Tracy Paine

Tuesdays and Wednesday evenings 6-8 / 6:15-8:15 are my F2F slots. I currently have no availability as these slots are all taken. 

I qualified as a counsellor working with adults in April 2019. I then added couples work and more recently; qualified as a supervisor for face to face and online counselling practice. 

I have a strong interest in relationships, loss and bereavement; alongside an interest in trauma and how this influences relationships with ourselves and others.

The way I work is influenced by the different issues that we may experience as people and more importantly how this impacts you as unique individuals. Your wants, needs and goals if relevant; are important to consider at the start and these will be reviewed together; as we move through the counselling sessions.

I believe strongly that the relationship between us is important and I have found that this in itself can be a very healing experience for clients.

Where appropriate, I do use different tools and exercises that might be helpful; such as breathing, grounding exercises and looking at values; to support living a life that has meaning to you. 

Producing a timeline of life can be a helpful way to explore your sense of self and look at your experiences and the sense you have made of these. 

I believe in providing relevant information to all clients; to empower you and support you; to understand yourself better. 

When working with couples the process is more structured and the 'client' becomes the relationship, rather than both individuals. However as I have an interest in attachment which can be at the heart of some challenges within our relationships. I will do an initial couples session; then will plan to see both of you in an individual session each; before we come back together as a 3. We can then reflect on how to manage the next stage of the work.

I also feel it is important to focus on the here and now and will try to facilitate problem solving and reflection, where this is what you would value. 

I am happy to have a free initial consultation to check we are 'a good fit'; as we are all different and sometimes it will not feel right. 

I work online with both individuals (18+) and couples. More recently I have added back in face to face work at this venue.

I work in an open-ended way, but can work to a deadline if needed. I will ask about your worries, fears, goals/hopes about counselling and do expect paperwork to be completed ahead of the first session. This makes a better use of your time in session too; as I then have a 'heads up' about you. Hopefully this is cost-effective! I will also send you the client agreement paperwork to review and agree ahead of starting and this covers all of the general admin issues, data protection and things you need to know. 

We will consolidate what we have learnt through the assessment paperwork and process and begin actively working on the issue or issues we agree to focus on. 

I have limited availability currently, so am only able to consider online work on Thursdays between 11am and 5:30pm.

Please note I only work with UK residents. 

Delivery of sessions: This is mainly using zoom video calls, phone calls or email exchanges. 

How can I help? Essentially I can help you by providing a safe space, where you can tell your story and share your fears, express your worries and explore your difficulties. I can help you to understand what is happening, by working through it together. I can help you to understand yourself better; so you can manage your problems and challenges going forward. I can help you explore your experiences and make sense of them; so you are able to then be more proactive. I have experience with a range of issues, but have additional interests looking at loss, bereavement, trauma and relationship issues. 

Benefits of online counselling: Online counselling is more flexible, so can suit people with a busy schedule. I have been able to support people working a shift pattern; where the more traditional approach of weekly session same day, same time every week isn't possible. This can be an excellent way for anyone with physical disabilities (acute or chronic) to access counselling more easily, as this can be done from the comfort of your home or office. Working online may not be appropriate for you if you are in a crisis or feeling actively suicidal. If you are feeling in need of immediate support now, then please contact the Samaritans: 116 123.

Individual fees are £40 and Couples fees are £55 per session. For more information about me, my services and what I can offer you. please visit my website: https://tracyscounsellingservice.co.uk

I can work using a range of online methods and can blend these where needed; for example, moving to email counselling when it is school holidays and when setting aside a counselling hour, at the times I work, feels too difficult. I am also happy to do telephone counselling, if you prefer to be active during sessions, you can then walk and talk if that feels appropriate. 

In Couples work; as the counsellor, I can facilitate discussion and support you to talk to each other about the stuff that matters, with the aim of working towards a healthy, fulfilling relationship; that is meeting both of your unique needs and preferences. This work can feel quite different from individual counselling which is often more detailed and focused on you, as opposed to the focus on your communication with each other and the impact this may be having on the relationship.

Couples Counselling is an active approach, where ideally; work on the relationship is needed in between sessions. So from the start I will be encouraging you to begin working hard for each other and for yourself. 

I use WriteUpp to manage client paperwork which is a secure unique cloud for my access and use.

Ahead of the session you will be asked to complete some initial forms and will be provided with a client agreement to review and agree. I ask clients to send personal information via my secure email; to support privacy and confidentiality. This is through ProtonMail: tracys.cs@protonmail.com 

Able to take enquiries for online supervision during the daytime only.

I am an Integrative Counsellor with over 4 years experience working Face to Face and Online. I qualified as a counsellor (L5) in April 2019 and then began in Private Practice in July 2019. I then achieved the OCST Certificate in Online Counselling Skills, before Covid arrived. I work with the full range of potential options for Online work. I have done lots of CPD, adding additional knowledge and skills to my toolkit! I work with adults, individually and also added couples counselling, which adds a new dimension. I have an interest in working relationally, have an understanding of trauma and attachment informed work. I am now adding Supervision as the latest development.

I will be working with The Seven-Eyed Model of Supervision from the start and this is a broad, relational holistic model, which I believe, supports a collaborative approach to the process of supervision.

I will also be informed by the Integrative Developmental Model (IDM), when looking at your experience, skills, competencies and support needs. This can help us to consider if we are an appropriate match in terms of experience and considering modality specific issues. 

If you have a busy caseload the first session would benefit from being a 90min session; so we can contract and look at your skills/experience and have a client focus as well.

If you are just setting up in private practice, or are a student just starting or preparing to start your placement; then the initial session could be set at an hour. 

If you are a student counsellor or very new to private practice then my recommendation for on-going sessions would be meeting for an hour at a time; but doing this twice a month. This is how I structured my own supervision and found the more regular contact really helpful, to manage anxieties that inevitable crop up. 

If you are a student then it will be important to check that external supervision is permitted; as some placements will want to use their own supervisors, who may well be specialists in a certain field.