John Muirhead

I work Monday to Friday, morning, afternoon, and evening, and I currently have availability.

To be listened to and accepted for where you are in your life is important, for example, as we recover from socially isolating ourselves in recent years. 

I have been practicing person centred counselling for over 10 years, and I believe that a safe, non-judgemental and compassionate approach is key for healing.  

If you prefer, we can chat initially about counselling via mobile or email.

Alternatively, in the first session I give details about how counselling works, and explore what it is you are looking for in counselling, to help you decide what's a good way forward for you.

If you want to pursue counselling, we can meet on a weekly basis for as long as you feel you need to (typically 3 to 6 months).

I am married with two adult stepsons.

I believe that healing comes from empowerment through increased self-awareness and self-esteem, and integration through self-acceptance. I have often witnessed transformation as spiritual in nature.

Core to the counselling I offer is a person-centred approach.  Additionally, building compassion for self and resilience to come to terms with the challenges we face are also key elements of how I see the potential for healing.

Alongside listening, I offer counselling tools when needed to help with how we manage our day to day lives.

I know that finding a good match in a counsellor can take some time and sometimes requires meeting with a few.  

The first session is about sharing what you are looking for in counselling and for me to share how my approach to counselling could help you.  And it's an opportunity for us to get to know one another a little too.

Creating a safe environment is important in counselling and I work primarily on a person-centred basis, beginning with building a trusting working relationship.  I then integrate other counselling approaches as and when a client would benefit, such as a compassion focussed approach or cognitive behavioural therapy.  Having the space to chose what to focus on is important to the healing process.

Our first session is an opportunity for you to explore how counselling can help you with what you are looking for support in and to find out about my approach and how that matches with what you need.  Knowing why you have come to counselling can sometimes take some unpacking and as we do that we will be building a safe and healing working relationship.  We can take a session to pause from time to time, to review the progress you are making, what changes you want to make in how we work together, and to clarify what you want to focus on next.

For the first, initial consultation, I ask for a £20 payment as this is often a shorter session and I know there may be other counsellors you are trying out and so the cost can mount up.

I am available Monday to Friday, morning, afternoon, and evenings.

I look to work in partnership with you, to explore your casework and to help you become the counsellor you want to be.

I use the Hawkins and Shohet 7-Eyed Model of supervision, which offers a holistic approach from difference points of view, such as exploring what's happening between you and your clients, within yourself, and what we are noticing in supervision.

I am an integrative counselling with several years of experience.  I provide a space for you to help you come to terms with the more challenging aspects of our counselling work, such as ethical dilemmas and ruptures in the therapeutic relationship, to return to a better balanced self and a strategy to move forward with your clients.

I offer a free initial consultation to see if we can become good partners and to answer any questions you might have.

My approach is non-judgemental and compassionate with the aim of creating an open safe place for exploration.  

I use the Hawkins and Shohet 7-Eyed Model of supervision, which provides different views on your casework, such as insights that may be different from your own and exploring how to unlock difficult dynamics between you and your clients to release you back into collaborative and constructive work with them.  

We will always return to focus on your clients.

I have a Master's in Integrative Counselling with several years of experience, specialising in Internal Family Systems (IFS), Compassion Focus, and Person Centred counselling. Additionally, I provide body focussing work, which can help clients locate the pain and trauma they hold within themselves and begin on a path of relief. I also value clients' spiritual experiences as rich sources of healing.

An initial consultation is free and an opportunity for you to explore if we can collaborate well to help your clients.