Natalie Easthope

My working days are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, face to face and Monday (pm) and Wednesday online.

I am a counsellor specialising in long and short term therapy primarily for teens and young adults. I see clients in a comfortable, professional space within a counselling centre in Bishop’s Stortford, Herts.  I also  offer online sessions to enable clients from further afield to access counselling.

I also have extensive experience working with adults.

People have always been at the forefront of my life; I spent my early career working in Human Resources, where my passion was staff well-being. When it became apparent that my true vocation was helping those who were struggling with difficult feelings, I set about training to become a therapist. My experience includes working with clients in private practice, a secondary school setting and within a formal counselling organisation.

The well-being of young people became a particular focus as I witnessed the mental health issues and increased pressures this demographic encounters.

As well as being a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, I am also a member of ASIIP, the Adlerian Society UK Institute for Individual Psychology. 

How can counselling help you?

I work in a way that explores how life could be different; we will set achievable goals and together we will work towards them. These may be to be more confident, to manage situations and relationships without intense anxiety or to increase self-esteem. Each of us already possess many techniques that we use to live our lives well, we will discuss how we can increase and tweak these methods to ensure a life of growth and happiness.

My training followed the work of Alfred Adler, a humanistic psychologist and contemporary of Sigmund Freud, the approach is known as ‘Individual Psychology’. Adler saw people as social beings, driven by a need to belong and connect. Consequently, I work in a way that is encouraging and collaborative. 

Making Informed Choices

Together we will work to understand feelings, explore difficulties, discover choices, develop tools to cope with, and manage change, and learn new ways of living by creating greater self-awareness and autonomy. 

A Problem Shared...

Many of us feel overwhelmed by the various struggles we encounter in our lives, these can often leave us with difficult thoughts and feelings; worthlessness, stuckness, frustration or suicidal thoughts.

Being able to say things out loud helps to release these thoughts and feelings. I use many creative techniques in my work to identify and explore these struggles.

Speaking in Confidence

I offer an environment that is relaxing and safe where our time will be used to express and explore thoughts and feelings without judgement or pressure.

Our sessions and discussions are confidential. If a subject is raised that brings up a safe-guarding issue, or there is risk of harm to yourself or to others, we will discuss the possibility that confidentiality may need to be extended. 

During the first session we will work through an assessment together which gives you a chance to tell me about yourself, what’s brought you to counselling now and what you hope to get from therapy.

It gives you a chance to ask questions and to decide if it feels right for us to work together.

For the initial session I would be happy for you to bring a relative, parent/guardian or friend into the therapeutic space with you, however I would anticipate this only being for the first 5 minutes or so until you feel settled.

The following sessions will only be you and me because I work with individuals rather than couples or groups.