Colin Mackell

I operate a full case load and have a wait list.  Once assessed and we agree to progress typical wait times are 3-6 months. I do not offer crisis or emergency counselling most of my work involves long term work.

Do not contact me for commercial or training via this platform.

Addiction Consultancy, Training and Intervention Work are services I provide entirely separately from my work as a Therapist. These have entirely different pricing structures.

I have worked with addiction, mental health and abuse issues for almost 30 years. I am a practicing Roman Catholic and this very much informs my work as a therapist and as a father to 9 children and a grandfather to 9.  I believe in the innate and irreplaceable and irreducible dignity and value of each human being.  Although my faith informs and instructs my therapeutic work I do not judge anyone, believer or otherwise and welcome everyone to therapy with an open heart and an open mind.

I work only long term and can offer some flexibility where required and when appropriate. 

My training in Psychology & Health Science has given me a good grounding in the "complexity the whole person" from the conception, to womb and through the entire life cycle, my training in Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy has given me a good grounding in Humanism and the Existential Self and the philosophies of ontology, being and existence, purpose and meaning. My training in Addiction Psychology & Counselling has given me wide and deep appreciation for the complexity of dependancy and substance use and misuse and a thorough understanding of the work involved in addressing, understanding and treating it. 

I draw on all of my experiences as a therapist both implicitly and explicitly and seek to provide a space which is safe, nourishing and insightful in order to provide you with the help and understanding you may need to address your suffering and to disentangle any confusion you may experience, that continues to cause you suffering and distress.

I aim to provide for you a meaningful, safe and compassionate encounter, building within this a solid connection. I work this way in order that you can feel able to bring your most tender and vulnerable parts of your experiences, and that we can work together at a pace that works for you in order to help you find sustainable solutions that are a good fit for you for wherever you may be on your journey.

When we first meet I will already assume that you are anxious and may have a lot of questions I have worked with hundreds of clients  over thousands of hours. I will offer you a safe environment both physically and experientially and I will not ask of you more than you are willing to disclose.  Our discussion within this session and any further sessions is entirely confidential.  I will require from you very minimal information for my records which will be stored and disposed of in accordance with Data Protection and GDPR laws, and will remain available to you upon request in most circumstances.

This first session is free and it is here I will make certain recomendations and advise wether I feel I am the right Therapist for you or wether my approach is best suited to address the issues you present to me. If we decide not to go ahead then we will agree next steps which may include suggestions from me regarding what you may try to do or where else to look in order to get the support you may need. It may also be that I make certain recommendations regarding changes I believe you may be able to make first that would increase the likelihood of our being able to progress with me as your therapist.

If we do decide to work together we will set an initial time frame including duration and frequency usually 6-12 weeks initialy for 60 minutes once a week. We will review progress at each interval this will be done periodically thereafter and will not be a written down assessment of progress but a conversed one. At each stage you have the choice to end or continue therapy as you see fit or to take breaks and I will communicate in good time openings as a result where available.

If you do need to cancel a session I will expect that you do so with at least 24 hours clear notice and if this is the case there will be no charge. If you come to a session inebriated or under the influence of drugs I will in almost all cases end the session.

My initial session is for 60 mins if you are more than 10 mins late I will cancel the session and will offer you one final free assesment if you are late for this session or do not attend (DNA) I will strike you from my waiting list and I will not offer you any further sessions except in extenuating circumstances.

When you come if possible it may be good idea beforehand to think about why you choose me in particular, what would you hope to get from our sessions and where would you hope to be in your life in say one year from now?

I will require only minimal information from you for my records our first session will focus on getting to know each other and you getting a chance to ask any questions you may have.  My role is to facilitate this in a way that reduces anxiety and helps you to feel as little discomfort as possible whilst getting as much detail as needed in order for me to make a clinical formulation and to present my thoughts to you in a way that is informative and useful.