Hywel Probert

I am a counsellor to individuals, and I work exclusively online.

I’m Hywel, and I offer a safe, confidential space without judgment, with a combination of support and challenge to help you work through the issues that you are struggling with. Telling a stranger about issues that feel extremely personal can of course seem daunting, so I aim to offer a friendly, open-minded space in which you feel safe to bring the issues that you want to bring.

Many people struggle with issues that they find it difficult to resolve, and find therapy and counselling a very useful way to talk about what is happening, working it through in a way that feels safe and useful to them. Very often this may involve relational difficulties of some kind, with others and/or with themselves. You might be struggling with difficult feelings of stuckness, anxiety, anger, shame or burnout, finding a sense of agency and meaning in life, working out how to make better contact with others in your life, handling a difficult transition, or struggling with issues around identity.

I am qualified in Gestalt Therapy, having trained at the Gestalt Centre in London. I have also been influenced by other approaches, including psychodynamic practices, Emotionally Focused Therapy, and the Neuroaffective Relational Model. Gestalt provides a way to look at the whole of your experience, and the impact that it may be having upon you. It combines a focus upon the present moment, increasing awareness of what is happening, with a focus upon what may have happened in your past, and your orientation towards the future.

I also believe that, over and above the particular type of therapy that is used, it is the therapeutic relationship that the client and the counsellor build up between them, that is crucial to the process and success of therapy. I don’t see my role as to offer advice, but rather to support and facilitate you to work through what it is that may be troubling you, by helping to increase your awareness of what may be going on, and your resilience to confront it.

I offer a 15-minute phone conversation before any sessions are booked. This is an opportunity for you to tell me a bit about yourself and what brings you to therapy. I know that it is important to find the right therapist to work with, so it is also an opportunity to ask any questions that you may have.

On booking your first session, I will send you confirmation as well as a contract.

Each session lasts for 50 minutes. I live in Birmingham but only work remotely at present, with sessions accessed via a Zoom link. People choose to have online therapy for many different reasons, and most find this to be a very useful and effective way of having therapy sessions.