Teresa Johnston

I'm currently accepting new clients for both in-person and online counselling.

Where we can work together

In person at Callendar House in Falkirk, in a calm, confidential space designed for reflection and conversation. There's time and room to think.

Online, by secure video, if that suits you better – I work with clients across the UK and internationally. You'll have the same quality of attention and confidentiality, with the convenience of your own space.

Outdoors, as a Walk and Talk Therapist. Some people find that moving through nature helps them think and feel more freely – there's something about the rhythm of walking that can unlock what sits quietly inside.

When I'm available

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: in-person and online sessions.

Tuesday: online appointments only.

Every other Saturday morning.

Getting started

I offer a free 15-minute introductory call before we begin. It's genuinely unhurried and no-obligation – a chance to hear one another's voice, to share something of what's brought you here, and to sense whether we might work well together. There's no pressure, no performance. Simply get in touch directly and we'll find a time that suits you.

How I work

I work in an integrative way, drawing on person-centred counselling, Jungian depth psychology, somatic approaches, and mindfulness. In our sessions together, the pace and direction are yours. I'm here to listen, to help you explore what matters, and to support you in finding your own clarity.

Continuity and trust

If we start together, I'm committed to consistency – same time, same person, same space. That reliability helps build the trust that good therapeutic work needs.

Time off

I take around four weeks of leave each year, spread across the seasons. My existing clients always have plenty of notice, and any scheduled closures are posted here in advance.

You arrive with your own story, your own reasons, your own particular way of seeing things. There is no template for what brings you here, and no right way to feel about it. 

I work in a person-centred way. In practice that means I will not interpret you to yourself or hand you a programme to follow. You lead, and I stay close, listening for what sits underneath the words as much as within them. There is no rush. People often find they knew a great deal already, and simply had nowhere quiet enough to hear it and perhaps nowhere they could think out loud without performance or apology.

Much of what we carry lives in the body as well as the memory. If it helps, we can work with the nervous system directly, noticing what settles you and what puts you on alert, and build from there. We can make room for the different parts of you that want different things. We can follow dreams, images, and the patterns that keep circling back. And if stillness appeals, I am a certified mindfulness teacher and can offer practices to carry into ordinary days. All of it is by invitation.

We can meet in person at Callendar House in Falkirk, online wherever you are in the UK or beyond, or outdoors as walking sessions, which suit some people far better than sitting in a room.

Before counselling, I spent eighteen years in cancer care, latterly at Maggie's Centres. Illness, grief, and the long quiet labour of caring for someone else are familiar ground to me. That time taught me something about what matters, about courage worn quietly, and about the tenderness people carry even when they do not know it. I hold an MSc in Psychology, am a Registered Member of BACP and a Member of the BPS, and I work with neurodivergent clients, with training in autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia.

Some weeks you may arrive knowing exactly what you want to say. Other weeks you may arrive with only a feeling and no words for it yet. Both are welcome, and both are workable. What matters is that you show up as you are.

My practice is person-centred, which means you set the direction and the pace. My part is to stay alongside you with steady attention and genuine warmth, so that you can hear yourself think. The relationship itself becomes part of the work – a place where you can be fully present without performance or judgment.

Within that, I work with:

The body as well as the story. Much of what we carry is held in the nervous system rather than in memory alone. Drawing on polyvagal theory and somatic awareness, we can learn together what settles you and what stirs you, and work from there.

The parts of you that disagree. Informed by Internal Family Systems, we make room for the protective part, the frightened part, and the part that longs for change, so they can be heard together rather than in conflict.

Depth and symbol. Jungian ideas offer a language for dreams, patterns and the images that keep returning – ways of understanding that go beneath the surface.

Mindfulness. As a certified meditation teacher, I can offer simple practices to carry into daily life, always by invitation. These are tools you can turn to whenever you need them.

I see clients in person at Callendar House in Falkirk and online across the UK.

I hold an MSc in Psychology and am a Registered Member of BACP and a Member the BPS. Before counselling I spent eighteen years in cancer care, including at Maggie's Centres – time that taught me about resilience, grief, and the quiet courage people carry. I also work with neurodivergent clients, with training in autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia.

I think of this work as growing roots rather than building armour. Armour keeps you upright but roots let you bend in weather and stay standing.

Before we meet

We begin with a free 15-minute introductory call – a short, unhurried conversation to hear what brings you and to sense whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation on either side. It is simply a chance to say hello, to ask questions, and to get a feel for working together.

If we decide to go ahead, I will send you a client agreement and a short intake form to complete before our first session. These are not bureaucracy – they are there to clarify how I work, how your information is held and protected, what confidentiality means, and what you can expect from me. Reading them in your own time means our first session can be spent on you rather than on paperwork.

What the first session is like

The first session runs for the same length as every session that follows, and is charged at the same rate. There is no separate assessment fee.

Mostly, we talk. You are welcome to bring as much or as little of your story as feels right. I may ask what brings you now, what you are hoping for, and what has already helped you along the way. But if you would rather begin somewhere else entirely – with an image, a feeling, a pattern you have noticed – that is fine too. Nothing needs to be covered in the first hour. The pace is yours.

You may find yourself saying things you have not said aloud before. That is often what happens when someone is listening with genuine attention and without judgment. I am there to help you think out loud, to notice what matters, and to begin building the trust that this work needs.

Measuring how things are going

I may offer a brief wellbeing questionnaire, such as CORE-10 or the Strathclyde Inventory. These are entirely optional and are not tests. They simply give us a shared reference point, so that we can notice together how things shift over time.

Afterwards

Fit matters more than anything else in this work, and it is quite alright to take time to decide. If you would like to continue, we will agree a regular time that suits your week.