Claire Marshall

My current working hours are:

Wednesday Evening

Thursday Morning, Afternoon and Evening

Friday Morning and Afternoon

Saturday Morning and Afternoon

I do have some flexibility depending on the type of session - online/telephone/in person. Outdoor sessions working hours vary depending on the season. Please get in touch if you cannot see the availability you are looking for. 

What I can Offer:

I am a Nature Based Psychotherapist, offering you counselling and psychotherapy within our natural world.

Have you decided you would like some support and started to look into counselling and psychotherapy, but does the idea of sitting in a small windowless office whilst you explore your inner thoughts fill you with dread? Maybe outdoor therapy is for you?

Outdoor Therapy:

By being outdoors we can over come the intensity of being in a small office, it allows us to be side by side on your journey and creates a balance between us that can create a stronger therapeutic relationship. Being in nature you are surrounded by the cycles of our natural world and this can be incredibly useful during your own explorations of your cycles of behaviour.

Outdoor sessions vary depending on you. I have a variety of routes depending on what you need, gentle walks in the open, woodland walks, near bodies of water. These different areas allow you tailor your session towards what you need. I always say that interaction with nature is encouraged but not enforced. Just being in nature has its benefits, however, when you really embrace nature and allow it into our therapeutic work, it opens so many more doors! We can be creative, more hands on or we can just be in nature and talk - what ever you are looking for. 

My Theoretical Background:

I work Integrativley, which means I pull from different theories to tailor your therapy to suit you. The basis of my approach is Person Centred – meaning that you are in control of the sessions and what you discuss. The heart of my approach is to create a safe space for you to explore your thoughts and that we develop a strong therapeutic relationship to allow for change to take place. I strongly believe that when nature is brought into the therapeutic relationship it allows for deeper work to take place.

I am an ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide, which fosters my passion for using nature to nurture mental well being and allows me to bring more immersive skills into our counselling and psychotherapy sessions.

Not Just Outdoors: 

I have an outdoor office space at my home in WF3, and I offer sessions via phone and online.

Experience:

I have been practicing since 2017 and worked with a wide range of clients, including but not limited to; anxiety, depression, bereavement, survivors of sexual abuse and relationship problems. Mostly commonly, I work with clients who are feeling 'stuck'. This might be a change of circumstances, making a big decision, or feeling like you don't know where life is taking you. I find that being outdoors and inside nature it provides you with the space to explore your thoughts and feelings.

My post qualification training has been intensively in taking psychotherapy outdoors. This has been a mix of short courses, more in depth immersive training over several days, longer academic courses. These include, but not limited to, my MA Psychotherapy Thesis - 'Taking Psychotherapy outdoors - What happens to therapeutic relationship when you remove the physical boundaries of the therapy room', my ANFT Certification to become a Forest Therapy Guide and my training to become a Certified Eco-Nidra Teacher. I am very passionate about working with nature and I will continue to expand my knowledge of working with our natural world. 

Interested but still not sure what to expect? Finding a therapist is like trying to find the perfect pair of shoes, the fit must be right! I offer a free 15-minute telephone call to discuss your needs and give you the chance to ask any questions you might have. If you then decided you would like to ahead and book a session, we will have an initial session where we will go over the contracting and route planning (if outdoors). We would then book in your first session and your away!

A lot of people ask how the outdoor sessions work, well they are the same as indoor sessions just outside! Of course, there are additional areas to consider, such as the weather, confidentiality, and fitness levels, but don’t worry these sessions are not “physical workouts” they are tailored to what you want.

If you have any questions, please do get in touch and we can discuss those further.