Elaine Pritchard

I can work with you in a flexible way as I understand that life may be busy with shifts, work situations, family and other commitments.

I am able to offer morning, afternoon or evening appointments.

We can work using Zoom or telephone if you would prefer. At the moment, I am not doing face-to-face work. 

Hello and welcome.

Sometimes life can be difficult. You might be dealing with things that feel out-with your control and which are causing you distress. Or there may be things that have happened to you in the past which you can't make sense of and you feel are keeping you 'stuck'.

Whatever may be troubling you, talking in counselling will give you the time and space to explore it in a safe, non-judgemental and confidential way.

"When we are no longer able to  change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves" (Frankl, V. E.) 

We cannot always  control circumstances in our lives, but allowing yourself time to talk in therapy can help you to make sense of where you are in life in a constructive and meaningful way.

I work in a Person-Centred way. This means that I offer you a relationship in which I will accept you as the unique individual that you are, encouraging you to explore what makes you 'you' and encouraging you to explore your difficulty from the perspective of your own unique and personal way of how you see the world. This can lead to deeper insight and better understanding of yourself and the situation you find yourself in.  Whatever we talk about will be based on what you want to discuss and we will work at a pace that is comfortable for you.

Counselling will hopefully facilitate your move from feeling stuck to getting back on track, moving towards the future and to enjoying your life. This may involve your making external changes or it may involve an internal shift in how you view what is troubling you. I believe that we each have within ourselves the resources to cope with whatever life brings our way and I hope to help you to get more in touch with your own inner resources.

My practice is run online (Zoom) and using the telephone. 

I see clients with a whole range of issues and have a particular interest in working with those experiencing fertility issues, loss, change and bereavement.

Issues of loss, low mood, anxiety and stress tend to be common themes in my work as it is part of our shared  experience of life to know loss ( death, relationship breakdown, not conceiving when expected, ill health, redundancy or retirement, to name a few).  Going through difficult times is very much part of the human condition but it is how we come through those difficult times, what we have learned about ourselves and how we make sense of them  that helps us to incorporate them  into our life stories. Counselling can be an invaluable part of this process.

Since 2001, I have worked in many settings, NHS, Occupational Health, Fertility clinic, GP practices, Private practice, Health and Work Support pilot project;  I have worked with many clients, couples and individuals, with different educational, social, cultural and religious backgrounds. The value of treating others with respect, dignity and acceptance is at the core of my practice.

I work with clients who are over the age of eighteen. 

I also work as a counselling supervisor, again offering online/telephone sessions.

Before your first session, I would like to talk with you to get to know a little about you and what has brought you to counselling.

When you first contact me, I will offer to set up an initial meeting with you on Zoom at a convenient time for you. This meeting will last approximately 15 minutes. 

During this, we can identify what you would like to work on and whether I am the right counsellor for you. It is really important that you feel comfortable working with me.

There will be no charge for this initial meeting. 

If you decide to work with me following this, I will then send out my welcome paperwork pack  via Signable. This will contain  a contract, privacy statement and your contact details which I will need you to read, sign and return to me before we begin our work together. 

Our first session will then be arranged and during this, I will do a fuller assessment to see how you are and what you would hope to achieve in counselling. 

Counselling sessions will be of approximately 50 minutes' duration and can be weekly or fortnightly or less frequently to suit your individual circumstances. 

I work  flexibly and can offer daytime and evening supervision sessions. 

I  am currently offering face-to-face, online and telephone sessions

My main practice approach is Person-centred but over the years, I have found that my awareness and knowledge  of other counselling modalities has grown and been useful  both for conceptualising my work theoretically and  also to inform my practice. Because of this and my commitment to continued learning and professional development, I enjoy the challenge of working with supervisees who work in different ways. 

I have provided counselling services in voluntary, healthcare, occupational health, employee assistance programmes, private and other settings for over 20 years.  

I believe this wide range of experience helps me to work with counsellors in supervision in multiple areas of interest. My desire to continue to learn and challenge myself along with my natural warmth mean I really enjoy working with counsellors with  a large variety of client issues.

I am keen to increase my online work with supervises but am also happy to do telephone or face-to-face work. 

In supervision, I will offer support, encouragement and challenge where I feel it will be beneficial to your work with your clients. We will work together to look after you and your clients and ensure best practice.

I have been working as a counsellor since 2001 and as a supervisor since 2014.

I completed a Counselling Supervision Certificate Course with COSCA and this was based on the Process Model of Peter Hawkins  and Robin Shohet which has the client at the centre of the supervision work.

Since 2001, I have worked in many settings, NHS, Occupational Health, Fertility clinic, GP practices, Private practice, Health and Work Support pilot project; I have worked with many clients, couples and individuals, with different educational, social, cultural and religious backgrounds. The value of treating others with respect, dignity and acceptance is at the core of my practice.

 In your work in supervision with me, I will encourage you to reflect on the content of your  therapy sessions with clients, to explore interventions and the therapy process, including the therapeutic relationship itself.

 We will also consider the potential of therapist counter-transference, any potential  parallel process in the supervisory relationship and on my own reaction as supervisor to what is brought to supervision. This will all be considered within the contextual settings of both the  therapy relationships and the supervisory relationship.

As regular supervision is a  requirement for counsellors, it is important that you feel you can develop a good working relationship with your supervisor. This will enable you to get what you need from supervision to support you in your counselling work.

 I look forward to hearing from you if you think you would like to work with me.

I will offer a 15 minute Zoom meeting for us to meet and to see if I am a good ‘fit’ for you. 

I do not charge for this. 

If you decide you would like to work with me following this, I will send out some paperwork to you via Signable and when you have read, signed and returned this, we can begin our work together.