Joanna Cooke

I am an Integrative Counsellor using Person Centred and Psychodynamic modalities which also underpins my supervision work. I am also a teacher with over thirty years’ experience in working with children aged between 3 and 16. Over the years, I have recognised the huge importance of a mutually trusting relationship in successfully supporting children and their families. This experience of helping others was my inspiration to start training to be a counsellor and subsequently supervision. I counsel clients and supervise counsellors with No 5 Young People, in Reading, the Arc agency in Wokingham and in my private practice. I have counselling rooms in Shinfield and in Caversham

I am trained to work both online and face to face and am a member of and registered with the BACP. I abide by their ethical framework ensuring that I provide the best quality counselling for my clients.

I work with children, young people, and adults on an open-ended basis or for an agreed time, usually meeting once a week for an hour, with the aim of enabling you to enhance your life and to live it more fully.

My role is to help you explore your feelings and thoughts in a safe and secure space with someone you trust. I will always listen to you without any judgement. I work at your pace, so you are always in control of what you disclose and when. Counselling is not a quick fix, and as your counsellor, I can’t tell you what to do but I will always support you as you continue to explore the best solutions for yourself.

Being a person centred supervisor is a delicate balance of empathy, guidance and fostering individual growth. I aim to create a supportive space where my supervisees feel heard and feel valued. By prioritising their unique experiences, perspectives and emotions, I aim to facilitate their self discovery and enhance their therapeutic skills. Through reflective conversations, I encourage self awareness, helping supervisees navigate the inevitable challenges and develop a genuine, client focussed approach to their work.

The counselling process requires a strong relationship between client and counsellor so it is important you feel comfortable working with me and therefore, I offer new clients and supervises a free 30-minute telephone or in-person consultation so we can start getting to know one another and see if we are a good fit before committing to anything. 

You are welcome to ask any questions you may have about the counselling and supervision  process.

I work online and face to face and am available for daytime and evening sessions.

I am an Integrative Counsellor using Person Centred and Psychodynamic modalities which also underpins my supervision work. I am a retired teacher with over thirty years’ experience in working with children aged between 3 and 16. Over the years, I have recognised the huge importance of a mutually trusting relationship in successfully supporting children and their families. This experience of helping others was my inspiration to start training to be a counsellor. I work with the ARC agency in Wokingham, The Cherry Tree agency in Henley and my private practice is based in Emmer Green, Caversham.

I am trained to work both online and face to face and am a member of and registered with the BACP. I abide by their ethical framework ensuring that I provide the best quality counselling for my clients and supervision for counsellors. I thoroughly enjoy working with trainee counsellors, supporting and guiding them through the training process.

I work with children, young people, and adults on an open-ended basis or for an agreed time, usually meeting once a week for an hour, with the aim of enabling you to enhance your life and to live it more fully.

My role is to help you explore your feelings and thoughts in a safe and secure space with someone you trust. I will always listen to you without any judgement. I work at your pace, so you are always in control of what you disclose and when. Counselling is not a quick fix, and as your counsellor, I can’t tell you what to do but I will always support you as you continue to explore the best solutions for yourself

It’s completely up to you how long you stay, and what you choose to talk about. Some people just want a handful of sessions to help them make an important decision, while others want, or feel they need, to stay much longer.

Being a person centred supervisor is a delicate balance of empathy, guidance and fostering individual growth. I aim to create a supportive space where my supervisees feel heard and feel valued. By prioritising their unique experiences, perspectives and emotions, I aim to facilitate their self discovery and enhance their therapeutic skills. Through reflective conversations, I encourage self awareness, helping supervisees navigate the inevitable challenges and develop a genuine, client focussed approach to their work.

I offer a free half hour session, on the phone, online or face to face so that you can determine whether I am someone you feel you could work with.

I have daytime and evening appointments.

I also work Saturday mornings.

The late afternoon, evening and Saturdays are very popular and so they do get booked up quickly.

Counselling is a way of looking after yourself, showing yourself compassion, and developing self-awareness; you don’t have to do it all alone.

I work with children, young people, and adults on an open-ended basis or for an agreed time, usually meeting once a week for an hour, with the aim of enabling you to enhance your life and to live it more fully.

My role is to help you explore your feelings and thoughts in a safe and secure space with someone you trust. I will always listen to you without any judgement. I work at your pace, so you are always in control of what you disclose and when. Counselling is not a quick fix, and as your counsellor, I can’t tell you what to do but I will always support you as you continue to explore the best solutions for yourself

It’s completely up to you how long you stay, and what you choose to talk about. Some people just want a handful of sessions to help them make an important decision, while others want, or feel they need, to stay much longer.

I am a registered member of BACP (British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists) and as such abide by their Ethical Framework. to ensure that you have the best possible service.

I work at your pace, so you are always in control of what you disclose and when. Counselling is not a quick fix, and as your counsellor, I can’t tell you what to do but I will always support you as you continue to explore the best solutions for yourself

As an integrative counsellor, I use person-centred and psychodynamic modalities to create a flexible and dynamic approach that I feel suits a wide range of clients. I will work collaboratively with you at all times when you are feeling emotionally vulnerable, helping you to deal with difficult life experiences and dilemmas.

The psychodynamic modality focuses on how our unconscious thoughts and perceptions have developed throughout our childhood, and how these may have affected our current behaviours and thoughts.

The person-centred modality focuses on our self-development and growth. Working in this way helps us to recognise our strengths, our creativity and the choices available to us in the ‘here and now’. Person-centred counselling is based on the belief that we all naturally gravitate towards goodness.

While of course, difficult life experiences may temporarily block our ability to reach our potential, with the right support, we all have the ability to achieve our goals.

I work in my Garden Room which is about 20 minutes from the centre of Reading. There is parking available and easy access to my room. It is on the main bus route from Reading.

I also work from The Retreat in Emmer Green, near Caversham. Parking is available and it is a short walk from the nearest bus stop.