Daryl Pickthall

Are you overwhelmed with events, feelings or relationships? Have you reached the point where you just need some support? I help people to make sense of issues, heal from past events and get 'back on their feet' emotionally. 

I work online & in-person from early morning to early evening Tuesday to Thursday.

Fees:

£65 for 50-minute sessions beginning before 5pm. 

£70 after then.

I offer a discount for up-front payment of multiple sessions.

There are many reasons why people turn to counselling but it can be a big step to take so please review my website if it helps you to make a decision.

With the right therapist, you can use a safe and regular space to find answers, explore difficult feelings and start to feel better about life. Research shows that the relationship between client and therapist is one of the most important factors in making counselling work. Put simply, it helps if we click!

I work respectfully to build our relationship, accepting you without judgement. With your approval, I will sometimes challenge to understand something better or to help you to see something that you haven’t seen before.

I worked as an accountant for 20+ years in different industries and types of organisation, from a major high street bank and manufacturing industries to smaller companies. I enjoyed this variety and have always loved improving systems, processes and helping people develop.

I later became a consultant in a few European countries, then UK companies, advising on delivery of services, system development, and improving relationships between different teams.

I have a lot of experience counselling men and have worked with a range of different client groups including prisoners, many of whom were recovering from addictions. Helping people to face up to difficult emotions, instead of avoiding them with drugs, alcohol, risky crime, or other coping mechanisms, has been meaningful work to me.

In the prison, and through a bereavement service, I have experience in supporting people through loss. Sometimes this is just accompanying them and sometimes it’s helping them to express feelings. Often these feelings can be taboo, or ‘not allowed’, but they are still there and letting them out helps people to move on.

While everyone is different, many stories have things in common that are similar to my own experience or that of previous clients. This can help in exploring what you might be feeling.

I’m a relational therapist and believe that relationships are responsible for how we see ourselves and, often, for the difficulties we are in. Sometimes we approach relationships in a way that hurts us and others. The relationship between you and me will be important in making counselling work or not. If you don’t grow to trust me, we won’t get much done. I might not be the right therapist for you and that’s OK. I haven’t met anyone I’m unable to work with yet though.

In terms of theory, I have a humanistic and person centred core – a belief that everyone is able to make progress and improvement in their lives and no-one is inherently evil. I incorporate other theories if they might be useful for you – we can collaborate on what might work for you and what might not.

People don’t fit neatly into boxes – theories can help but they’re only approximations of what’s really going on. However, research shows that people generally do better if they can understand a rationale for how they are feeling or behaving.

I work face to face in North Leeds or online.

Before paying for a first session, we can meet online or by phone, for a 15-20 minute chat to see if we are a good fit for each other. This will give you the chance to ask any questions you have at this point.

In our first session, we will briefly run through a counselling agreement and establish if you have a goal for counselling or if you have any preferences about how you want to work. We can review these as the work progresses.