Michael Phillips

I offer face to face or online counselling either weekly or fortnightly.

My practice is based in Roborough, Plymouth and I offer concessionary rates for trainee counsellors, OAP’s and for low income clients.

Monday, Tuesdays, Wednesdays face to face or online 08.30-17.00. 

I offer evening sessions online.

Hello, my name is Michael and I am an experienced therapist working with adults of all ages including older adults (65+). I offer both long term work and short-term intervention and specialise in long term therapy.

My practice is based at my home address from where I provide a dedicated confidential therapeutic space for clients who find me welcoming and approachable. Of course, I cannot “fix” anyone, or “change” anyone! My role is to facilitate change so that clients, through exploring thoughts, behaviours and repeating cycles that make life difficult or even unbearable, gain greater self-awareness, understanding, heal and grow and discover change.

Importantly, I want to understand your world, as you see it, as you experience it, and how you see your place in it.

There may be some difficult days in therapy, but as with all my clients, I will be right by your side on your journey.

Invaluable to my practice and in addition to my professional skills & knowledge, I bring a varied and rich life experience to the therapeutic space via coaching, mentoring and currently as a volunteer at my local hospital supporting patients who need support including end of life patients.

In addition to the main list of areas I can help with, I have particular experience working with clients with suicide ideation.

As an Integrative Therapist I work using different therapeutic approaches. So we’ll talk! Through our work, you will come to learn you can bring anything you need to talk about into the room and find no judgment and no shame.

I believe we are shaped by our environment from early years, through teens into young adulthood. As life happens to us we respond by how we have been shaped by default.

Always in my mind is the C.S. Lewis quote that “We can’t go back and change the beginning, but we can start from where we are now, and change the ending”. We are not responsible for what happened to us and shaped our thoughts, responses and feelings, but we can take responsibility now and change the rest of our lives.

By supporting clients I help challenge those thoughts, responses and feelings to try to make sense of things and bring clarity and understanding.

Once you have made contact me, I will reach out to you within 24 hours to offer a free no-obligation call (telephone or video call) for 20-30 minutes to provide the opportunity for us both to ensure we can work together and also for me to ensure whether or not I can meet your needs. 

There is no pressure on you at that time to make a decision to work with me. I encourage new clients to reflect on the call before making a decision.

Should you decide I am the right person for you, simply make contact to arrange a first session which will mainly be gathering information from you e.g. history, and more detail about the areas troubling you. We will also cover our working agreement (known as Contracting) about how we will work together.