Charles Cornelius

My private practice days are Tuesday afternoons, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I currently have availability on all of these days having expanded recently.

Thanks for coming to find out more about my practice.

I have worked for the past ten years with both Adults and Primary and Secondary age Children.

About my practice with adults: 

I have worked with adults experiencing a wide range of issues. 

My approach is to meet the client  where they are at. Often attending counselling for the first time or trying a new counsellor is an anxious experience at first. I am very friendly and approachable and clients tend to finish the first session wanting to continue. Sometimes client start with another 5 sessions then can choose to continue if they wish (they generally do!)

I have a background running my own businesses in tourism. Since then I have experience in Organisational Development and Community Gardens. These past 10 years I have had the privilege to work with adult clients in many careers including IT, medicine, civil service, craft, education. 

About my practice with Children and Young People (CYP).                 

I have worked for the three of the most established charities that work with CYP in the school environment, both Primary and Secondary. I make use of Play and Art Therapy skills I learn’t from my time at Place2Be. In addition I have worked in a community setting in a multi-disciplinary team.

I like to listen to clients so I can understand what change they are looking for. This could be specific goals or a general improvement in quality of life. For some clients just being heard in a confidential* environment is a precious experience, getting things off of their chest, sharing things they have never felt safe to share before, in a non-judgemental environment.

I offer a two stage counselling process. Some clients may only briefly touch on stage 1, some longer, depending on what is decided between us at the initial session and in ongoing reviews.

The first stage  is informed by Somatic Trauma Therapy. This approach is particularly valuable for those that have experienced Trauma and traumatic stresses and we practice becoming more resilient to current events that take us back into Fight / Flight / Freeze due to events from earlier in life. Stabilization and Safety most often improves a client’s quality of life.

Some clients with ADHD, PTSD and significant early life Trauma / traumatic stresses we can make use of this stage until the client finds they are more regulated and grounded in life. This style of therapy is informed by many of the world renowned Trauma therapists including Bessel van der Kolk, Babette Rothschild, Judith Herman and Gabor Mate.

The second stage is to help clients work through their personal and professional relationships. This helps clients gain perspective on how and why they relate to other people. We go together exploring whatever the client feels safe enough to bring. 

This approach is an integration of my qualifications in Person Centred and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, as well as identifying the patterns in the many parts of self, inspired by Rumi and IFS. This stage is also informed by the professional but human relationship between client and myself to gain insights on how the client relates to others. The client can gain realisations, insights and therapeutic catharsis by working through.

During the first session we go through the contract, and privacy GDPR policy. *We touch on confidentiality and its limitations and the professional nature of the client - counsellor relationship.

We explore why you have come to counselling, for the first time or to try a new counsellor. We think about what you would like to change, improve and if you have any goals. Eg What improvement in 3 months time would you consider a success?

I will leave plenty of time for you to tell me what you want to, think about the two stage counselling process that I offer and agree on the approach going forward.

In the last 5 minutes of the session you choose if you would like to book another session with me.