Sheila Bartlett

I am an older, white woman who has been offering counselling and psychotherapy for over 35 years, now seeing clients in Hackney.   Preferring the variety of generic work, I have never specialised in any particular field.   I work with adults and for the past 13 years have also seen students from one of the architectural colleges in London. For 22 years I ran a Counselling Service at a local doctors` surgery.   Thus, I have gathered a great deal of experience and still enjoy the work, being interested in the people I see and working cross-culturally, gaining enough job satisfaction when they improve their lives and wellbeing to see me through the sadder times when this does not seem to occur.   What happens is not as important as how we react to it : we cannot always control the former but the latter is completely up to us; it is not easy -  yet it is possible.    

I usually work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays but can sometimes manage other times on a temporary basis.   My first appointment is at 9 a.m., the last one at 7 p.m.   The sessions are one hour long for individuals or one and a half hours for couples or more than one person.   My training is in Integrative Psychosynthesis which has a Transpersonal orientation so that people are seen to have a spiritual dimension in addition to the usual mind, body and emotional ones (that is, the personality).   This does not necessarily mean institutional religion as such but rather a Jungian acceptance that there is an energy greater than human beings (C. G. Jung`s "Collective Unconscious" for example).

The Initial Consultation is also for an hour but might run into another session.   Clients are welcome to look at my Qualification and Attendance Certificates which I keep on the table in a folder.   I will  explain that I work with a Contract which puts down some basic guidelines and these can sometimes be altered to take account of specific situations.   Clients usually say why they feel they need Psychotherapy or Counselling and tell me something of themselves and their lives.   At the end of this first session, if we feel that we can work together, another appointment will be made at which I will produce the Contract for each party to sign, if agreed, and give a copy to the client(s).   Payment is to be made after each session.