Maisie Matthews

My main counselling hours are Monday - Wednesday - Afternoon and evenings. I can offer morning sessions if that is preferred.

I am a young people’s counsellor, working with clients aged 13-30.

I recognise that we all experience life in different ways, and not one person’s life is the same as another. You may be experiencing anxiety at school or work. Worrying about upcoming deadlines or exams. You may be experiencing uncertainty with who you are, feel or think negatively about yourself. You may be feeling stuck and unsure of where you want to be. You may be experiencing burnout and want to build a good work/life balance. It can be hard to recognise and manage everything on our own. 

I offer a confidential, non-judgemental space to feel heard. You will be able to speak freely. Together we can identify your triggers and develop coping strategies to help you face your challenges. 

As an integrative counsellor, I offer many ways of working as no client or counselling sessions are the same. I use person centred counselling which allows the counselling to be tailored to what you may need. Once we have a basis for our work, we can use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), where we can explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. We can use systemic therapy, we will explore family and friendship dynamics, looking at the people who are around you. We can explore meditation and mindfulness to help you to explore how your body is feeling and develop skills in calming yourself in stressful situations. When working with young people, I offer creative arts. This can help to keep sessions engaging and to allow a voice when you might not be sure what or how to say something. This could be through drawing, painting, music, sand, clay and playdough, storytelling and games.

Within my work, I use the stories of Harry Potter to support conversations. Topics around friendships, relationships and bullying, bereavement, self-confidence, and self harm show up in both the stories and in the counselling room. I like to add related activities and conversation using storylines and objects.

I am based in Kenilworth working from an office near Abbey Fields park. The room is set out to provide talking therapies alongside creative arts, games and sand exploration. The office is an upstairs room in the building.

We can work together either short or long term. This can be face to face or online. I can work with you either weekly or fortnightly with each session lasting 50 minutes. I am currently offering sessions Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in afternoon or evening time slots. If you would prefer a morning session, please do ask.

I have many years experience working with young people within the education sector. I have been a counsellor since 2020. I hold a Masters in Counselling Children and Young People. I am registered with the DBS update service. I am registered with the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP).

With me clients can explore:

- Feelings of anxiety or worry

- Experience of panic attacks

- Feelings of anger

- Their identity, gender or sexuality

- Building resilience, self confidence and self esteem

- Triggers of self harm and how to manage them

- Feelings around loss and bereavement

- Changes in life such as moving to secondary school, family changes or exams and tests.

If you are interested in counselling with me, I can offer a free 15-minute phone call to answer any questions and explore reasons for counselling. If you chose to go ahead, I will email you an enquiry form to complete and then email back.

If the young person is under 18, I will carry out a Parent Consultation. This allows you to meet me and see if I am the best fit to work with your young person. I will introduce myself and explore the counselling process and what I can offer.

If you are over 18, I can offer a consultation session allowing you to meet me and explore the counselling process and the work we may be able to do together.

Consultations can be completed online.

If you decide I am the right counsellor, I will offer sessions in blocks of 6. The first session being an assessment session, giving time to explore in more detail the areas the counselling will focus on. For young people, this will be creatively engaging in conversation to allow them to build trust and feel comfortable. I will begin to explore what is difficult for you, understand your lifestyle, home, school and work life, and all that comes along with that. Each session will start with a check in to assess the previous week and create a focus for the session. The session will finish with a check out to debrief the session. With a younger client, we may finish with a game to wind down.

Throughout working with clients under 18, after every 6 sessions, I offer a Parent Review session to explore how the work is going.

There is a separate fee for consultations and parent reviews.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions or are interested in counselling with me, please complete the form on the side of this page, or call or email me using the contact details above.