Sarah Kohler - therapist in chelmsford-co5

Contact information

Phone number: 07753936404

Contact Sarah

Do not fill out this field

I’ve searched for the following criteria:

Please enter any further information regarding your enquiry, (up to 300 characters).

Please ensure you have included at least one reason in the above boxes to enable your message to send

Name ✷

Email ✷

Phone number

By ticking this box, you consent to this information being passed securely to your chosen therapist. For details of how your data will be processed, see Therapist Directory on the BACP privacy notice *

The information outlined in this listing is not to be used for advertising or marketing purposes.

Features

Flexible hours available

About me and my therapy practice

I am a BACP Senior Accredited Counsellor (aligned with Column C of the SCoPEd framework), Trauma Therapist and EMDR qualified therapist with over 25 years' experience.

I specialise in working with adults whose past won't leave them alone. I have lived experience of Complex PTSD and dissociation. When I needed help myself, I struggled to find anyone who understood the effects of childhood trauma, so when I recovered I became a therapist to provide the kind of help I couldn't find.

Most of my work is with Survivors of child abuse, child sexual abuse and domestic abuse, including people who grew up with neglect, domestic violence, bullying or in the care system. I have particular expertise in working with dissociation and parts. I provide short- and long-term trauma therapy and EMDR for Complex PTSD and PTSD.

I also specialise in addiction. I believe that when alcohol, drugs, gambling or other addictive behaviours don't make sense in the here and now, unresolved trauma energy is driving them. I work with what is underneath the addiction rather than seeing the behaviour in isolation.

I was Lead Therapist in a Community Alcohol Team and residential rehab and also work for the NHS Gambling Service. My work with Survivors includes Rape Crisis helpline work as well as work in addiction services.

I also provide shorter-term EMDR for single-event trauma, including car accidents, hospital or medical trauma, traumatic birth and sexual assault.

I have a rural private practice with an exclusive counselling suite providing privacy and comfort, with parking available. I also work by phone and WhatsApp video.

Just so you know - Sarah is my birth and registered name, which is why you will see it on my BACP registration, but I have always been known as Kat.

Practice description

Traumatised people often feel there is something fundamentally wrong with them and may struggle with flashbacks, dissociation, different parts, obsessive or compulsive thoughts, relationships, self-harm, eating difficulties, addictions or other ways of coping. Sometimes it simply feels as though everything is 'wrong.'

We begin by working out what is happening for you and what you need from therapy. If you have had previous therapy, I'll want to understand what has and hasn't helped and build on that.

When a problem, such as addiction, doesn't make sense in the here and now, I believe its roots are in the past. What looks like the 'problem' now developed as a solution to something then. Coping mechanisms can help us survive, manage overwhelming feelings or contain unresolved trauma energy. Understanding what they developed to manage informs our work.

As a Survivor myself, I understand personally and professionally that trauma therapy must be grounded in the here and now. We cannot safely work in the past if you are not present in today. We work towards and maintain stability throughout therapy — not to avoid the difficult work, but so that we can do it safely.

Feeling safe enough to do the work matters, but that doesn't mean therapy will always feel comfortable. We work at a pace you can manage while still moving forward. I won't take you into the past and then leave you there. Part of the work is making sure you can come back to the here and now and leave the session as stable as possible.

You don't have to tell me what happened. I won't push you to disclose, but neither will I shy away from difficult material when you are ready to work with it.

I want to help you get out of pain as quickly as we reasonably can. I am warm and supportive, but directive when needed. We work together to understand what's going on and what needs to change.

Complex trauma therapy can be long term, but I work flexibly as your needs change.

My aim is recovery so you can get on with your life.

What I can help with

Abuse, Addictions, Anger management, Anxiety, Child related issues, Depression, Eating disorders, Identity issues, Loss, Menopause, Obsessions, OCD, Phobias, Post-traumatic stress, Redundancy, Self esteem, Self-harm, Service veterans, Spirituality, Stress, Substance Dependency, Trauma, Women's issues, Work related issues

Types of therapy

EMDR, Gestalt, Humanistic, Integrative, Transactional analysis, Transpersonal

Clients I work with

Adults, EAP, Groups, Older adults, Organisations

How I deliver therapy

Long term sessions, Long-term face-to-face work, Online therapy, Outdoor therapy, Short term sessions, Short-term face-to-face work, Single session therapy (SST), Telephone therapy, Time-limited