Paul Vernon

I’m a registered and accredited therapist with over 16 years experience of working with adults, young people, couples and families. I offer a secure and confidential space where we can address and navigate the concerns you bring, and together we'll delve into the impact of past events on your current life and relationships.

My style is compassionate and non-judgemental but challenging enough to ensure positive change can occur. I will adapt my style, approach and methods according to your needs or situation, and I will work at your pace. My counselling approach has emphasis on the ways in which we relate to each other, so establishing a good, collaborative therapeutic relationship is a priority.

By unlocking past or buried feelings - that maybe outside conscious awareness, we can often free or release emotions and negative repeated behavioural patterns. Hopefully you will start to put your history, thoughts, feelings and relationship patterns into a clearer picture and find new or refreshed meaning in your life. 

I take an integrative approach, meaning I draw on different techniques from psychodynamic and systemic family therapy, then once the past begins to become clearer I often integrate additional therapeutic methods such as Narrative Therapy (NT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Solution Focussed Brief Therapy (SFBT). This helps to free distressing patterns and frees you to move into a happier and more fulfilling way of being. It allows more creative flow, broadens perspective and brings more optimism to the future. I also have extensive experience of working with trauma, addiction and anger management.

I have worked in many different therapeutic settings within the NHS, multiple clinical organisations and in private practice. I have worked extensively with professionals working in mental health, including consultants, therapists, coaches, doctors, psychologists and those in training.

I'm fully insured and registered to work with insurance company clients. 

Training, qualifications & experience.

EMDR Therapy. EMDR Masterclass.

Autism Awareness Training. Clear Links.

Senior Psychodynamic and Systemic Therapist. Stepping Stones Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Systemic Team. CAMHS East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

Post Graduate Diploma in Systemic Family, Individual and Organisations Therapy. Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

General Data Protection Regulation Training. Diocese of Chichester.

Graduate Certificate in Systemic Family, Individual and Organisations Therapy. Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

Specialist Mental Health Mentor. Clear Links.

Counsellor. Diocese of Chichester.

Graduate Certificate in Couples Counselling. Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

Counsellor. Families PLUS, Sussex Central YMCA.

Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Addiction Counsellor. CRI NHS Foundation Trust.

Counsellor and Clinical Assessor. Rock Clinic, Brighton.

Assessment, PHQ, GAD and Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE) training. Rock Clinic, Brighton.

Certificates in Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Addiction Counselling. CRI Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Post Graduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Psychotherapeutic Counselling. University of Brighton.

I offer a free 15 minute consultation by telephone to explore what brings you to therapy, how you would like to use your sessions, and what I can offer.