Pamela Parker

I currently have availability for face-to-face, telephone or zoom sessions.

Hello

I'm Pamela

I offer warmth, compassion and respect in my counselling work.  I try to build a trusting relationship where you feel safe and comfortable enough to talk about whatever you need to without fear of being judged.

Most people come to counselling because of some sort of problem or difficulty in their life or perhaps simply a feeling that life has more to offer you.  

I will help you to explore the issues that have brought you here and in doing so I hope that you will find ways to ease the distress you are feeling.  

I am a person-centred counsellor which essentially means that I believe you are the expert on your own life and that, with help and support, you can find your own answers.  That might sound scary but I will work with you at a pace that suits you.

My way of working with you is traditional counselling based around talking.  I offer gentle challenge and I try when I can to allow a little humour into our work when it feels right.

I am particularly interested in working with people with stress and anxiety, depression, past trauma, relationship problems, bereavement and loss, self harming and with difference and disability.  

I work in a non-pathologising way with gender, sexual and relationship diversity.

I qualified as a person-centred counsellor in 2017.  I hold a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy from Strathclyde University.  I began my training after going through two years of counselling myself and finding it quite transformative.  Before that I had worked in a variety of roles in nursing. 

I initially worked as a volunteer counsellor with various organisations.  This gave me experience of working with people from widely varied backgrounds and with the very varied issues they were bringing to counselling. 

Two years ago I started in private practice but I also worked with a charity which offered counselling to people affected by brain tumours. That fitted well with my previous nursing experience but I want to stress that I never offer medical advice.

From this I have developed a particular interest in offering counselling to people who have or have had physical illnesses especially where they have had difficult or traumatic experiences during their treatment. 

I work with many issues but particularly with: stress and anxiety; depression; relationships;  bereavement;  loss; self harm; difference and disability.

Sessions last 50-60 minutes.

I offer a free 20-30 minute telephone session which allows us to find out a little about each other and to see whether we think we can work well together.