Penny Mathern

Welcome to my profile, my name is Penny and I am a highly experienced Relate trained counsellor offering both individual and couple counselling. Over a 20 year career I have worked in a number of settings, including a GP Practice, Relate and further education. I have Senior Accreditation with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

I provide a calm and safe space where you can explore what is troubling you, gain understanding of your situation and decide what you wish to do next. I am non-judgemental, warm and approachable, with a sense of humour. As an integrative counsellor I offer clients a "tool box" of different approaches, skills and knowledge to work with. These include person centred, behavioural work and psychodynamic approaches.

The most important part of the counselling is the relationship between you and me, your counsellor. By providing a confidential and non judgemental setting I give you a space for you to talk to me about whatever is troubling you. My role is not to tell you what to do, it is to listen, to enable you to explore what is distressing you, to help you understand and then to decide for yourself what you wish to do next. Although I do not tell you what to do, I do pass on my knowledge, for example about the process of bereavement, and I will observe things about you that perhaps you were not aware of yourself.  In individual work I have had clients who had no idea that they regularly referred to themselves as stupid. In relationship work I will notice how people talk to each other, for example one can act like a parent and the other act can like a child; again they may not be aware of this

Initially, I offer a free consultation of 40 minutes. That gives me the chance to explain in more detail about counselling and for you to tell me what is troubling you. Most importantly it is for you to work out if you feel comfortable talking to me about yourself. You can then decide if you wish to continue the counselling, either there and then, or if it feels more comfortable you can go away and think about it. If you decide to continue we would then meet for a 50 minute session, usually every week for as long as we both feel it is appropriate.

“I have worked with Penny for 6 years at Mount Pleasant Health Centre, Exeter where she was our Practice Counsellor. I can very highly recommend her as a practice counsellor; her work is of very high quality” Dr David Russell GP Trainer MRCP FRCG

“Penny is a skilled listener, offering both empathy and insight in a safe and tranquil setting.” Alison, client, Leeds 16

"Penny guided me through a difficult time in a family relationship that is very important to me; she is the reason that relationship is saved (and I like myself a lot better too)" Alison Kelly, client.

Qualifications:

Certificate in Marital and Couple Counselling (Theory and Practice)

Diploma in Social Work

Certificate of Qualification in Social Work

BSc Econ and Soc Studs