Cheron MacDonald

My Availability

Monday 5.30pm-8.30pm

Tuesday 6pm – 8pm

Wednesday 5.30pm-8.30pm

Saturday  8.30am-3.00pm

I am passionate about empowering young people to have their voice, understand their emotions and grow into the person they want to become.

I am an adolescent psychotherapeutic counsellor who trained at the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education (I.A.T.E). I work with young people aged between 12 – 25 years. I am also a Trauma Informed TISUK practitioner and a Healing Together Facilitator supporting young people who have experienced domestic abuse or ongoing stress and anxiety. I am a MBACP member .

As an Adolescent Psychotherapeutic Counsellor, I work in a developmentally appropriate way to establish a therapeutic relationship with the young person. I provide a safe, confidential place for them to explore their often-confusing feelings, thoughts and emotions.

While some young people prefer to talk, others can sometimes struggle to communicate through words alone, and require a more creative approach to support them to understand and express themselves.

Depending on the needs and wishes of the young person, they can negotiate the way they would like to work creatively. I recognise it is their time and they are the experts on themselves. Using a variety of different mediums; drawing, painting, clay, sand tray, collage, journaling, poetry, writing, games or talking to meet individual needs.

I believe that building trust in the therapeutic relationship, being respectful and non-judgemental, will allow young people to develop confidence in themselves and become more self aware.

My practice is in Fair Oak, Hampshire, in a dedicated therapy studio overseeing my garden. It is a safe, caring, and calm environment.

I offer face to face sessions

I also work online via TEAMS/Zoom

Initially I will meet with parents/carers first before meeting with the young person about whom you have concerns. This allows us to gather background information as well as show you the parents/carers around the therapy room and explain fully how the service works. This will be charged at the same rate as the counselling and paid in advance.

If you choose for us to work together, sessions are 50 minutes long and are generally weekly to ensure a strong therapeutic alliance. I can offer brief short-term counselling (6-12 sessions) and usually focus on one issue that you/ young person would like to explore and work through. The other option is long-term open ended therapy sessions.  I will then give you a 'counselling agreement' to take away with you to read before meeting again.  I generally suggest that we try to work together for 6 sessions and then review how things are going .

The next step would be for your child/ young person to attend for several counselling sessions after which we again meet with parents/carers and discuss openly and honestly what, if any, further intervention is required. 

The first time we meet will be either in the counselling studio or online depending on your preference. We will have a 50-minute session looking at what you want to achieve from the counselling sessions so we can work towards that goal. I will collect background information and then go through the difficulties your young person is struggling with and the ways I can support. It also gives you the opportunity to ask the questions that are going to help you decide if I am the person you want to work with your child/ young person, if I am not able to meet the young persons needs, I will do my best to recommend suitable alternatives.

Thereafter, we agree a suitable time and day, ideally the same each week as it helps build the therapeutic alliance, I will draw up a contract for us all to sign, this is a minimum of 6 weeks but longer if required. The aim is to review every six weeks. I will then work with the young person, in an integrative, person centred way, that suits their personal needs and concerns, underpinned by neuroscience.