Leila Bishop

Mondays

Wednesday Evenings 

Friday Afternoons

Firstly, I acknowledge counselling doesn’t suit everyone, and that’s ok, great even. Counselling is an exploratory and learning process and we don’t all process information in the same way. My approach is to invite you to explore whatever you need to and help you make sense of this through reflective listening, questioning and sometimes exercises. I get it might not seem like a lot or even I am doing much! However a therapeutic conversation can be very powerful. When was the last time you had permission to just talk about yourself and your concerns? 

An important part of my approach is acceptance. Counsellors will say they offer you a ‘non-judgement’ space and for me this means hearing you without criticism or praise, I accept you as you are now. By offering acceptance and giving you space to explore and learn, hopefully you will start to understand yourself better. This might be realising why you think and behave in certain ways and identify triggers. Counselling can be to explore what has happened in the past, and it can be helpful to explore how we think and feel now, usually it is a combination of both. And this can lead to the next stage of the counselling process, implementing change if that’s what you want. 

Before your first session I offer a free 15 minute phone call. This is so I can understand your needs a bit better to make sure I have the right skills to support you. It also gives you the opportunity to ask any questions.

If you decide to book an appointment, in the first session we'll explore what's brought you to counselling and work on a flexible plan for your sessions.