Mags Beardow

*** I do not have any availability for new clients currently***

Hi, I'm Mags. 

Coming to see a counsellor can feel like a big deal so I want to try and put you at ease and get a sense of what coming to see me might be like.  

I'm a friendly and open person and I feel people find me easy to talk to. I don't feel it's my job to diagnose you or tell you what to do but it is my job to make you feel comfortable enough to be able to open up and talk to me. 

I re-trained as a counsellor after working in marketing in the creative industries and Fnancial Services for a number of years.  

I also with young people aged 14+ and adults that have come to see me as they are dealing with feeling low or helpless, low self esteem,  losing someone close, relationship difficulties, bullying and identity issues amongst many other reasons.

I've counselled young people at a further education college in the past and have also counselled  survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence & rape in a specialist agency. Due to this I have gained a great deal of experience of working with trauma and the after effects of physical, sexual and psychological abuse. In the recent past I have begun to work more with people recently diagnosed with ADHD and/autism and those living with an eating disorder.

Regardless of why someone comes to see me I always treat them with dignity and respect. I would hope that working with me can help clients understand themselves better, help them make sense of whatever is concerning or worrying them and maybe, if necessary, plan any changes they wish to make in their lives.

Education and Training

MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice - Bath Spa University

University of Oxford - CREDO - Enhanced CBT (CBT-E) for Eating Disorders

Diploma in Practitioner Skills in Eating Disorders - National Centre for Eating Disorders (NCFED)

Critical Incident Stress Management - Accredited Training - KRTS International Ltd

Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling - Kirklees College

***I do not have any availability currently***

My counsellor training was firmly rooted in the Person-Centred approach however I would not describe myself as a purist as I have incorporated trauma informed ways of working into my practice having worked extensively with domestic and sexual violence.  

I currently work solely in private practice working with individual clients but also organisations and Employee Assistance Programmes.  So I am equally happy supervising both brief, focused client work and also longer term client work. 

I supervise both trainee and qualified counsellors and have experience in supervising trainees from a number of local colleges and universities including Bury College, Kirklees College, Leeds City College, Leeds University and Salford University and am therefore familiar with their training requirements.

Whilst I believe that supervision can play an educative role, I am mindful that this needs to be balanced with the purposes of supervision as if this always become the focus then the opportunity for supervisees to learn and grow within their own practice is diminished.

My Certificate and Diploma in Supervision focused on using Page & Wosket’s Cyclical Model of Supervision as a framework and this supporting structure allows me to offer a restorative, nurturing space for supervisees where hopefully they feel held and supported, but equally appropriately challenged. In order to create this space, I feel that the building of a strong, open and non-judgemental supervisory relationship is key; and as with a therapeutic relationship the importance of offering the core conditions to my supervisees.  

I am trained to, and offer  supervision either face to face, online (by Zoom usually but happy to be flexible) or by telephone as my counselling practice involves working by all these methods.  

I offer a free 20 minute phone meeting for potential supervisees for us both to check whether we feel that we might be the right 'fit' as supervisor and supervisee.  We then have our first supervisory session at which we contract to work with each other and agree when our working agreement is reviewed.  

Depending on your needs I am happy to offer supervision in blocks of 1 hour, 1.5 hours or 2 hours if required.  I charge £50 per hour of supervision which is the rate I offer to both trainee and qualified supervisees.