John McDermott

Hi, I'm John, I am an Integrative Counsellor working online and in-person at my private practice, North Leeds Therapy.

I incorporate a range of skills and techniques from leading approaches, combining them with years of experience and success with people from all backgrounds and situations, to produce a working relationship specific to the needs of each client. My practice has supported individuals in schools, colleges, charitable organizations and as a private practitioner.

Confidential, Compassionate, Collaborative.

First we pinpoint what it is you want to change and look at what this will be like in real-life terms, then we work together to make these goals a reality.

By focusing on your specific needs and situation, I work with you to find the strategies and process that empower you to move forward in a positive and productive way. Help is here, so please do get in touch.

No two people are alike, and every therapeutic relationship must be suited to the needs and requirements of the person seeking help. Therefore, short, free consultations are available to discuss working arrangements.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Training, qualifications & experience

• Observation Psychotherapy PG Dip (Leeds Uni.) 2007
• Counselling PG Dip (Leeds Beckett) 2020
• Additional advanced training in ACT, TA, Anxiety management, Grief Counselling and Trauma support.
• Counselling Tutor, providing training and support for CPCAB levels 2-4.
• Over twenty years experience in education / supporting young people.

In my own practice I work with all ages starting from 16+ in one to one sessions to find the balance and well-being life can seem to lack. The range of issues I have supported clients through are too many to list here; they range from anxiety, body issues through to stress, self harm and work related pressures.

Focusing primarily on short-term goal orientated programmes, I encourage the individual to take an active role in deciding the route of their rehabilitation. Longer term work is available but this develops over time at the client's request rather than a requirement to commit to an extensive course of treatment from the start.

Training:

• Counselling and Psychotherapy, Post Grad. Diploma
• Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Post Grad. Diploma
• Masters in Literature
• Post Grad. Cert. in Education

After an initial phone assessment to discuss practical issues and to give you a greater sense of my suitability to work with you, our first session is as much about getting to know you and what you need and want from therapy. It's about listening to you, allowing you the opportunity to say out loud those things left unsaid elsewhere.

Together we will devise our work together, incorporating the strands of your life so that the sessions support you going forward.

Supervision isn't effective if it doesn't support you, your practice and your life.

My availability reflects the reality that not everyone can fit their supervision into a neat '9-5' lifestyle. Evening sessions are available.

Working together means being there and agreeing a time and schedule that you can meet, not becoming another thing to add to your pressres.

I am integrative counsellor and therapist in private practice in North Leeds. My foundation is Person Centred and Relational but I do integrate different modalities dependent on their relevence and usefulness to the specific client. 

I describe myself as a 'listener first' as I firmly believe that it is vital to maintain a client-centred approach to counselling and therapy. I explain to my clients at the start of our work together that in our work together, they are the expert in themselves. My job is to support them in discovering what it that is causing their discomfort or anxiety etc.That's important to me, as trying to make the client fit the theory is something I believe is counterproductive to the work.

I am also a counselling trainer and have taught Counselling skills and studies for many years, across levels 2, 3 and 4. This allows me to support trainee counsellors and therapists as I am aware of training requirements and the additional support that is necessary when people are starting on their counselling journey.

My practice serves the whole Leeds area but predominantly North Leeds, so I deal with a wide range of presentations across a diverse range of people.

As well as offering short-term, more behavioural type interventions, I also have long term clients that I have worked with for many months and for some, depending on their needs, years. 

I occasionaly work with charities, social services and local organisations in supporting individuals as part of wider teams.

Some clients I see weekly, but often due to financial difficulties, many prefer to see me fortnightly or even monthly. As part of our reviews we look at the frequency of our sessions, adjusting accordingly depending on where they are in themselves as well as the support networks and systems that are in place or that we have developed.

Before we start working together, I suggest we have an intial free  consultation; an opportunity for you to meet me and get a sense of who I am and what working together might be like. 

This can be done online, over the phone or in person, depending on logistics.

It will only be 10 to 20 minutes at most but it will allow us to move from emails correspondance to making the work more real and 

Equally, for me, it's an opportunity to get a sense of where you are in your career and what you're looking for from your supervisor, and whether I am the right fit for you.

We get a chance to meet minds and work out the practicalities and logistics of how supervision can work, building on your past experiences (or not as a trainee!) and knowledge. 

Ultimately, supervision is about supporting you as a counsellor as well as empowering you to feel more confident and in charge of your practice. In this first session, we start off as we mean to go on, so that what you get from supervision is what you need and want, not simply going through the motions but ensuring the process is something you look forward to and engage with.

I look forward to speaking with you.