Susan Critchley

My usual practice days are Tuesday and Wednesday daytime and evening appointments are available on these days.

Therapy offers you a safe, confidential place to talk about your life and anything that may be confusing, painful or uncomfortable. It allows you to talk with someone who is trained to listen attentively and to work with you to make changes where you determine necessary.

Client Testimonial: "Sue has a soothing, calm, empathetic presence. She has fantastic insight to offer in behaviour and is very supportive. I really feel that Sue has changed my life and am eternally grateful for her encouragement and advice." JJ 2018

I am an experienced accredited counsellor, supervisor and lecturer.  I commenced my counselling training in 2004 and completed my Masters in2009.

My therapeutic approach is pluralistic person centred, I firmly believe that all approaches have value, what is key is your needs, goals and your own therapeutic preferences. I can integrate elements of CBT and outcome focused-brief work.

My background is in mental health and advocacy prior to moving into education in 2010. I have experience of teaching counselling to masters level and am an experienced supervisor of both student and qualified counsellors. 

In addition to my Masters degree I hold a Counselling Supervision qualification and am a Fellow of the HEA.

I have a bespoke counselling space in Denbigh and can also make arrangements to see clients in Colwyn Bay or can offer telephone or video-call counselling sessions.

I will draw on all my experience and training to help you to find some resolution to the issues that bring you to seek counselling. I adopt a pluralistic approach to my practice, valuing the range of therapeutic approaches, this puts your needs and preferences at the centre of our work. I will utilise my skills and experience in person centred practice alongside my understanding of other approaches to tailor our work to best fit you and your needs.

In our first session I will seek to understand as fully as possible  you and the problem you are bringing to counselling, this will include a comprehensive assessment. Although it may seem somewhat daunting, it is important that I can gain a sense of who you are and what concerns you at this point in your life. It may be that your difficulties are best served by a specialist agency, if this is the case we can discuss this in the initial session. It is equally important that you get an opportunity to assess whether you wish to work with me beyond this first session. 

Supervision is a process of facilitating a collaborative interaction, to protect the interests of and serve the needs of the client/s. Supervision further enhances and enables practitioner development in relation to current practice and maximising the competence of the supervisee in helping clients. The aim of supervision is to provide an attentive and supportive climate within which the supervisee can develop new options for managing themselves and their work with greater satisfaction and effectiveness.

I am an experienced  counsellor, supervisor and lecturer, 13+ years experience as a counsellor across a range of issues including rape and sexual abuse, addictions, complex bereavement and grief and dual diagnosis work in counselling agencies and through my own private practice. I have a background in mental health and advocacy prior to my move into education in 2010, where I have gained experience of teaching counselling across all levels and am experienced in supervising both student and qualified counsellors. I can work out of rooms in Colwyn Bay and Denbigh.