Drew Cooper

I currently do have some availability. I can generally be fairly flexible about working hours for online or telephone counselling, including week daytimes and some evenings.

I also provide in person counselling in Oxford on Thursday afternoons, subject to availability.

I use the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model in my counselling. I am level 1 & 2 qualified in IFS. This model has, in my view, a beautifully non-pathologising approach. It recognises that we all have different aspects to ourselves and a core self, which has qualities like calmness, curiosity and connectedness. The aim of this approach is to promote self-compassion and internal harmony. 

When we experience something as traumatic, for example, neglect, bullying, or a series of events , if we are able to work through this at the time, we can then move on from it. However, it may be that for very good reasons, we were not able to process the impact of the trauma on us around the time when it happened. As a result we can end up pushing away parts of ourselves which carry hurt and other emotions from what happened to us at the time. These parts of us may also have developed beliefs about ourselves as we tried to make sense of what was happening at the time. Other parts of us then take on extreme protective roles. Their aim is often two fold:

- to prevent us from being overwhelmed by those parts which carry those emotions and that hurt from the traumatic experience.

-to protect us against the same thing happening to us again.

So the IFS approach works to promote internal dialogue. IFS very much recognises the positive intention as to why parts of us do what they do for us. Once parts of us, which have taken  extreme protective roles, are more understood and only once they are in agreement, we can then go to the parts of us that carry hurt and help them heal and let go of whatever they are ready to let go of.

In IFS, where we are disproportionately triggered by something, this can be so valuable in helping us identify and with our protective parts agreement, going and helping those parts of us which carry hurt.

I offer mainly online and telephone counselling, but do have limited spaces for in person counselling in Oxford. All this is subject to availability. My fees are £60 for an hour session or £75 for an hour and a half session. We can discuss what length of session would suit your needs, but ultimately the decision about  the length of session is entirely up to you. I also have some spaces, for those on low incomes at £40 for an hour or £50 for an hour and a half session, subject to availability. 

I welcome people looking for counselling from any part of the world.

Each session is lead by what you want to focus on. Frequency of sessions can be flexible, to suit your needs. Sessions can also be open ended: for example, they can be either short term or more ongoing, again according to your needs.

My Background/ Qualifications.

I qualified as a person centred/ integrative counsellor, level 4 CPCAB, in 2019, but then fell in love with this wonderful IFS model. As above, I am levels 1 and 2 qualified in IFS, having trained with the outstanding Osnat Arbel, Anibal Henriques, Alexia Rothman and Cece Sykes, some of the giants of the IFS world. I have also attended training and a supervision group with Alexia Rothman as well as Cece Sykes' consultation group.

I offer a free half hour initial meeting, with no obligation to proceed with the counselling. This is for you to discuss what you would like to work on, but also for you to get a feel about myself and the way i work, to see if you would like to go ahead with counselling with me.