Michele Atkin

I currently have availability for counselling on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I offer face-to-face sessions in Godalming, near Guildford, as well as online sessions. Single Session Therapy is also available.

You may have spent a long time trying to understand yourself.

Perhaps you think deeply about things, replay conversations, question your reactions or try to work out why certain relationships affect you as much as they do. You may even have had therapy before, read the books or listened to the podcasts. You understand a lot, and yet something can still feel unresolved.

Sometimes more thinking doesn't bring the clarity we're looking for.

I work with adults who want somewhere they can slow things down and become curious about what may be happening beneath the thinking. That might mean noticing feelings that are difficult to put into words, recognising patterns that keep appearing in relationships, making connections with earlier experiences, or beginning to understand why you respond as you do.

I don't see my role as giving you the answers or telling you what needs to change. I pay attention to what you bring, but also to what may be harder to notice when you're caught up in it yourself, patterns, contradictions, emotional responses and sometimes the things that are difficult to say.

Therapy with me isn't about becoming a different or “better” version of yourself. It's about having somewhere to understand yourself more fully, so that over time you can feel less caught up in the noise and more able to hear and trust yourself.

I see therapy as something we explore together. You bring your experience of your life, and I bring curiosity, attention and a willingness to understand it alongside you.

I listen carefully to what you tell me, but I'm also interested in what happens around the words. You might keep returning to something, dismiss something quickly, notice a reaction that seems stronger than you expected, or find that something is difficult to put into words.

Sometimes I may notice a pattern or make a connection and wonder about it with you. At other times I may offer a different perspective or gently challenge something that doesn't quite seem to fit. I won't assume that my understanding is the right one, what matters is whether it feels meaningful to you.

There may be connections between what is happening now and experiences or relationships from earlier in your life. We can explore these when they seem relevant, rather than assuming that everything needs to be explained by the past.

You don't need to arrive knowing exactly what you want to talk about or where to begin. I'm comfortable when we don't immediately know the answer. Sometimes staying with something for a while, rather than rushing to explain or change it, can help us understand it differently.

I offer short and longer-term counselling, as well as Single Session Therapy if there is a particular issue you would like to focus on.

You don't need to know where to begin.

Some people come to counselling with a very clear idea of what they want to talk about. Others simply know that something doesn't feel quite right and find it difficult to explain what that something is.

I offer a free introductory call before arranging a session. It's a chance for us to talk about what has brought you to counselling, for you to ask any questions about how I work, and to get a sense of how it feels talking with me.

You may be looking for ongoing counselling, or there may be something specific you would like to explore in a single session. We can talk about what would feel most useful rather than you having to decide that beforehand.

Our first session begins with whatever feels important to you at that point. You may have a lot you want to talk about, or still be unsure quite what it is you're trying to understand. We can take our time and see what emerges as we talk.

A single session will usually have a clearer focus, whereas ongoing counselling gives us more time to notice and explore what develops over time. Neither needs to follow a set formula.

There isn't a right way to be in counselling. You can talk, think out loud, change your mind, go off on a tangent or sit quietly for a while. Sometimes you may surprise yourself with what comes up. Other times you may leave still thinking about something we've talked about.

You don't have to make good use of every minute or come away with an answer. We can simply pay attention to what feels important while we're together.

Wherever we begin, my role is to listen carefully, be curious and understand alongside you.