Donna Brunstrom

I generally offer daytime sessions, Mon-Fri between 8am and 6pm. I have some evening sessions available; these are in high demand. I have some but limited availability for working with young people. I can sometimes accommodate the need for irregular sessions. Please do get in touch to see if I have spaces available as this often changes also to discuss any specific requests.

Hi and thank you for taking a look at my profile. Sharing your personal story with a complete stranger can be challenging enough let alone choosing who that person (therapist) should be. I am an Integrative therapist which means I draw upon a variety of modalities. We are all individuals and our experiences are are own. Our work together is also unique so I will use my training and experience to support you and your specific needs. This process is ethically bound and has a feeling of a tailor-made process.

Whatever your current experience on the continuum of mild to traumatic we are all seeking a sense of ease and safety to navigate our reality. Please read on to see if my experience and approach might be right for you. 

What does therapy involve?

Therapy is an active process that requires commitment, curiosity and effort. That is what I will ask of you to bring into our sessions. There are no magic solutions and it can be incredibly challenging. When the conditions are right (predominately the client therapist relationship), therapy can help develop ways to feeling more at ease therefore having the capacity to manage more skilfully the inevitable challenges we face. What I aim to provide for my clients is an environment where you feel safe enough to express and explore what is really going on for you.

A Bit About Me:

My interests have always centred on human behaviour and helping others. Prior to becoming a therapist, my first degree led me to various corporate roles in London and Sydney: but my outlook changed when I had children and I worked for a while in adult education before retraining as a teacher. I have been in the UK for many years, although I still call Australia home. My work experience and training as a therapist has predominantly been with adults in my private practice as well as working in a state high school as a counsellor. Therefore I have extensive experience working with both adults and young people.

How I work and a flavour of what to expect. 

The foundation of my practice is based on the Person-Centred modality, which means I am a relational therapist, who strongly believes that the most important aspect of therapy is the relationship between the client and therapist. I work very much in the ‘here and now’. This doesn’t mean the past is not relevant, what I am interested in is how your past may be impacting the ‘here and now’ for you. Other modalities I may also draw upon include Gestalt, Transactional Analysis and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Acceptance Committment Therapy. I also believe in the connection of body and mind.  So you might find I will apply in our sessions the lense of Poly Vagal Theory. This is essentially the science behind feeling safe enough to tackle life’s challenges by understanding and attuning to our Autonomic Nervous System.

You will not be told what to do or what to talk about. However, you will be guided to stay on topic so, expect to be challenged. You will be supported to explore what feels right at the moment. This more humanistic approach enables you to feel empowered and in control. I believe that you have everything you need and through our work together you can begin to function as the author again in your life. 

I might suggest certain practices and techniques which we will discuss in our sessions and is part of the commitment, curiosity and effort I ask of you in order to cultivate the changes you are hoping for. 

Initial Enquiry

First step is to get in touch via email or the enquiry form. I offer a free 15-minute initial phone consultation for new clients where you can give me the headlines about what’s going on for you, your availability and if we both feel we can work together. If you’d then like to go ahead, we can arrange an initial consultation.

Initial Consultation: £75 for 1 full hour

I allow extra time for our initial meeting as it is an opportunity for both of us to find out more about each other and for you to get a feel of what it might be like working together. I would want to establish your expectations of counselling, why are you seeking support now, previous experiences in therapy, your availability and essentially more about you and whether I am the right person to support you.There is no expectation of committing to ongoing session.

Ongoing sessions: £65 for 50 mins

I predominantly work weekly and sessions would be scheduled for the same day and time each week wherever possible. I can offer some flexibility however, in my experience this can disrupt the rhythm of our work and your progress. 

Depending on your needs, we might agree a particular number of sessions. In my experience a minimum of 6-12 sessions can work depending on what your needs are. Alternatively, we might agree to work on an open ended basis. Typically the latter is how I work. In any circumstance we would review our work together and agree next steps