Melanie Packer

Monday 10 am–7:30 pm

Tuesday 9:30 am–7:30 pm

Wednesday 8 am–5:30 pm

Thursday 2–7:30 pm

Friday 11 am–5 pm

Saturday Closed

Sunday 9:30 am–1 pm

I'm a BACP member, qualified supervisor and integrative counsellor with over 20 years' clinical experience. A significant part of which has been working with people who've spent many years looking after others, such as unpaid carers. That work has given me a close understanding of stress, emotional exhaustion, complex relational dynamics, and the quiet cumulative weight that both caring and clinical wo

I became a supervisor because I believe reflective practice is central to ethical, effective work, and because I remember what it felt like to be a trainee navigating all of this for the first time.

I particularly value working with trainees and newly qualified counsellors. The early years of our therapeutic practice raise real questions about identity, competence, and how to stay grounded in your own approach. I don't think those questions are a problem to be managed. I think they're where the best supervision happens.

Before becoming a counsellor, I worked as a manager in communications, HR, and learning and development within a large public sector organisation. That experience continues to influence how I think about growth, feedback, and the kind of honest conversations that help people develop professionally.

What I enjoy most about supervision is seeing counsellors develop trust in their own thinking and decision-making. Whether you're a trainee or an experienced practitioner, there comes a point when supervision becomes less about finding the 'right answer' and more about learning how to think well about the work, both within and after the session.

I use Hawkins and Shohet's seven-eyed model as my primary supervisory framework because it encourages us to think about the work from multiple perspectives, not just the content of individual sessions.

Supervision with me is collaborative, unhurried, and shaped around where you are in your practice.

I aim to create a space where you can bring the cases that are sitting with you: the ones that feel clear, the ones that feel confusing, and the ones you're not quite sure how to make sense of yet. I'll offer honest, respectful feedback and ask questions that help us think more deeply about the work, not simply confirm what we already believe.

I take ethical practice seriously, and I'll engage thoughtfully with the ethical dimensions of your work without making that feel like a compliance exercise. 

What I care about most is helping you develop genuine insight and the kind of confidence that comes from trusting your own clinical judgement.

Supervision is also where you should be able to talk about the impact of the work on you, not just on your clients. That matters, and I won't overlook it.

My supervision is available in person in Worthing and online across the UK.

Starting supervision, or meeting a new supervisor, can feel a bit daunting. Supervision has a powerful impact on our client work, so it's worth getting right.

Before we begin regular supervision sessions, I offer a free 30-minute consultation so we can talk through where you are in your professional journey, what you're hoping for, and whether I'm the right person to work with you.

There's no pressure or expectation. If we both feel we're a good fit, we can arrange a first session and begin exploring your work together, thinking about the ethical challenges you may be facing, your developing practice, and the support you need to manage the emotional demands of the work and stay well in yourself.

Monday 10 am–7:30 pm

Tuesday 9:30 am–7:30 pm

Wednesday 8 am–5:30 pm

Thursday 2 pm –7:30 pm

Friday 11 am–5 pm

Saturday Closed

Sunday 9:30 am–1 pm

Do you spend so much time looking after others that your own needs have quietly slipped to the bottom of the list? You may be an unpaid carer, or simply someone who has spent years looking after others, coping until it starts to feel harder than it should.

I'm a BACP-registered integrative counsellor with over 20 years' experience supporting people through some of life's more demanding chapters. A significant part of my work has been with unpaid carers, including people supporting partners, parents, children, friends and family members.

I understand — without romanticising it — just how much caring can take from a person: energy, identity, confidence, and the sense of knowing what you really want or actually need.

I also work with people experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, workplace difficulties, relationship strain, and times of change or uncertainty. What many of my clients share is that they've been holding things together for a long time before they reach out. 

Reaching out and asking for help takes courage, and I believe it deserves to be met with care.

My approach is warm, honest, and collaborative. I believe counselling works best when it feels like a genuine partnership;  a space to slow down, think clearly, and make sense of what's happening. That means exploring not just what's difficult, but also what's got in the way, and what might be possible.

Before training as a counsellor, I did a lot of voluntary work and was employed as a manager in a large public sector organisation, specialising in communication, learning and development. Through my roles, colleagues and others began to trust me with experiences of bullying, discrimination, and personal difficulty. And wanting to respond more effectively set me on a path I've never regretted.

As an integrative counsellor, I work from a coherent therapeutic framework that places our relationship at the heart of the work, while drawing on different psychological perspectives to help make sense of what you're experiencing.

I believe no one theory fully explains what it means to be human. That means I'm not trying to fit you into a particular model. Instead, I will work together with you to understand your experiences, your relationships, and the patterns that may be influencing your life, using whatever insights are most helpful and relevant to you.

I see my role as working alongside you, not directing you. I'll bring curiosity, honesty, and genuine respect for your experience. I won't tell you what to do or offer easy reassurances that things will be fine. But I will offer a space where you can think, feel, and explore without having to perform or explain yourself constantly.

Many people I see in my practice have spent years managing alone, talking only when something becomes too difficult to deal with, when problems feel too heavy to carry alone. 

Having a regular place to think things through can feel unfamiliar at first, but it often becomes an important part of making sense of what's happening. Not because it's dramatic or revelatory, but because it's consistent, unhurried, and genuinely non-judgemental. Sometimes that's what makes the difference.

Therapy can help with immediate difficulties. And it can also help you to recognise patterns you haven't noticed, understand yourself more clearly, and develop the kind of quiet confidence that comes from actually knowing your own mind. 

For those who've spent years focused on others, it can also be a space to reconnect with what matters to you; not as an indulgence, but as something genuinely necessary.

My sessions are 50 minutes, and offered in person in Worthing.

Starting therapy can feel like a big step, and it's worth getting right. 

Before we begin regular sessions, I offer a free, face-to-face consultation so we can talk through what's brought you to counselling, what you're hoping for, and whether I'm the right person to work with you.

You'll also have the opportunity to ask questions about how I work and what counselling might involve. There's no pressure and no expectation that you'll have everything neatly worked out.

If we both feel we're a good fit, we can arrange a first session and begin exploring what's brought you to therapy at a pace that feels comfortable for you.