Benita Giles

I work from home in a quiet village, just outside Dorchester, where I offer therapy in a peaceful and confidential setting.      My usual working hours are all day on Monday and Friday, however I also have some availability for evening appointments.    

Sessions are available face to face, via video (using Zoom) or by telephone and I am happy to work flexibly in negotiating a 'blended' approach that meets your individual requirements.  

I offer counselling long-term or within a time-limited (short-term) framework.   Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) is a time-limited approach, usually 16 sessions.

Parking is available on the drive or on the road with a short walk to the house.   My therapy room is on the ground floor.   

I prize each person's uniqueness as an individual and my integrated counselling approach, firmly based in the person-centred, humanistic ethos and values, but informed by extensive experience and additional training in other models, results in a collaborative and relational therapy tailored to meet your individual needs.   I am also an ACAT accredited CAT Practitioner. 

As a supervisor, with a CPCAB Level 6 Certificate in Counselling Supervision and many years experience,  these are also the values I bring to supervision, wherever you are in your counselling career.  

If, as a first step, you would like an informal chat about the possibilities for therapy with me, then please give me a ring without obligation.

I welcome enquiries from both trainee counsellors seeking supervision or personal development and also trainee supervisors. 

Being human can be a real struggle at times and therapy can provide an opportunity to explore what is going on for you with a trained professional - someone who will listen wholeheartedly and empathically to help you better understand yourself and empower you to find a way forward from whatever is troubling you.

Even, or maybe especially, with those closest to us, we can often avoid sharing our concerns for fear of how others might react or what they might think - my aim is for you to feel safe enough to talk about your issues openly and be heard with compassion and sensitivity, in order to discover what is meaningful for you.

My down-to-earth approach, firmly rooted in humanistic, person-centred values, deeply respects each person’s uniqueness as an individual, offering an integrated, creative and collaborative therapy experience, tailored to meet your individual need.  I am particularly interested in how childhood events and relationships impact on adult patterns of relating and, as an ACAT accredited CAT practitioner, believe that understanding childhood experiences not only empowers us to do things differently, it improves our relationships, both with others and, most importantly, with ourselves, leading to greater self-worth and self-confidence.

My therapeutic practice is informed by extensive experience and many years continuing professional development and additional training. As well as working in private practice, I am also a Senior Psychological Therapist offering cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) for an NHS Talking Therapy service.  For more than ten years prior to this, I worked in an NHS IAPT service as a counsellor, supervisor and counselling team lead offering high intensity 1:1 therapy to adults.

Because of the COVID-19 situation I will not be working face-to-face until further notice, but am available for telephone or video sessions. 

I prize each person's uniqueness as an individual and my integrated approach, firmly based in person-centred, humanistic values, but informed by extensive experience and additional training in other models, results in a collaborative and relational therapy tailored to meet your individual needs.  I am also an ACAT accredited CAT Practitioner. 

As a qualified and experienced supervisor, these are also the values I bring to supervision, wherever you are in your counselling career. 

If you would like to know more, please contact me.