Nicola Gauld

My working hours are Monday -Friday  8.30am-3pm

I also work Thursday evenings 4.30-8pm and Saturday afternoons from 1-6pm.

I currently have availability within my practice to take on new clients.

My name is Nicola and I'm an integrative therapist. I am qualified to work with you in a variety of ways within different modalities of counselling. I have a warm manner and really value the therapist -client relationship. When this is good, it can make a fantastic foundation for trust to develop and a safe space for you to be able to bring how you're feeling. 

Knowing you will be supported and held with what you bring to counselling is so important and it is a priority to me to nurture your confidence to open up and talk. There is never any judgement on what you share. 

If it feels tricky to find the words to express how you are feeling I can work in a creative way with tools that aid this process.  I listen to you with empathy and acceptance. I will be honest with you but will never tell you what you should be thinking or feeling. I will support you to find your answers and insights, empowering you to be the expert on you. 

In our sessions you can understand what it truly means to be you. We can explore what is fuelling your anxiety and find ways to feel more able to meet your own needs rather than meeting everyone else's expectations.

 I can work with trauma, supporting people to feel safe to talk about difficult experiences and process the impact of these.

I have experience working with grief and loss whether it is with relationship breakdown, bereavement, life transitions or other life losses. I have experience working with the impact of life- limiting illnesses and the impact of cancer.

I have a special interest with neurodivergence, particularly neurodivergent people who are autistic and/or ADHD. We can work on self-worth, self- acceptance and identify strengths as well as working with challenges.

I can work with a broad range of emotional and psychological concerns.

Counselling can have a positive impact and my role is to walk alongside you to find that positive impact.

I work face to face from my therapy space in North Shields in North Tyneside. It is a lovely room within a wellbeing hub. Clients often mention how it feels like a calm, warm space where they feel comfortable and relaxed. I also work online via zoom or via the telephone, and so accept clients from any area of the UK. 

My sessions are 1 hour long. I have a sliding scale for people who are unemployed or low income and a concessionary rate for counsellors in training.

 I offer a free introductory call via telephone or zoom as I feel it is important for you to get a feel for the fit of our relationship prior to you committing to therapy. This call can be up to 30 minutes long and this can give you the opportunity to find out how it feels to work together and to ask any questions you may want to ask. It also gives me the opportunity to find out a little bit more about you and what has brought you to counselling. 

Because I am an integrative therapist, I have flexibility in the way that I work with you. Integrative therapy also gives you options to choose how you would like to work, whether it is exploring feelings in a person-centred way, working psychodynamically or working in a more cognitive way with CBT. I really enjoy using creative counselling to help people express how they are feeling using things such as art, sand tray and self-exploration tools.

In the first session, we carry out a simple assessment and I explain the counselling contract that provides the framework for our work together. This provides the foundations for our work together and ensures that you know that I work in a way that is professional, ethical, caring and nurturing. The contract outlines how I work so you can be sure of the boundaries and limits of our work together. Within this session there is also time to start exploring what has brought you to counselling.