Quiet Minds Counselling & Psychotherapy
COUNSELLING, PSYCHOTHERAPY AND SUPERVISION IN BANBURY, OXFORDSHIRE & THE SURROUNDING AREAS
Counselling & Psychotherapy in Banbury
Hello, my name is Sophia and I’m a counsellor and psychotherapist in Milcombe, Banbury, Oxfordshire.
The first time I visited a counsellor I had no idea what it was all about, I just felt I needed to talk to somebody and I wasn’t sure why. I've since realised that talking is incredibly powerful, and having someone trained and dedicated to listen and understand how we feel about something can feel very validating.
Each time I’ve had counselling and psychotherapy, I’ve had the space to talk about what’s going on for me in my life. Each of my therapists has helped me to uncover and understand my feelings, and to see patterns in my thinking and behaviour. This all gave me the opportunity to understand myself more, and with it, the option to see things differently and to make changes if I wanted to.
We all experience life’s ups and downs, and sometimes we have things on our minds which can interfere with us leading our lives the way we want to. Most of us are looking to feel content in our lives, which we can't achieve if there are things that are bothering us. Counselling and psychotherapy can be a way to break down these issues, process and understand them, come to terms with them or change them. Have a look at my About Me page for more about my qualifications and working experience.
I offer you a calm and confidential space in which to talk over whatever it is that’s troubling you. Often people tell me that they don’t think their problem is serious enough to warrant counselling or psychotherapy, but I don’t believe that there’s anything too big or too small that they can’t help with. If there’s something on your mind that’s getting in the way of you leading your life the way you want to, then I believe it’s something worth addressing, and together we can look at whatever might be going on for you and how you can manage or change it.
My Approach
I’m an experienced person-centred and psychodynamic integrative counsellor and psychotherapist:
Person-Centred
Person-centred means I believe that you know yourself better than anyone so our sessions will be led by you. I won't judge you but will see seek to understand life from your perspective. My aim is to help you explore your issues which will sometimes involve helping you to see things from a different angle. This means you can understand yourself better which leads to having more choice about how you want to live your life.
Psychodynamic
Psychodynamic means I believe that everything we do in our present lives can be linked back to our early life experiences, our childhood, and the main people in our early lives. Even though we may not have actual memories, we often have emotional memories. These may cause us to act out, or to push thoughts and feelings into our unconscious. By uncovering patterns of behaviour, your unconscious beliefs, and looking at whether the values you still hold are helpful, I can help you to better understand yourself which will give you more options about the way you live your life.
Integrative
Using these two methods together gives you the choice of what you want to bring to the sessions, whilst gently and carefully looking at where these issues might stem from, so that you can decide how to move forward.
How can counselling & psychotherapy help?
As a counsellor and psychotherapist, I am not there to judge you, or to give you advice. As we explore together, you may come to your own conclusions about any changes you might want to make. I can point you in the direction of things I think might be helpful to you, but I won’t tell you what to do.
Whatever the theory, research has shown that what helps clients progress most is the therapeutic relationship between us because of the trust that is built. It’s so important that you’re satisfied with your choice of counsellor/psychotherapist, so contact me and we can have a chat to help you decide.
Some of the issues that counselling and psychotherapy can help with are:
Anxiety
Depression
Panic attacks
Low self-esteem
Lack of confidence
Grief, bereavement and loss
Domestic/sexual violence
Relationship difficulties (including couples counselling)
Financial worries
Bullying
Anger
Neglect
Trauma
Self-harm
Suicidal thoughts
Work-related stress
Weight-related issues
Sexual, physical, emotional and mental abuse, past and present
Personality Disorders
The difference between counselling and psychotherapy
Counselling is usually short-term work which focuses on your patterns of behaviour and what’s going on for you at the moment. Psychotherapy does this too, but over a longer period of time and at a deeper level. It also looks at your past to see where these emotions and patterns of behaviour have come from.
However, you'll probably find that both terms are used interchangeably.
Can I help?
I would be very happy to have a chat on the phone about your needs and how counselling/psychotherapy can help. Please feel free to call me on 07588 133728 or email me. Further details about my fees and where to find me can be found on the Contact Me page.