About Amanda Stephenson-Hope
www.mentaline.com/amandastephensonhope/
Counselling gives you the opportunity to explore your thoughts, feelings and life in a confidential non-judgmental setting. It can supportively challenge assumptions and aims for understanding, acceptance and clarity. From this, you are able to discover what might be the underlying causes and to clarify ways of living more effectively and to move towards a greater sense of well-being.
Counselling may help you with a wide variety of emotional difficulties including:
• Anxiety/stress
• Assertiveness
• Bereavement and Loss
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Lack of confidence or self-esteem
• Living with a life threatening illness
• Relationships
• Panic attacks and phobias
• Anger and rage
• Sexuality issues
• Sexual, emotional or physical abuse
• Trauma, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Unemployment, redundancy, retirement
Whether caused by problems in personal relationships or a more general feeling of unhappiness or despair, counselling aims to help the individual break out of stifling or anxiety-provoking patterns and move forward in their lives.
How do I work?
As an Integrative Counsellor, I draw on a variety of approaches and helping strategies, according to each individual’s situation, capacity and needs. I use three main approaches:
• Person-centred therapy – In the words of Hough (1994): ‘the individual as a competent architect of his own destiny’….clients have ‘innate potential for self-direction and the motivation to achieve insight into their own problems’. In essence, person-centred is a non-directive approach which focuses on having a more personal relationship with the client which pushes the client towards personal growth and self actualisation. It believes that clients know best and knows when the right time it is to make a decision.
• Psychodynamic therapy – This approach explores the past as well as the present gaining insight into unconscious relationship patterns that has evolved from early relationships or childhood. The process of change occurs as clients become more aware of the power of the unconscious.
• Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) – This approach links the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviours. It helps the client to identify unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour and discover new more helpful ways of thinking and behaviour.
About me?
I am a qualified Integrative Counsellor with a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling. I have worked within an counselling agency setting as well as in my private practice in Bromley (Kent) working with both young people and adults.
I am a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and abide by their code of ethics. I am professionally supervised by a qualified supervisor as part of my commitment to ethical practice.
In addition, I am a qualified Life Coach with a Diploma in Life Coaching.
I offer concessionary rates for students and low earners. In addition, I am willing to offer special rates for 6 sessions or 12 sessions. Send me a message or call me to discuss further.