Michelle Zachry

My normal working hours are Mondays to Saturdays 9am - 8pm 

I can offer you time and space each week where I will be with you as we explore things you may want to resolve or change. Together we will find ways to increase your self-confidence, and self-esteem. Create boundaries that enable you to protect yourself in relationships and at work. Manage your stress and uncomfortable feelings. Understand your emotions and how to regulate them and see yourself for the wonderful and unique human being that you are. I don’t see anyone as flawed or broken. I see people who have learned ways of surviving and coping that are now longer helpful. I want to offer you a space where you can discover and become who you really are.

Using the light of awareness I help you tap around your thoughts, beliefs and behaviours, holding the space for you over the sessions and reflecting back the patterns and beliefs that have got you to where you are now. Gently we explore where they have come from and how they serve you. Looking at things from different perspectives and trying on new ways of being helps give focus to the change you want to happen and also acceptance of change that may have been sudden and unwelcome.

You are the expert on your life and I believe you have all the answers and abilities within you to live your best life. My aim is to really listen and be present with you in your times of suffering, to sit beside you as you uncover emotions and work through difficult feelings. It is also to rejoice with you as you discover easier ways to navigate your life and uncover the peace and happiness that is also buried in there to. 

Life is a process of daily changes that make up each of our unique journeys. Sometimes these changes are slow and without realising it we have drifted into an unknown place where we feel stuck. Sometimes the changes are sudden and we can lose our way and become disorientated. Occasionally they are devastating and we find we have been changed irrevocably.

We start our journey together where you are right now and I begin with building a relationship which is confidential, respectful and non-judgemental. I am curious about your world and how it feels for you to be in it. Together we explore how you got here, drawing on threads from the past, establishing what you like and what you may consider changing. 

Each week we begin where you are in that moment and work in a way that gives you what you need at that point. You may need a safe space to offload what is going on for you right now or to learn grounding skills and techniques to relax your mind or regulate your emotions. As well as talking therapy I may offer sand tray work and other creative ways to gain deeper insights and understanding without having to verbalise traumatic events. Creative visualisation, writing and drawing are all ways you may like to explore your inner world if that is something that interests you. 

I offer a free 30 minute telephone or online appointment to discuss why you are seeking counselling and to arrange an appointment.

In our first session I explain briefly how I work and look at your expectations for counselling. I will take a full case history asking questions around your goals, relationships, health, significant life events and discuss how I can best tailor my approach to you and support you in achieving your aims. 

I explain the working agreement we will both sign and discuss how many sessions we will contract for. You may choose to sign the agreement there and then or take it away and bring it to your first session if you decide to proceed. 

I charge a reduced fee of £25 for the first session. 

Subsequent sessions are charged at £45