Madeleine Bentley

I provide face to face, online and telephone counselling.

I offer sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday day times. Please contact me about my current availability. 

I welcome initial enquiries by email madeleinebentleycounselling@gmail.com  

My office hours are Monday-Friday 8.30am-5pm. I will respond to you within 24 hours. I look forward to hearing from you.

I am a friendly, approachable therapist offering face to face counselling in York and Zoom counselling across the UK. 

You may be thinking about counselling because you are experiencing difficult feelings that are hard to shift. You could be feeling anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, stressed, stuck or depressed or you might not know how you feel, but something doesn't feel right. 

Counselling gives you the space to talk about your feelings and thoughts with someone outside of your day to day life. Reflecting on your experiences can help you to understand your self, feelings and needs better.  You then may then start to see new possibilities and ways forward.  

I am experienced at working with younger adults (18-40s) from all background and walks of life.   

My approach

I offer person-centred counselling. At the core of this approach is the belief that we all have the potential to trust our own experiences, instincts and make decisions that help us to live well. 

However, getting to this point can be easier said than done. Critical voices from our past and present, as well as difficult life experiences, can affect our sense of self-worth, feelings and mood. 

I believe that you are the expert on you.  As such, I won't tell you what to do. Other people's advice is often not what we need when we are feeling distressed; we need to be heard and understood. 

My role is to carefully listen to you. I will step in, where needed, to help you explore and understand how you are feeling, find out what is getting in the way of where you want to be and work with you to find new ways forward. 

My clients

I am experienced in working with younger adults (18-40) from all backgrounds and walks of life. 

I know that this is a stage of life where there can be many experiences and changes to navigate. You may also be dealing with the impact of difficulties that began in childhood. However, it is also a stage of life where taking some time to better understand yourself can be really helpful. 

As well as working in private practice, I am a counsellor at the University of York. I see many university students in both my roles and am experienced in working with academic issues that might be affecting your mental health including procrastination, perfectionism and motivation.

I offer a discount for university/college students and trainee counsellors - £40 per £50 minutes. 

Where are you?

My practice is based in Heworth, York between Stockton Lane and Malton Road. 

I am located a 30 minute walk or 10 minute drive, bike or bus away from the city centre, University of York and York St John University. I am also well located if you live in Huntington, New Earswick and Osbaldwick. 

The nearest bus route is the First Bus number 9 from from York City Centre to Monk's Cross and the Coastliner, which stops on Stockton Lane. 

Free car and bike parking is always available.

Initial meeting 

It can also be hard to know which counsellor to choose just by reading their profile! I offer a free 15 minute Zoom conversation so that you can meet me and get a sense of what it is like to talk with me.  We will discuss what you are looking for from counselling and cover practical details. Please also feel free to ask any questions you have about having counselling at this meeting.

​First session

In your first counselling session I will invite you to tell me more about yourself and what is going on for you at the moment. We will then look at how you would like to use your counselling sessions and what you hope to gain from therapy. If you are not sure about what to focus on in counselling, we can explore this. You can also share any concerns you may have about counselling.

You will choose the overall focus of your counselling, what you bring to each session and we will work at your pace. We will review our work together after 6 weeks to check whether you are getting what you need from your sessions. 

You will always be able to choose whether you want to keep going with your counselling. I don't specify that you need to commit to a minimum number of sessions. You will know when you have got what you need from counselling and it is your choice when you end your sessions.