Welcome to Kestrel Counselling
Hi, I'm Anna. I'm a qualified Integrative Counsellor who counsels adults in person in Wiltshire (near Devizes) or throughout the UK online.
I offer therapy on an array of subjects, providing a non-judgemental and safe space to bring the thoughts and feelings you want to work through. I often work with anxiety, commitment issues, relationship struggles, depression and low self-esteem amongst a great many other subjects. I believe counselling has a place as a proactive commitment to our wellbeing, and nothing is too minor nor trivial to be the catalyst for investing time in your emotional wellness.
My welcoming therapy room in Rowde is private and peaceful and ideally located for clients from Devizes and surrounding villages, Calne, Corsham, Lacock, Derry Hill, Chippenham, Melksham, Bradford-on-Avon, Marlborough, Royal Wootton Bassett and Wroughton. The guarantee of free parking just outside the room means you can arrive for your session without the bother of finding and paying for parking.
I am happy to accommodate a hybrid approach to sessions, alternating between in-person and online as client needs require.
To arrange a call, email me or alternatively click here
'Good to know' info
I don't offer advice but facilitate your self-exploration, supporting you to find the means to untangle the complex threads restricting your happiness and emotional freedom.
Beyond the expertise and knowledge I provide, most importantly what I offer is founded on being a compassionate and empathic ally. I will not judge you nor shame you. I will respect the journey which has brought you to counselling and the views and values which make you so uniquely you.
Everything shared is confidential. We can navigate the way forwards together, allowing space and time to work your way through what feels important to you with reflective questioning and gentle challenge where appropriate.
I am fully insured and an Accredited member of the National Counsellor and Psychotherapist Society (membership number NCS23-01936). My membership demonstrates my commitment to working ethically and my promise of confidentiality to clients. I undertake regular professional supervision to maintain my high standards and ethical practice. I have a commitment to ongoing professional training. This commitment is something I take great pleasure in as I pick out the courses which will best expand my expertise and will most benefit my clients, current and future.
About me
Outside of the therapy room, my love of nature is an essential resource for my own mental wellbeing. It is from this passion that my counselling practice takes its name. Continuing a childhood habit, my coat pockets will mostly be found full of twigs, stones and shells. I love knowing that wherever I am I can plunge my hand into a pocket full of natural treasures connecting me to the outside world, which help ground and calm me. Sometimes, these items will make their way onto my therapy room table for clients to enjoy or use within their session. I love breaking my 'no new books' rule and adding to my increasingly precarious tower of unread books.
Before counselling, I worked for over a decade in hospitality. As such I am well placed to support individuals working within this industry for whom life/work balance and workplace stress and fatigue are a common concern. I have previously volunteered supporting new mums and found supporting women as they adjusted to this significant transition something which I thoroughly enjoyed. This area of passion has continued as a thread through my counselling work, now encompassing all manner of life transitions which we may experience.
My training & services
I refuse a 'one size fits all' approach
I chose to train as an Integrative Counsellor as this most closely reflects my passion for working in attunement with the uniqueness of clients. By being trained in a variety of modalities I am able to pull on those which will most effectively help you work towards positive change.
The therapy I offer is underpinned by the Person-Centred approach to counselling. This means I believe in the ability of individuals to unravel their emotional overwhelm and pain when given compassionate understanding and a secure space to work towards this. I am mindful of how we may become distant from the person we feel is most naturally us, and how we can re-establish the security and surety which comes with feeling firm within our sense of ourself.
I include a Psychodynamic awareness within my counselling, therefore as I work alongside you I will consider how your earliest relationships and interactions, and then your subsequent patterns in relationships, have led to you being your present day self including those parts which you experience as challenging or restrictive.
Diploma in Integrative Counselling
Trained to work online and via telephone
Enhanced DBS
Online and Telephone Counselling Workshop
Supporting Clients Experiencing Domestic Abuse
Sexuality and Gender Awareness: Working with clients who identify as LGBTQ+
Managing Power, Control, Boundary & Attachment Dynamic with Abuse Survivors
Shame in Supervision
Exploring White Privilege
Vicarious Traumatisation
Working with Anxiety- A Compassion-focussed Approach
Eating Disorders: Understanding research, presentations & treatment
Creative Counsellors: Walk & Talk Therapy
Foundation for Infant Loss Training
Attachment Based Therapy Approaches
Working With Parts
Breathwork in Therapy
Dealing with Distress: Working with Suicide & Self-Harm
What issues can I help with?
The following gives an idea of the topics which I counsel on, but if what you want to discuss isn't listed please get in touch, it's possible it's something I can support you with
Anxiety
Depression
Self-harm
Divorce
Grief and bereavement
Postnatal struggles and adjustment
Identity
Empty nest
Low self-esteem
Family issues
Loneliness
Menopause
Domestic abuse
Jealousy
Anger
Attachment issues
Divorce and separation
Fertility struggles
Career counselling
Isolation
Relationship difficulties
Confidence issues
What happens in sessions?
In your first session we will gain a better understanding of one another and what our therapeutic relationship will look like. This is your chance to express what sort of counsellor you need me to be for you to feel safe and supported. I'll ask you for some details and you'll have opportunity to ask anything you need information on from me. Ahead of this session I will send some paperwork to complete- nothing too extensive but just the vital information. Doing this in advance means your first session will be as helpful to you as possible, not distracted by too many practical concerns.
Sessions are yours to use as you wish and for you to bring your full self. I invite every part of your emotional experience whether this be rage, fear, despair or vulnerability. Whether you want to shout, swear or need silence I invite you to express yourself as represents your truest self.
What if I can't think of the words? What if I have nothing to say? What if I can't stop crying? Will I sound ridiculous or awful?
These might be worries you have as you think about embarking on counselling. I assure you every one of these possibilities is fine and will be supported by me. If you have any particular concerns, these can be discussed during your free initial 15 minute phone call.
Is working online as effective? It is my experience, both in offering and receiving counselling, that it is equal to working in-person. For some the very focussed nature of communicating through your screen can enhance and amplify the experience, making it more profound. Having online sessions can be a very practical solution for those who might otherwise be unable to access counselling perhaps because of time or travel constraints.
Session information
All counselling sessions are 50 minutes long and charged at £55. I work only with over 18s. I offer a counselling service which is inclusive and accessible for all clients from minority groups including those from the LGBTQIA+ community. My therapy room is wheelchair accessible.
Sessions are payable in advance by bank transfer at least 48 hours before the scheduled session. Cancellations are without charge up to 48 hours in advance. After this time, the session fee will be charged. If required, sessions can be block booked and invoiced for up to a month.
For those seeking in-person sessions, my therapy room has ample free parking and is ideally located from clients throughout Wiltshire, including Calne, Corsham, Chippenham, Devizes, Melksham, Royal Wootton Bassett, Marlborough or Bradford-On-Avon
I am happy to accommodate a hybrid approach to sessions where clients require this, offering flexibility to sometimes have sessions in-person and on other weeks online. This can be key for those who are struggling to find time for counselling.
Shall we talk?
There is absolutely no 'one size fits all' in counselling and as so much of what can be achieved in counselling relies upon the quality of the therapeutic relationship between counsellor and client it is vital that you feel I am the right fit for you. Therefore, I encourage prospective clients to have a free 15 minute phone call with myself to learn more about how we can work together.
Let's see how I can support you
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how counselling works or how I can support you. You may like to arrange a time for a free, no obligations chat to discuss the reasons you are thinking of coming to counselling, whether it could be helpful for you and whether I am the right therapist to help.
If you are experiencing extreme distress and suffering a mental health crisis please contact your GP or find urgent support via one of the helplines which are ready to take your call and offer assistance 24 hours a day, every day such as Samaritans 116 123. My emails are not constantly monitored so are not a substitute for crisis support.