Sean Sullivan

I work mornings 8am-1pm

Monday to Friday

Hi I'm Sean and I’m glad you’ve found my profile.

Sometimes life can be painful and confusing, and things might be disturbing you. Perhaps you are feeling alone, anxious and struggling to find meaning in your life but find it difficult to reach out for help.

I work in a non-judgmental way, providing a safe, confidential and caring environment, supporting you to express and work through painful and challenging feelings and experiences.

I work in a variety of ways, adapting the sessions to meet your particular needs. Get in touch to find out how we can work together.

I am a qualified drug and alcohol counsellor and I understand there are many reasons why people develop addictions.

In our sessions, we can explore behaviours and triggers around substances.

We will identify issues and reasons that might be on the edge of your awareness, which will help us understand your relationship with drugs or alcohol.

Together we can explore how you can make positive changes in your life and develop your strengths and resources, building up your resilience to live in the here and now.

I also work with carers of people with addictions and a range of complex needs.

You probably never expected to be a full-time carer.

Taking responsibility for someone you love can be overwhelming and it can feel like it’s taken over your life.

You may feel trapped and that your life is about meeting the needs of others and not your own.

You may have conflicting feelings such as love and anger.

Together we will look at enabling behaviours and ways you can take less responsibility for other people through detaching with love.

We can explore your own self-care, and how you can make changes to your life, so you can have your needs met as well.

I've been practicing for 6 years.

I work with clients according to what works best for them. I can offer short-term work, which means a limited number of sessions, or open-ended work, with no limit

I generally see clients once a week, for 50-minute sessions. Online meetings via Teams and WhatsApp, and telephone counselling available. 

I encourage you to listen to your inner voice, to trust yourself to realise what matters most to you and to explore possibilities.

In our therapeutic relationship you are the expert on your life and experience.

I trust that your determination and courage to confront and get through painful experiences and feelings will motivate you, help you develop and move towards growth and healing, which will lead you to fulfil your potential by being open to new experiences and self-acceptance.

If you are coming to counselling for the first time...

In your first session, I would like to hear about you and your life and the significant problem(s) that bring you to counselling. This will help me understand your presenting issues and find the best way for us to explore any deeper troubles.

I want you to feel safe and comfortable, and to gain as much from counselling as possible, so please feel free to ask any questions about the counselling process.

I encourage you to be as honest and open about your feelings, thoughts and experiences, as well as what does and doesn’t work for you in the session.

The more you share, the more you will learn from any insights into your experience, and the better I can support you in each session.

Person-centred counselling isn’t a quick fix for your problems, it’s a process.

In this process, we can co-create a trusting relationship to understand your experience, explore how you relate to yourself and others, and learn useful ways to resolve or understand your problems.

In our sessions, we will gain a better understanding of your current problems, through exploring what is beneath the symptoms.

Person-centred philosophy has a strong belief in the individual and the actualising tendency, which was developed by Carl Rogers, who believed that each of us has within us the potential to find a way to help ourselves and find solutions to our problems.

Sometimes we lose our way, finding it hard to trust ourselves and end up directed by others, and try to live up to their expectations.

Rogers believed that in a safe counselling environment, and a caring understanding relationship, the actualising tendency can help motivate the client to trust the wisdom within them, develop resilience to overcome their problems and realise their potential to grow.