Anthony Purnell

I use a relational approach to help clients improve their understanding of themselves, how relate to others and the world around them. I have experience in helping clients in following areas, either as individuals or as a couple.

Relationship problems

It is easy to take our relationships for granted, I have experience in helping couples and individuals communicate better with their partners, helping them to understand what a healthy relationship should feel like and build a sense of mutual respect.

Affairs & Betrayals:

Infidelity can be one of the most challenging things to overcome within a relationship. If I am working with a couple I help the injured partner process the trauma the affair has had on them; while helping the affair partner to understand what led to the affair, encourage them to own their actions and help them to take the lead in building trust back into the relationship.

Family Issues

My counselling approach means I often work with individuals you have issues within their family context. I seek to help clients gain an understanding of how they fit their family or do not in some cases and how this impacts their mental health. I help clients to either reconnect, separate or process negative feelings caused by their social setting.

Separation and Divorce

It is a fact of life that some relationships reach a natural end point, I help individuals or couples to disentangle the relationship, process feelings of loss and mitigate any emotional damage to those indirectly impacted, such as children.

Bereavements

Grief can occur through any significant emotional loss, I work to provide a a safe non judgemental space for my clients to express their pain and sorrow. This helps my clients to begin to process their loss and move to a place where they can sit with it, so the becomes less overwhelming.

I see clients primarily on a face to face basis and sessions are conducted out of a local Chiropractic clinic in the village of Bedwas. There are no limits on the amount of sessions I provide but i will seek to make sure from time to time that the work we do is still useful from a therapeutic point of view.

I can see clients online through the Zoom application, though clients should consider how private and secure their surroundings are if they wish to proceed with having counselling online. This service is only available to those whom reside within the UK.

I am a BACP Accredited Counsellor and my approach to counselling is largely Systemic, this means I work with the presenting issues of my clients in a relational way. Systemic therapy seeks to understand how people create meaning through language; culture, class, race, gender, sexuality etc and how an individuals life experience's inform how they perceive the world. The approach considers the client, not as an individual but as an interconnected part of different social groups (family, friendships, professional and romantic relationships) and contexts.

My Systemic orientation takes a view that the power of conversation (sometimes referred to as a dialogical approach) in collaboration with myself, may create new meanings and a different way of relating to life's problems that hopefully bring about new helpful solutions in the lives of my clients.

Unfortunately I am unable to see anyone under the age of 18 

My first session will be used to discuss how therapy will be conducted, confidentiality and professional boundaries. This forms a therapeutic contract between myself and the client which if both parties are happy will be signed. We will then discuss your reasons for attending counselling and what you hope therapy will achieve.