Welcome

My name is Jo and I am a warm, intuitive and experienced counsellor/psychotherapist, Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist,  IFIO relationship therapist, Integral Coach and counselling trainer. I offer trauma-informed sessions for individuals, couples and groups in an incredibly tranquil location just on the outskirts of Lewes, East Sussex and online via Zoom.

I experience life as a beautiful, meaningful and epic journey of learning and growth, which inescapably includes periods of difficulty. I am deeply passionate about accompanying others on this path as a fellow traveller and when needed, as a guide. I  see my main purpose as helping people become more whole, more fully alive and more present and empowered in their lives.  I have a particular passion for supporting relationships (any of the many beautiful kinds), whether into greater closeness or through conflict.

As a conflict mediator and Integral Coach, I bring a multitude of tools and perspectives to help make sense of your difficulties and transform them into clarity and change.  As a counselling lecturer and trainer, I am in the privileged position of supporting trainee counsellors in finding their unique offering in the world and as a result am continuously expanding mine.  This means that my way of working remains dynamic, vibrant and creative.

You can find out more about me and the way I work here and if you wish you can contact me to book a free initial session in which you can get a feel for whether I am the right counsellor for you.

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Why you are here

Chances are you have arrived on my page because you are experiencing some form of suffering or dissatisfaction.  You are not alone – suffering is an unavoidable part of human existence and dissatisfaction is the message that something needs to change. The death of a loved one, struggles in a relationship or the end of one, depression and anxiety or a general sense of stuckness and listlessness in life – that feeling that you could be living a better life if you only knew how.  Grief, sadness, overwhelm, anger, relationship difficulties, anxiety, deep dissatisfaction- we will all face these at some point in our lives.

The unexpected truth is that in such times of distress we have the opportunity not only for healing but also for growth. This is where counselling and therapy can come in – first and foremost as a safe place to weather the storm, somewhere to pause, reflect, express yourself and be fully heard. This may be all you need to return to a sense of stability in your life. Often counselling can take a step further beyond the initial crisis that brought you here.  You may begin to realise that you carry deeply ingrained beliefs and habits which cause you less noticeable but constant small sufferings in your life. You may find that you are held back by unexamined thoughts and feelings that life taught you to have but you no longer need. The most powerful belief is this: That you have the power to change your world. I am here to help you do that.

How I work

I would like to start with this: I am human just like you and see us equals.   I do not consider myself the expert on your life and mental health, yet I am a professional with a great deal of knowledge and training  in how to support the real experts – my clients – in making new decisions and finding ways to live more fully and authentically.  During this process I am not cold and detached, but offer an innate warmth and acceptance as well as a commitment to our work together. I am myself in the room – this means that although it will be your life and your story that we talk about, you can be sure that I am my authentic self in the room, that I will bring my real thoughts and feelings to the work to help us understand what is going on in your life.  Nevertheless there are important clear professional boundaries that hold our therapeutic relationship, so that you and I both know what is offered and expected: Where we meet, the times at which we meet, how long our sessions last, how much they cost, the confidentiality that is kept and how we will react if our paths ever cross “in the real world” – all these boundaries will be agreed upon between us and can be trusted to keep our work safe and unblurred.

Services I offer

Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy (see below)

Internal Family Systems Therapy

Couples Counselling (including IFIO)

Integral Coaching

My qualifications

I have a Postgraduate Diploma from the University of Brighton, which has a reputation for both academic and clinical excellence and is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).  I gained in depth training the following approaches

  • Person-Centred Therapy
  • Transactional Analysis
  • Gestalt therapy
  • Existential Therapy.

Over the years I have trained in

  • Couples Therapy
  • Group Therapy
  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction 
  • Focusing
  • Body-listening
  • Conflict Mediation
  • Integral Facilitation
  • Internal Family Systems Therapy
  • Identity Orientated Psychotrauma Therapy

With training in a diverse set of approaches to therapy, meditation, trauma healing and conflict transformation I believe I am equipped to meet each person as a unique individual, without the need to fit them into one fixed model. In this way I can offer an open encounter, in which theory only plays a guiding role.

I am always committed to learning and developing as a counsellor and for this reason am regularly in continual professional development.

My experience

Although I believe in meeting the person and not the symptom, I have experience counselling individuals facing a number of difficulties in their lives, such as

– depression
– bereavement
– family and relationship issues
– divorce and separation
– substance addiction
– low self-esteem
– eating disorders
– anxiety
– anger management
– abuse
– postnatal depression

Fees

Individual sessions

Research has shown that one of the most important aspects of successful therapy is the relationship between counsellor and client and so it is important to me that you to find the counsellor who is right for you. For this reason, I offer a free first meeting for us to get to know each other, answer any questions you may have and decide if to continue our work together.

Beyond this, my fees are £80 per session of 50 minutes.

I also have a small number of discounted sessions available, please get in touch to find out more.

Couples therapy

Couples sessions are often less frequent and can vary in length. This is something we can discuss and agree together in our first session.

50 minutes at £85 per session

80 minutes at £130 per session

Contact

Please get in touch

07853162294

jo@youandicounselling.co.uk