Welcome to Gill Bradley Counselling-Psychotherapy and Supervision

People arrive at my door having already taken the brave steps of making a phone call or sending an e-mail. All have a different and individual reason for being there, but I commonly hear about how they are feeling anxious, lost, hopeless, confused and generally low. Many have lost their enthusiasm for life.

Some may have had therapy before or never ever even considered it until now. Many are shocked to find themselves feeling the way they do. “This isn’t what I am usually like” is a phrase I frequently hear, but just as common is “I have felt like this off and on through my life”.

Many of my clients tell me they feel self indulgent, that therapy is for people with “real” problems.

Scepticism is frequently around with a spoken or unspoken question of “how is talking to this woman for 50mins every week or so going to help?” The honest answer is that it doesn’t always! However when clients arrive at my door they are often hoping for some strategies to help them manage their overwhelming feelings on a day to day basis. This often forms part of the therapy, as does some exploration of how historical events can influence how we respond to current situations.

There is something important to note here. I have a firm belief (and plenty of practice evidence) that it is not necessary to remember and talk about early life events in detail order to heal from them. People often have little or no memory of early life, and difficulties may have arisen much later anyway.