Paul Brand

Hello and welcome. I am an experienced and BACP Accredited psychodynamic counsellor working in person and online with adults aged 18+. I have a Post-Graduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Therapeutic Counselling from the University of Brighton and have been working with clients for more than 10 years, within a community counselling agency, a university counselling service and in my private practice. 

Psychodynamic counselling does not look for a quick fix to complex problems, and I will not give you advice or set homework tasks. Instead, I will work hard to help you feel safe and comfortable enough to be able to tell your story and to feel really heard and understood. Once this happens, we can begin to work together to make sense of your experiences, to understand the patterns and connections between past and present, and to help you change and grow in the future. Psychodynamic counselling can be a longer-term way of working, but there is a growing body of evidence that shows that the benefits are also longer-lasting.

All clients are different and the psychodynamic approach may not be right for everyone. However I have worked successfully with clients with a wide range of presenting problems, including: depression and anxiety; loss and bereavement; relationship and sexual difficulties; issues around identity (including work with LGBTQ+ clients); trauma, including childhood and developmental trauma; issues around pregnancy and parenting, including post-natal depression. If you would be interested in finding out more about working together then please contact me to arrange an initial session.

For in person counselling, I work from comfortable and confidential rooms in central Southampton, close to the main university campus. 

For online counselling, I work on Zoom.

If you are interested in exploring counselling with me or have any questions about my approach, then please get in touch by email in the first instance – I will always aim to reply within 24 hours whenever possible. If it feels suitable, we can then arrange an initial session (in person or online) at a mutually convenient time. 

The initial session is a kind of trial session where we can both get a sense of what it would be like to work together and whether we want to continue with ongoing sessions. I will ask you to tell me about what it is that has brought you to counselling and what you are looking to get from counselling. I will also ask for some general background history, so that we can put how you are feeling now into context. There will also be time in the initial session for you to ask any questions that you might have for me, so that you can be sure that you feel comfortable about us working together.

If we do decide to continue working together then we will agree a fixed day and time for ongoing weekly sessions.

Good supervision is an essential part of working as a counsellor. As a qualified and experienced supervisor I can offer you a space for you to reflect on your current client work and to think about your ongoing personal and professional development. My own way of working is psychodynamic and relational, so I am particularly keen to help you to think about the therapeutic relationship between you and your clients and the unconscious processes that may form a part of this. 

I have particular experience of working with trainee and newly qualified counsellors, but I would be very pleased to hear from counsellors looking for supervision at any stage of their career.

​My standard fee for supervision is £50 per hour, and I am able to offer individual and group sessions. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your supervision requirements.