Hayley Smithson

I have a room where I can see clients face to face in Penarth on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Life can be complex and we may all struggle from time to time.

Perhaps you are experiencing difficulties with a particular issue such as feeling anxious about your work or generally feel anxious most of the time. You may suffer with a lack of self-confidence or have low mood or motivation. You may be adapting to changes in your life or coping with loss or bereavement. Experiences from your past may be impacting on how you are in the present.

Sometimes it is not so easy to define exactly what is troubling you, but you just feel things could be better.

Mostly we manage on our own, possibly with the support of family or friends. However sometimes things can feel overwhelming or stuck and we could benefit from the additional help of a professional counsellor.

I have much experience in working with people from a caring perspective having previously worked as a doctor in the NHS for over 22 years.

As an integrative therapist I incorporate a range of techniques from my training and experience to best suit your needs.

More importantly however I am a warm, compassionate individual who believes that we all have internal resources and an innate potential, and I will work to facilitate you in drawing on them. 

At the heart of my practice are the Person-centred core values of empathy, non-judgmental acceptance and congruence and all my work is greatly informed by a compassion focussed lens.

My areas of interest are in helping people with low self-esteem and managing anxiety as I am aware, from both personal and professional experience, how these common mental health issues can significantly impact the quality of people’s lives.

I am also very interested in helping people cope with loss, including bereavement. I work additionally as a counsellor in a community hospice helping clients diagnosed with life limiting illnesses, their significant others and those bereaved. I have found this work to be both humbling and deeply rewarding.

 My aim in sessions is to work collaboratively with you, at your pace, in a flexible way rather than to rigid structures or guidelines.

I understand that deciding to access counselling and choosing the right counsellor can feel like a daunting prospect. This takes courage and strength, so I acknowledge you are taking a big step towards your self- care.

As a counsellor I aim to provide a safe, non-judgemental and confidential space. I will endeavour to truly listen so that you will be heard and understood. I will help you to develop a greater understanding of yourself and your relationships. 

Whilst I draw on the modalities studied in my training, this has been enhanced by my commitment to ongoing continued professional development. As such I am trauma informed, have undertaken suicide intervention training, completed courses in Bereavement counselling, and studied other areas of particular interest in more depth such as working with shame, anxiety, the inner critic and low self-esteem. 

As a relational therapist I value the importance of the therapeutic relationship in helping you to bring about the meaningful changes you want to have a more fulfilling life or in developing more effective ways of coping. This may simply be feeling more at ease with yourself or making choices that help you with where you want to be.

I offer a free 20 minute phone call so that we can introduce ourselves. You can find out more about me and how I work to see if you would like to continue on to booking a first session and I can assess whether I may be able to help you. If you are interested in this please email me to arrange a call. 

Prior to your first session I will send you my practice paperwork  with more details about how we will work together.

In the first session you will have the opportunity to ask any further questions.

 I will gather some details in the first session in order to get to know you a bit more, find out what you would like to work on and to assess if and how we might best work together.

Continuing sessions last 50 minutes and the rate is £55 per session.