Amanda Asserati

I have 25 years experience as a Counsellor/Psychotherapist providing a highly professional, sensitive and confidential Counselling Service (GDRP Compliant).  I am also a qualified Clinical Supervisor with 13 years experience.

Work Experience

NHS, Cruse, Relate, Rape & Sexual Abuse Crisis, NHS Drug & Alcohol and Trauma Support. 

Private Practice, Barnardo's and most well known Private Healthcare Insurance Providers (EAP's).

Initial contact

When you contact me for the first time, I will offer you a free 20 minute telephone call, in order that you can ask any questions you may have.  

If you decide you would like a Consultation, this will be 1 hour long for me to assess your needs. You will be under no obligation to book further sessions.

My commitment to you

I will see you as a unique individual without judgement. My interest is in helping you understand yourself and explore how your life can be satisfying, by taking responsibility for your own thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

Equality

I make a serious commitment to working with issues of difference and equality. Therefore, I regularly attend workshops focussing on these issues, along with other regular training to inform my practice and enable me to provide a safe and highly professional service.

Supervision

As do all Counsellors, I have ongoing formal consultative support (Supervision) in accordance with professional requirements. This is so that I can regularly monitor my work to maintain good practice. During these meetings I will only be discussing what my thoughts were in our sessions, maintaining client confidentiality.

More information on my website:  www.amandaasserati.com

My Practice is on the ground floor, on the side of my house.  There is adequate roadside parking and on my driveway if available.

It is a private room with a toilet available to clients only during my work hours.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is important to me, so I will ask you to arrive at the allocated time and, if early, to wait in your car at a discrete distance away from my house. This is so that I can maintain your confidentiality and that of others that I may be seeing before you.

It is important that you feel comfortable working with me. Therefore, after your Consultation, you will be under no obligation to book further sessions.

How does Counselling work?

We will spend most of our time together talking, but it won't be like the conversations you are used to. You will be in charge of the 'agenda', and I will do my best to understand what you want to achieve and help you to do so.

You may find that there are times when you don't really know what to say or you might want to think about something before you say the words. You might even feel like saying nothing for a while which is fine by me. I will be happy to wait until you want to talk.

I will empathically listen to your story, to try and understand how you are experiencing your world. Consequently, I will often reflect back what I have understood you to be saying and how you might be feeling. You will then have an opportunity to check on how well I understood you.

If you change anything at all about yourself it will be because you want to, not because I think you ought to.

If you get upset during a session that is ok with me. Tears are a way of expressing emotion and it is better to cry outwardly than inwardly.

How many sessions will I need?

You are in control of how many sessions you have.  However, it is important to note that counselling is not generally a quick fix.  It takes time to explore issues and find a route out of them.

I offer a highly professional and ethical Supervision Service, following the Hawkins & Shohet Seven-Eyed Model.  

Online and face to face appointments available.

I have been practicing as a Supervisor for over 13 years and I have 25 years experience working in various settings as an Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist (please see my details under Counselling).

My role as a Supervisor is extremely important to me.  

I aim to encourage and enable my Supervisee to explore their experience of the work they are doing with clients, stay open to new learning and aid their self awareness/self development.  This process takes care of both Counsellor and Client.

"Good supervision, we believe, should allow for a two-way flow in which both Supervisor and Supervisee are responsive to each other's input. Supervision therefore becomes a dynamic learning and developmental process in which both parties learn and grow together".  (Page and Wosket 1994: 40)

I would like my Supervisee to feel received, valued and understood.

My Practice is on the ground floor to the side of my house.  There is plenty of roadside parking and on my driveway.

A toilet is nearby and available to Supervisees/Clients only during working hours.

It is important that you feel comfortable working with me, otherwise you will not gain the most from your Supervision. 

Firstly, I offer at 20 minute free telephone call, where you can ask any questions you may have.

If you decide to book Supervision, I will send you an Agreement to read prior to the session, so that we can then discuss.  

Supervision can be either online or face to face.

My current fee for qualified Supervisees is £60 for 1 1/2 hours (daytime) or £70 for 1 1/2 hours (evening).

Please enquire about concessions for students.