
Deborah Crookston
Registered Member MBACP (Accredited)
Contact information
- Phone number
- 07809 699866
Features
- Wheelchair accessible office
- Available for home visits
Availability
I currently have some new availability on Monday and Wednesday between 9am and 2pm.
About me and my therapy practice
I am a Brighton based Psychodynamic psychotherapist accredited with the BACP AND UKCP. I work from comfortable consulting rooms in Hove and also see clients online.
I offer open ended therapy for a range of issues, including anxiety, depression, relational difficulties, grief and loss. Beginning counselling is also the opportunity to embark on a journey of personal growth, to acquire some self insight and develop a way of being in the world that feels creative and purposeful.
Prior to training as a therapist I worked in the NHS for 16 years as a nurse practitioner specialising in HIV, AIDS and palliative care. This work informs my holistic approach and interest in the emotional, social, physical and psychological aspects of an individual.
As a psychodynamic psychotherapist I am curious about the life of a person from infancy on and in considering how their present difficulties and distress may have links back to earlier relationships and experiences. Patterns of relating and behaving that worked in the past may have become dysfunctional and even damaging to the self and others.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy requires from a prospective client a certain level of commitment to the process and a willingness to be curious and even vulnerable at times. In return it is always my endeavour as a therapist to work safely,supportively and with sensitivity.
Practice description
I see adult individuals or couples in weekly therapy. I also work as a clinic supervisor at the Rock Clinic Brighton.
Since qualifying as a psychodynamic counsellor in 2010 I have undertaken further training;
MSc Psychotherapy, Brighton University 2012-14
CBT with Heart, 2014
Supervision training, Rock Clinic Brighton 2017.
Certificate in Psychosexual studies, Tavistock Clinic 2018
Boarding school syndrome, Boarding school survivors 2018
Psychopathology:Theory and Practice, Confer 2020
My first session
An initial session is an opportunity for you to meet with me and decide if you think my apporach to therapy is one that might suit you. It is also a chance for me to see if I think I am the right therapist for you, or if you might be better supported by another therapist with a different training background or approach.If this is the case I will aways try to refer you on to another therapist who has availability.
It is really important that you find a therapist with whom you feel comfortable and for this reason you are encouraged to come for a first session and the take some time to consider if you want to commit to further sessions.
First sessions are 50 minutes long and are charged at the same price as ongoing sessions.[£60]
First sessions for couples are an hour long and are charged at £75.
What I can help with
Abuse, ADD / ADHD, Addictions, AIDS/HIV, Anger management, Anxiety, Bereavement, Cancer, Child related issues, Chronic fatigue syndrome / ME, Cultural issues, Depression, Disability, Eating disorders, Health related issues, Identity issues, Infertility, Loss, Men's issues, Obsessions, OCD, Personal development, Post-traumatic stress, Pregnancy related issues, Redundancy, Relationships, Self esteem, Self-harm, Sex-related issues, Sexual identity, Sexuality, Spirituality, Stress, Substance Dependency, Trauma, Women's issues, Work related issues
Types of therapy
Brief therapy, Cognitive, Existential, Integrative, Psychoanalytic, Psychodynamic, Relational, Solution focused brief therapy, Systemic
Clients I work with
Adults, Couples, EAP, Older adults, Trainee, Young people
How I deliver therapy
Home visits, Long-term face-to-face work, Online counselling, Short-term face-to-face work, Time-limited