Gini Baber

I offer daytime and evening appointments, Monday to Saturday.

These can be face to face or online via Zoom, Skype or WhatsApp.

Please contact me for my current availability, by phone, text or email.

I am a Relate-trained counsellor with 20 years’ experience of working with couples and individuals.  I use techniques drawn from Systemic, Psychodynamic, Person-Centred and Behavioural disciplines.  After gaining BACP accreditation, I completed a certificate in Behavioural Cognitive Therapy (Working with Couples and Depression) which has helped me understand how anxiety and depression impact on individuals to disrupt their personal and working relationships. More recently I qualified as a family counsellor. Just as every family is unique, each family member has a special position within theirs and offers an individual perspective on what is happening in the family. Understanding how these different perspectives weave together to create harmony or discord is fascinating and working with families to create consensus and understanding is hugely rewarding.

I offer sessions both online and in person. Sessions last 60 minutes (although in some case 90 minutes may be appropriate) and are held weekly. Where this is problematic because of your circumstances, an alternative arrangement can be discussed. 

We will agree an agenda for the work at the start of counselling and review this regularly to ensure that your requirements are met. The length of therapy varies case by case. It may be that you would like a set number of sessions to work through a particular difficulty. If your issues are complex or multi layered, then longer term work may be required. Whether brief or longer term, maintaining the continuity of sessions is essential for the counselling to be effective.

I understand that confidentiality is fundamental to a healthy working relationship with clients. I do not share information discussed during sessions with third parties except in supervision. This is a supportive space where I can discuss concerns, ideas and techniques in confidence. If I were to take your case to supervision I would anonymise your identity and case details in order to protect your confidentiality.

Perhaps you and your partner are stuck in a spiral of negativity and arguments where neither of you feels appreciated or heard. Or you need support to help you through a bereavement or loss. You might be looking for strategies to cope with depression and anxiety and find your relationships unfulfilling. Perhaps you put others first and find it difficult to ask for your needs but then feel resentful when these are not met. Whatever your difficulty, my aim is to offer you a neutral environment in which to explore your thoughts, feelings and experiences in confidence; a safe space where you can be heard and supported in a non-judgemental way.

For example, if you are experiencing negative thoughts and rumination because of low mood and/or anxiety we will work together to find ways to break the cycle and help you understand how certain ways of thinking and behaving are affecting your relationships. That way you can start to make empowering and positive changes.

It could be that you have experienced loss such as a bereavement or redundancy. Perhaps the children have left home or you have reached that longed for retirement but life feels lackluster and empty. Coming to terms with your loss will enable you to move on with your life and find new a purpose and direction.

If you and your partner are arguing more than usual I will work with you to bring stability back to your relationship and improve the ways that you communicate with each other.

It could be that you are unable to forgive your partner after an affair or betrayal and feel stuck. The focus here would be on rebuilding the trust and letting go of the past so that you are able to build a future together.

Or it might be that your relationship has run its course and that you are wanting to let each other go without recrimination or conflict. This is particularly important if there are children involved. I will help you work through this difficult and painful time so that you can let each other go with compassion.

I offer an initial consultation for £30 which lasts an hour and can be held either face to face or online. I ask clients to complete a short questionnaire prior to the initial consultation. This gives me a snapshot of what is going on for you and allows more time in the session to discuss your expectations of the counselling.

It is important to note that the initial consultation is an assessment process and does not constitute a typical counselling session. It is an opportunity for us to meet, for me to find out more about what is bringing you to counselling and assess whether I am the right counsellor to help you. Equally, it is important that you feel comfortable working with me. If I felt that you might benefit from working with a different counsellor, perhaps because they have a particular expertise that would benefit you, I will do my best to make the appropriate recommendation.

If the decision is for you to progress onto ongoing counselling, an agenda for the work will be agreed. If you are attending as an individual client, you will probably have specific themes you would like to address. You may decide to do this in a systematic fashion, or equally, you may decide that a more organic approach suits you better.

In couple work the initial consultation is usually followed by an individual session with each of the partners. This gives me the opportunity to get to know each of you better and understand your perspective in greater depth. For example, it is useful for me to know what each of you is bringing to the relationship in terms of expectations, beliefs and values. I will ask you questions about your families of origin and your experiences of previous relationships. As the counselling progresses, it can be beneficial to hold further individual sessions, provided this is done with the consent of both partners.

The costs for ongoing sessions are:

£45 for individuals

£65 for couples

£75 for families.

I offer concessionary rates to students and those on low incomes.