Shona Moncrieff

My availability is very flexible as I work from home 2 days each week with adults with complex emotional needs, and 2 days I work as a school counsellor.

From May 1st, I will be free every Monday of the week, and don't mind working early, afternoon or evenings.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I work at school until 3 p.m., and so sometimes have availability late afternoon and evenings.

I can work from a therapy room, do Walk & Talk, do any outdoor therapy, or do online and telephone sessions. 

Get in touch, I will always try to make a space for anyone who is feeling as if they need some support and space to be themselves. 

I am a pluralistically trained psychotherapist/therapist, with a background in teaching. I returned from teaching overseas in 2019 to pursue my dream of working one-on-one to support people who needed to be 'seen & heard'. Unfortunately, most of these people at the time were children and young people. I found that their issues were less about academics and more about not feeling seen or actively listened to. Life is fast-paced, and we have so many distractions, that it is easy to forget to see, hear, and be mindful of the people and world around us.

My reason for choosing to train Pluralistically was because as with teaching many different children in a classroom, they all need to be taught concepts and ideas using a variety of approaches. We are all different, therefore it is not possible to apply a 'one size fits all' approach to therapy. Working pluralistically allows us to work together from whichever theory, modality, technique or intervention may be relevant for you at that moment in time. We learn and grow as we journey through therapeutic work, which means we may need different things at different times.

My style of therapeutic work is very holistic, gentle, and intuitive. I believe that the client is the expert in their own life and that I am there only to make suggestions, gently challenge, guide, and 'teach' you, or remind you, of what you already know within yourself. We will work collaboratively, curiously, and at a pace that is comfortable for you.

I hope that my friends and family will describe me as happy, honest, loyal, kind, and empathetic. I want clients to feel that they can approach me, and feel that they can come to our session and be welcomed whoever they are, whatever they feel, and wherever they are in their therapeutic journey. 

I work in a very informal way, and hierarchy has no place within the therapy room. We are both there to learn about ourselves, and with you being the expert in your own life and with knowledge of your feelings, I see my role as someone there just to gently challenge, guide, and actively listen. I hope to create a safe space for you to feel that you can say whatever it is you need to say, and be able to feel exactly the way you feel and experience validation, empathy, and understanding from me as your therapist. 

We will always be working at your pace, and in a way that feels comfortable for you. In the beginning, we get the chance to know each other, and then gently find out what the issues are that we need to address if you don't already know. We will then work collaboratively to find different types of methods, theories, techniques, and interventions, and through psychoeducational and learning new skills and techniques to make life feel more manageable and happier.

Our first session will be mostly taken up with a certain amount of administrative work. This is because I need to be sure that I am the right person to help you and to get some historical information that will help us through the therapeutic journey. 

It is an opportunity for us to do some 'contracting' - which sounds very formal, but is just there to ensure that we are both on the same page about what is and isn't acceptable within the therapeutic relationship and process, and what kind of expectations we both have.

The most important part of the first session is to try to get to know each other and hopefully make you feel at ease, and ensure that you feel that I am the right therapist for you.