Olivia Nichols

I do not currently have spaces for new clients. This may change in the new year (2025)

Hello, my name is Olivia and I am a person-centred counsellor.

This approach focuses on what it is really like to be you, and on creating a space that is safe enough for you to explore/untangle your thoughts, feelings and what you are experiencing more fully. Going at your pace, I will accompany you as we go wherever you need to go, with no agenda or judgement but a commitment to be like a mirror, helping you to see more clearly and look more closely at what is there.

I feel very privileged to be able to offer you a unique kind of space, different from the kind of support that friends/family are usually able to give. 

This kind of relationship can be very healing, allowing you to really feel and think, to make connections, and to find greater self-understanding and self-acceptance. Change often comes quite naturally as part of this process; perhaps knowing more clearly what you need to do, or how you want to be, feeling freer or more able to be yourself, or feeling less at war with yourself.

If this kind of approach sounds good to you, then I believe that it has the potential to be very helpful for whatever the problems are that you want to work on. My person-centred approach enables me to work uniquely with each client I meet and I don’t, therefore, specialise in any particular area. I do, however, have some particular professional experiences that may be helpful for you to know:

Previous employment with MIND provided me with training in various mental health diagnoses, and having then worked for a mental health branch of the NHS, I have further developed my insight into the different NHS treatment pathways and processes. I feel that this experience puts me in a good position to help you to think about what a diagnosis means, or would mean, for you as an individual, and I feel very passionate about being alongside clients in relation to diagnoses and mental health.

Although I enjoy working with all ages, I do have particular experience working with young people and students (over 18s) both in my past and present work for different organisations, such as MAP, and also in my private practice.

In my spare time I enjoy dancing, being in nature, and have an interest in mindfulness. 

By setting out to find a counsellor, you have already made the first step in tackling whatever has been troubling you. I believe we only really know if we can work together by meeting for an initial 'exploratory' session, so if what you have read appeals to you, please contact me to make a booking.

I charge a reduced rate of £30 for the initial session. 

I offer 50 minute sessions, and believe that therapy works best if this is weekly, especially at the beginning, meeting at the same time and place each week.