Sarah Ellan

My primary aim as a counsellor is to listen: To listen wholeheartedly, actively, with my full attention, without critique or judgment. My intention is to hear all of what you are saying, to share and check my understanding with you, in order to be alongside you in whatever is troubling you. Rather than applying analysis and diagnoses from the outside, my endeavour is to work hand in hand with you to identify and explore what is troubling you and to find a way through and beyond your difficulties.

My work is based on the belief that you know better than anyone else what is wrong and how to help yourself. I appreciate that at times it might not feel like this and we might need a little help to get back in touch with that internal sense of ourselves. By the end of our work together my hope is that you will understand yourself and be able to tune into what feels right for you: to work through any ongoing challenges and figure out solutions for yourself. 

I enjoy working with a wide range of issues and have a particular interest in supporting clients wishing to explore issues in relation to gender, sexual and relationship diversity and neurodiversity.

I offer appointments face to face in a private setting in the centre of Norwich.

My fee is £50 for face-to-face counselling of sixty minutes. 

I appreciate that the beginning of a new counselling relationship involves a whole host of feelings. Taking those first steps into the unknown can be really challenging. Knowing where to go and who to see can be a difficult and confusing decision to make.

The first session is a chance for us to meet each other, for you to say a little about what’s bringing you to counselling and what you want to gain from it. It’s also an opportunity to have a taste of what counselling is like without any obligation to go any further. We can also go over things such as confidentiality, how often we might meet and how long you might like the counselling to last.

The fee is £40 for an initial appointment which lasts up to 60 minutes.

My intention as a supervisor is to facilitate the supervisee to become the uniquely individual counsellor they have in them to be. My endeavour is to facilitate the supervisee’s understanding and knowledge of self as counsellor, in the same way a counsellor facilitates a client’s understanding and knowledge of self. An important part of the process of supervision, for me, is getting to know each supervisee, as counsellors and individuals whose experiences outside of the counselling room inevitably have an impact on their work.

​What comes up for me over and over again when I consider my work as supervisor, is a desire to work in a collaborative way, to work hard to equalise the power in the relationship, as much as I am able. To appreciate that the supervisee and I, come into the room as unique individuals, both carrying experience, knowledge and individual understanding, which are of equal value. What I want for the supervisees that I work with is to develop a sense of trust in themselves, to be able to lean on their experience and understanding in the counselling room. To value their unique selves and all that they bring.

I am trained in the Person-Centred approach and also welcome the opportunity to work with counsellors trained in different modalities. 

My Experience:

I've worked in Private Practice for several years working with clients face to face and online, exploring a wide range of issues. Prior to that I worked for The Norwich Centre for Personal and Professional Development seeing all sorts of people bringing all sorts of issues, in both short and long term therapy. Whilst there I also worked with students from the local arts university. I have worked for The Sue Lambert Trust, which provides support for survivors of sexual violence,  as a counsellor and group facilitator and have worked for CRUSE as a Bereavement Support Worker.

I have experience of working with people on anxiety, depression, self-esteem/self-worth, relating, bereavement and loss, with a particular interest in working with neurodiversity as well as gender, sexual and relationship diversity.

I've tutored on the Introduction and Certificate courses in Person Centred Counselling Skills at the Norwich Centre. I currently run an Encounter Group exploring personal and social identity and co-facilitate both an LGBTQIA+ and a Wellbeing group for The Sue Lambert Trust.

My Qualifications:

Postgraduate Diploma in Person Centred Counselling from the Norwich Centre for Personal and Professional Development.

Postgraduate Certificate in Person Centred Counselling from the University of East Anglia.

Level 3 Certificate in Online Counselling Skills from Counselling & Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body.

Form and Freedom: Person-Centred Supervision Training​​ with Cat Burton and Tonia Myhill.

​My Fees:

I charge £50 for qualified counsellors, for an hour long session. For trainee counsellors or those in the first year post-qualification I offer a reduced rate of £45.