Angela Westbrook

A good relationship or 'fit' and genuinely ‘feeling felt’ both play a huge part in the success of talking therapy. This role is where every path I ever took in a somewhat challenging life was leading to – helping others navigate the mental well being difficulties we all face.  

I am an Integrative therapist with a grounding in Person Centred Therapy and a Registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (MBACP).

Sometimes we are aware of the exact reason(s) we feel the need to talk to someone, at other times it can be a struggle to pinpoint why we feel so low. Modern life carries more pressures than ever, and a non-judgemental space, where you can reflect with clarity, in an empathic environment, is vital to maintaining a good sense of who you are.  We'll find a way forward together, with your leading the way.

I am both ex-military and an ex secondary school teacher. Related to the latter I have a passion for helping young people. As such, I also work as a therapist in some local secondary schools and offer concessionary rates at my private practice to parent of teens looking for help for their children. 

I am also parent to to two children with a 9 year ago gap. My youngest child has complex needs related to both developmental trauma and a rare brain condition. This in itself has become one of the biggest learning journeys of my life! My personal experience of both compassion fatigue and depression related to this mammoth task has been invaluable in terms of informing my practice. I can offer telehealth online sessions for those not local to me. 

As a therapist my task is to make myself obsolete, to help you to become your own 'safe base'. I don't want to make you better, I want to help you take the responsibility for making yourself better and want the process for this improvement in your well being to be as clear to you as possible.

If you can bring your whole self, dark and light, we can reflect and explore freely your own thoughts and experiences (be they now, recent or long past). 

Life can feel good when the only validation you really need is internal, when you know you are being the best version of yourself that you can be, when you forgive yourself the occasional, inevitable mistake and when you choose to worry only about those things for which you can affect change. A lot of the pain we experience is associated with our thoughts.

Self acceptance and self love takes time and an increased knowledge of yourself. It can be a painful journey of discovery, is likely to involve looking at the things that shaped you from the past, but the rewards that come from that sometimes uncomfortable personal growth become exponential over time. It’s an iterative journey. It never ends.

A few years ago I recognised the need for a safe empathic space for myself and gained some valuable help re-ordering the jumbled filing system of my own mind . ‘Connecting’ with the right therapist took a while and there were a few false starts – after all not everyone is everyone else’s cup of tea.

Hence why I offer a free initial 30 min telephone or face to face consultation.

Thereafter, should you decide we are a good fit, we will conduct a series of sessions, likely weekly, to work towards your goals. I don’t define a set number of sessions or a timescale – I am led by you.

You can review my upcoming availability through my client portal (link below) but please do please make contact before booking to establish if it’s likely I am able to accommodate your requirements longer term - long term session availability often dictates choice of therapist. 

https://clientportal.powerdiary.com/clientportal/zsp7y