Carolyn McKerracher

Sessions 9am-5pm £50

Sessions outwith these hours charged at £60

Therapy room in at EH1 Therapies, West End, has one flight of stone steps and unfortunately is not wheelchair accessible.

However, a wheelchair accessible room can be booked in Stockbridge (or alternative) - please enquire for further details.

As a psychodynamic counsellor, I extend to you, the offer of a safe, compassionate and inclusive space, in which we can think together about whatever has brought you here. 

We all have difficulties in life, whether that be stress, anxiety, sadness, depression, grief, relationships, job difficulties, or more specific traumatic events. Often, we manage these difficult times with the support of family and friends, but sometimes it may be helpful to work with a trained professional.

Psychodynamic counselling is based on the premise that our earliest relational experiences, create both conscious and unconscious patterns of being, which then impact on the development of our sense of self, autonomy and identity.

Even when we have had positive early experiences, the patterns laid down in the early years may no longer be helpful in adulthood and we may want to find a way to experience life differently.

However, through an empathic and trusting therapeutic relationship, it is possible to change and learn new ways of being, in both life and relationship.

Prior to training as a counsellor, I was an NHS scientist in cancer services for 18yrs. I then changed careers and have spent a further 18yrs working with disadvantaged communities, in prison, homelessness, domestic abuse, addiction and in youth work.

The experience of working alongside people facing ill-health, hardships, inequality, exclusion and discrimination, coupled with my own personal life experiences, led me to retrain as a counsellor, but I bring all my prior experience to the work.

As with all therapies, the relationship between us is the most important aspect of the work. Consequently, I offer a free, no-obligation initial consultation, to allow us time to determine whether I can help you and whether we might work well together. I offer these free consultations at limited times each week, but there is more availability for regular sessions.

The depth of work we can do, is dependent on your resources, preferences and the length of time we have, as I offer both short-term and open-ended counselling. 

In short-term counselling, we could look at a specific difficulty or challenge in your life, or determine whether longer-term work would be useful to you. In open-ended counselling, we would have the time to explore your experiences at a deeper level. Sometimes this is labelled psychotherapy, but the terminology can be confusing and it may be more useful to discuss what you are looking for, with a therapist, in person.

I work with adults and young people (aged 16+years) of all cultures, races, beliefs, identities, disabilities and am open to learning from others whose life experiences are different from my own.

I offer a free initial consultation, in-person, in which you can tell me what you are hoping for in counselling, what your concerns might be and we could determine together, whether I could help.

The practice at EH1 Therapies is in a basement flat in the West End of Edinburgh, accessed by a flight of stone steps. If this is inaccessible to you, please get in touch to discuss as an alternative venue in Stockbridge.