Hannah Paton

I am passionate about providing a safe therapeutic environment from which to bear witness to the beauty of your individual personal growth.

I offer both long and short term counselling via the remote counselling platforms ​of Zoom and telephone counselling. Since starting to use these platforms since the start of the pandemic, I have developed a passion for this way of working, and have gone on to complete significant training in this area. I now hold a certificate in Online & Telephone Counselling, having completed an 80hr course to continue to enhance my knowledge and understanding in this area, and to ensure I continue to provide a high standard of service to my clients. Therapy can be in your own safe space, where you feel comfortable, and without the pressure of commuting and journey costs.

​I can offer a short term evidence based approach known as Motivational Enhancement Therapy over 4 sessions using Motivational Interviewing. This is known to be effective in helping people to make changes to their drug or alcohol use, and is also applicable to anyone looking to make other lifestyle changes.

​Within the long term therapy that I offer, we can explore motivational work as well as getting to the deep rooted underlying causes, and problems, that may have led you to self medicate and/or adopt unhelpful coping strategies.

I qualified as a Counsellor in 2013 and have been trained to use an Integrative approach to Counselling. This means I value our relationship and accept that each person is unique. I draw from a number of therapeutic tools that are available, in order to find the most appropriate to you as an individual and your own personal growth. I have a great love for creativity, having studied a design degree, and at your request I am happy to integrate elements of creative approaches into our work together.

Having worked in the field of substance misuse for many years, I have a wide ranging experience of working with people who are experiencing difficulties around their alcohol or drug use, and are seeking ways to make the changes they desire. I have found that our past experiences have an effect on how we think and what we believe about ourselves. Some people turn to alcohol and other drugs as a way to manage their life's difficulties. Through a longer term approach, we can look at these life experiences in order to gain insight and understanding around patterns of thinking and behavior that may no longer be helping you and for you to become the person you are meant to be.

I have extensive experience and training working in the field of Trauma Counselling, where I find a real passion, helping people process past traumatic experiences and the impact of complex relationships. Working in a trauma informed way with clients, I understand the importance of providing a safe therapeutic environment, so that within our trusting relationship you will be able to safely explore and piece together what can feel like shattered/ fragmented parts of yourself.

I am a Level 1 trained Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapist, having completed my training with IFS UK. I continue to regularly increase my knowledge, understanding and practice of this model with regular additional training and development in this area. I complete my Level 2 in Nov 2023.

IFS is a gentle, non-pathologising way of building relationships with parts of ourselves that may have adapted and taken on burdens, in response to past experiences and trauma's. Through the process, we are able to build relationships with these parts, which can help them to change, and become their improved versions.

You can find out more about Internal Family Systems on the link below:

https://ifs-institute.com/

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My initial consultation will take place over the phone, which will help us establish if we feel comfortable to work together. During this I will take some contact details from you and ask what you are hoping to get from Counselling, this will be to ascertain if I will be the best Counsellor to suit your needs.

If we choose to work together I will ask that you pay for sessions at least 24hrs before the start time. This can help to give you a sense of control, as you will not be contracted into a set number of sessions.

As a registered Data Controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) I meet all the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018. I take your confidentiality very seriously, and this will be discussed with you at our first meeting.