big events, support with diet and fitness goals and many other personal and professional endeavours. 

It takes courage to seek out a more fulfilling and happier life and to take the first steps towards change, and I am here to support and empower you in this journey.