Ellen Martin

As a supervisor my aim is to be flexible in how we work, I approach supervision in a collaborative, anti-oppressive and non-hierarchical way. I want to foster autonomy, I am not here to judge your work or tell you what to do I can offer interventions, experience and gentle challenge and questions when needed or asked for. 

I supervise both counsellors in training and qualified counsellors and can adapt to your needs. I recognise that supervisees need different types of support at different points in their learning and development.

Sometimes you just need the time and space to say the things you've been holding onto. That is my goal, to provide you with a compassionate, understanding and accepting space where you can talk about all the things that have been worrying or upsetting you. As a counsellor I will support you to share your experiences, and to access inner resources, finding ways of living life more fully and with more peace of mind.

I am a trauma informed humanistic counsellor. I offer a calm and compassionate space where you can explore whatever is on your mind. We can take the time to figure out what's troubling you and work together to make sense of thoughts, feelings and behaviours and to move forward in a way that feels right for you.

People often feel they have been given an incomplete map of life; they feel lost and need a place to land to get their bearings. I hope our sessions can be that place for you. 

Perhaps things have been difficult for a long time or something has happened recently that you're struggling to make sense of. Sometimes things that happened long ago can suddenly feel like only yesterday, this can be confusing and distressing. Having the time to look at things with a trusted therapist can bring new insights, understanding and increased peace.  

I believe in therapy and its ability to transform people’s lives for the better. I am passionate about empowering people to find their way through the fog to find healing and peace. Having therapy offers you a chance to stop and breathe, to have some calm amidst an increasingly busy world. You may be experiencing considerable distress, I will always be led by you and work carefully to help create a sense of safety and trust.

I have been working as a counsellor since 2015 in the voluntary and charity sector. I have been managing a counselling organisation for the past six years which has given me experience working with lots of different people on many different issues. Before counselling I worked in the third sector supporting people struggling with substance misuse and I have been working with young people aged 14+ in schools and alternative provisions for the past 15 years.

I have worked with lots of people struggling to come to terms with painful experiences, to face life's challenges, stresses and battles. All people are unique and so are their experiences. There is no one circumstance that is more important to me than another, I'm interested in how you feel about your personal experiences.

I put you at the centre of our work, I’m unbiased and won’t direct you; we will explore whatever you want to and do this at your own pace. When exploring particularly upsetting experiences, I may employ mindfulness techniques in order to centre ourselves in the session.

I can offer psychoeducation on how trauma impacts our thoughts and feelings as well as provide tools for managing panic and anxiety. I can also give guidance on healing parts of the self that can hold us back or that manifest in destructive behaviours.

In our first session I will welcome you and we will go through a contract together and discuss confidentiality and safeguarding. We can talk about what has brought you to therapy, and I can share with you a bit more about how I work. Many people are unsure exactly what they need to feel better, you might just have a general feeling of unease or low mood, you don’t need to have all the answers, we can figure it out together.