Jane Cooke

I work online only. Client appointments on Wednesday and Thursday 

I work mainly with women, often around times of change, or when wanting something to change in their lives, or in gentle exploration & discovery of themselves.

This is typical of the feedback I get:

“I’m feeling more contented and a bit more like me. Thank you for everything.”

Life’s transitions can be difficult to navigate and experience – whether you are positive about the change or whether it is something you really don’t or didn’t want to happen.

Times of change often throw us back to earlier experiences or emotional states, I like the term ‘emotional flashback’ (See Pete Walker e.g.) to describe those blasts of emotion that seem to come out of the blue or that are very intense or which seem out of proportion to the situation.

When your role or situation changes you can be left not knowing who you are in the world, what you want for yourself or how to move forward, and this can happen when it is something you feel positive about and may have instigated as well as when the change is something you very much don’t or did not want.

Or you may be knowing that something has to change, but you feel trapped or stuck and cannot see a way forward, there are too many things that seem immovable. You may feel that to make a choice, to change your situation would be extremely selfish, that you would be sacrificing others or causing hurt for your own benefit.

You may feel that to tackle past experiences will be too painful. Whether you describe your experiences as trauma or not – it is true that you do not have to relive painful times – it is effective to work on present day impacts – the difficulties you may experience in living your daily life.

Or you may be wanting to give yourself the time and permission to really connect with yourself, to get to know yourself more deeply, more fully. To understand what within yourself you need to align to, maybe rather than trying to align to other people’s truths or values

With trauma work there are some specific things we can do to support you to best manage your nervous system - all of them gentle and based on accepted theory.

Before the first session I send you my contract and a form for contact information. You do not have to sign the contract until after the first session but I ask that you read it before we meet. 

In the first session I generally ask a range of specific questions and note the answers. This helps me to get a sense of the pattern things for you and to understand some aspects of your history.

Flexibility for supervision sessions - please get in touch to arrange a suitable time for you 

 I have many years’ experience as a supervisor in a variety of roles within the voluntary or third sector. I have a Certificate in Creative Supervision, reflecting my approach which offers supervisees a variety of methods of reflecting on their work in ways that are exploratory and not judging. Supervision is an opportunity to feel validated and supported, to feel safe enough to bring difficulties and look at different ways of working with a given situation. I can offer: 1. Regular, on-going supervision to counsellors and therapists as required by professional bodies 2. Regular consultative (i.e. non line-management) supervision to anyone in the third or private care or support sectors, recognising the importance of reflective practice. 3. Regular or ad-hoc supervision of Ecotherapy practice. Exploring wild supervision of Wild Mind practice together. 4. Ad-hoc consultative supervision to anyone in the third or private care or support sectors, as well as complimentary or alternative therapists who are feeling some difficulty with a client (N.B. for comp/alt therapists -this is principally about the relationship between you and the client and how difficulties or negative reactions may be impacting you) 5. Ad-hoc consultative supervision or de-briefing sessions for teams experiencing difficult reactions to troubling circumstances that the team maybe facing. 6. Training courses for managers in the third sector, recognising the reality of line management as well as the client-focused, supportive and developmental functions of supervision. For 1, 2 and 3 for regular supervision) this is in Llandrindod Wells or within a 1 hour drive. For 3 (ad-hoc) 4, 5 & 6 this can be within a 2 hour drive of Llandrindod Wells. For all work more than 45 minutes from Llandrindod Wells I will discuss travel costs and an agreed cost for my travel time.

The focus for supervision is support to you to reflect on your work with specific clients and overall. The emphasis is on support - not judgement. You will be supported to be honest with yourself. 

We might also look at your professional development, and workplace or placement issues that are relevant. 

Student counsellors and therapists are very welcome.  

The initial supervision session is a time for us each to consider working together. 

You are encouraged to ask about me, my experience, perspectives, ways of working for example. 

You will get a sense about how it will feel to work with me and bring work that you feel satisfied with as well as work which is challenging for you.