Counselling Central
Self Help | Video and Telephone Counselling
Contact us: 07979 011763 | info@counsellingcentral.com
A Warm Welcome to Counselling Central
At Counselling Central we understand there will be times in life when you face difficulties or concerns that may prevent you from feeling happy and fulfilled. You may struggle to cope with certain aspects of your life, or certain emotions. What’s more, you may find it difficult to admit that you need support working through them.
We would like to reassure you that using our counselling services by video or telephone is a normal, common and positive step to take and that talking therapy is a natural part of improving your wellbeing. At Counselling Central you won’t feel practiced upon or judged. Our aim is for therapy to be a positive experience. You will speak to a fully qualified and ethical counselling psychotherapist who will help you address any difficulties you are having with a warm, caring and professional approach.
Counselling
Counsellor refers to a therapist trained in counselling skills and theory. They normally work within, but are not limited to, a short to medium term model of therapy.
Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic therapy involves an exploration of the early life experiences of the individual to help them better understand their difficulties in the here and now.
CBT
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy looks at the way our thoughts can affect the way we feel and behave. The focus is on reframing unhealthy thinking patterns.
Couples Therapy
Couples therapy is designed for those who are in a relationship. The therapist works with both parties to improve communication and address any issues.
Stress
Occurs when we feel we have more to do, and think about, than we feel we have the resources and time to cope with. It causes us to feel overwhelmed.
Anxiety
Produces feelings of unease, fear or worry leading to a negative internal dialogue. We can become fixated on a particular worry and not feel able to let it go.
Depression
Can affect the way you feel about yourself, the internal dialogue you have with yourself and the quality of your sleep. We can struggle to find any joy in life.
Bereavement
There will be times when we have to cope with loss. Sadness after the loss of someone, or something significant in our lives can feel difficult to cope with.
Why Choose Us For Counselling?
Counselling Central: Professionalism, Values and Strong Ethics
You may have a clear understanding of what your current difficulties are. You may also be feeling emotionally compromised and be unsure of what is causing these feelings. Whether you are experiencing family issues, stress at work, anxiety, relationship problems, depression, loss of self worth or any other difficulty or concern that is having a negative impact, we are here to help you through the difficult times in life. We are warm, caring, experienced and qualified counsellors who help people make sense of difficult periods in life and help prepare others with coping and management techniques for times ahead. So, reach out to us today in confidence.
Meet Our Founder
Steven Lucas MBACP PNCPS (Acc.)
Counselling Psychotherapist
Steven Lucas is a professional Counselling Psychotherapist with 17 years experience working for the NHS, the voluntary sector and in private practice. Steven has worked in a number of different settings including hospitals, prisons, health centres and private industry. He is a warm, caring and empathic person who is passionate about the therapeutic relationship, a cornerstone of the counselling process. Steven holds Diplomas in Counselling, Psychology and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. As well as offering video and telephone counselling, Steven worked as a senior lecturer in counselling psychotherapy for Chrysalis Courses at the University of Northampton Park Campus site. His role was to prepare other counsellors for private practice. Steven also spent seven years volunteering with Samaritans as Deputy Director for Volunteer Care. He works to the highest professional standards and ethics.
Types of Counselling and Common Mental Health Issues
Counselling
Counselling can be used as a general term for talking therapy, although it is a form of therapy in its own right. Counsellor is a name given to a therapist who has training in counselling skills and theory, usually to diploma level. Counsellors normally work within, but are not limited to, a short to medium term model of therapy.
Each session will involve you exploring your thoughts and feelings and working through them with the therapist. The counsellor’s role is to provide a non-judgmental space. The counsellor won’t tell you what to do when it comes to addressing important areas of your life, or making changes, but will work through important decisions with you. Furthermore, they may offer coping strategies to help in the here and now.
Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic therapy looks at our early life experiences to help us better understand our difficulties in the here and now. How we deal with life can often be traced back to the values, principles and morals we learned in childhood. By gaining a greater understanding of our early lives, we can look at more helpful ways of dealing with issues in the here and now.
This is a particularly helpful model of counselling for people who are interested in deeper self-exploration. Similarly, Psychotherapists undertake similar training to counsellors and can often work with longer term issues.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the way our thoughts can affect the way we feel and behave. The therapist will focus on your thought patterns and look at how they impact on your wellbeing. Negative thought patterns are challenged and reframed to encourage more positive feelings and behaviours. CBT is led by the counsellor and is usually six-ten sessions.
Each session is clearly structured and the focus is on providing practical psychological solutions in the here and now. CBT involves breaking down what may currently seem to be overwhelming problems into smaller parts, starting with a given situation such as a troubling problem or event, and proceeding to consider such elements as your thoughts, emotions, physical feelings and actions. So, as you can see, each of these areas can exert influence on the other.
Couples Therapy
Human beings are thought to be instinctively social creatures, and relationships form an integral part of this sociability. Sadly for many people forming and maintaining relationships can be extremely difficult. Relationships can be one of our biggest sources of happiness and also one of our biggest sources of stress and anxiety.
Also, putting time and effort into relationships is an important life skill, so why do we sometimes fail to make relationships work? Jealousy, selfishness, insecurity, an unwillingness to commit, trying to dominate, setting too high an expectation on our partner, putting hurtful comments about our partner on social media – just some of the negative things we do in relationships.
Stress
Stress occurs when we can’t deal with the pressures we are under, whether they are real or perceived. It can be triggered by any number of events such as expectations at work or relationship difficulties. The body, believing it is under some form of attack, produces cortisol and adrenalin in what is referred to as a fight or flight response. At this point we can be jumpy, irritable, angry, short of breath, trembling and our normal ability to think clearly and rationally is impaired.
At some point in our evolution we developed the fight or flight mechanism to help protect us, but the more we are in this mode the more threatening and dangerous the world can appear. This can lead to longer term issues such as poor sleep and difficulties with mood and temperament. For more on coping with stress click here.
Anxiety
Anxiety can produce feelings of unease, fear or worry leading to a negative internal dialogue called catastrophising. At this point we can become fixated on a particular worry and not feel able to let it go, building the situation up into something far more serious than it is. Our fight or flight system will be initiated to help protect us from the imminent danger and this will lead to symptoms such as tightness in the chest, poor sleep shortness of breath, sweaty palms shaking hands and a racing heart. It may even lead to panic attacks.
At this point you may be tempted to withdraw from the situation thinking this will help and short term it can. Long term you may switch your feelings of unease and catastrophic thinking to other situations, eventually withdrawing from them and thereby slowly isolating yourself. Furthermore, this can lead to further anxiety and eventually low mood. For more on coping with anxiety click here.
Depression
Depression is often described as a mood disorder. It can affect the way you feel about yourself, the internal dialogue you have with yourself and the quality of your sleep. Some of the symptoms include finding little pleasure in the things you used to enjoy, irritability and anxiety, becoming withdrawn socially, a loss of confidence and feeling there is a black cloud of despondency or despair hanging over you.
Some of the common reasons for depression may include an imbalance of neurotransmitters, an ongoing lack of sleep, certain genes acting together with environmental and others factors, a devastating life experience such as the loss of a loved one or a deep rooted feeling that you have failed because you should have achieved more with your life. Furthermore, in many cases, these expectations may not have been realistic to begin with. For more on coping with depression click here.
Bereavement
Sadness after the loss of someone, or something significant in our lives can feel extremely difficult to cope with. While it is a natural response for us to be sad, grief also includes a number of other emotions such as: shock, anger, anxiety and feelings of helplessness.
When we lose a loved one from our lives it can be heart breaking and painful. We may find ourselves desperately wanting to reunite with that person, or struggling to accept that they are really gone. We may not want to say goodbye. The moments spent with the person we have lost might come to mind over and over again causing pain and upset. The future may seem daunting without them making it difficult to function in the here and now. We may also experience loss in other aspects of our lives, such as our own feelings of self worth, our confidence or perhaps even a material possession. Our minds may be filled with sadness and grief.
Counselling Testimonials
“A very professional but relaxed approach to therapy, which was just what I needed…. I was seen very quickly after my initial contact.”
SD
“When a friend recommended you to me I felt a little sceptical about the whole idea of counselling, but you put me at ease right away.”
JS
“I didn’t think I’d even be able to speak, let alone begin to explain my difficulties. Thank you for making me feel completely comfortable.”
EY
“Thank you for being so professional and so supportive. I honestly don’t think my relationship would have survived if we hadn’t come to see you.”
PE
“I felt alone with my anxiety, yet you were so accepting of me and everything I was going through. Thank you so much for helping me through a dark time.”
EM
“For me it was a massive step to contact you and admit that I needed help. I’m so glad I did because I no longer feel like my life is completely out of control.”
DF
“I found it easy to judge people with anxiety, but after experiencing panic attacks it changed my opinion. Thanks for helping me come through them.”
SG
“You have given me the strength to look deeply inside myself and to finally start to feel less critical of myself. Thank you for your help.”
AS
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Frequently Asked Questions
It is normal for anyone to attend therapy regardless of gender, sexual orientation or religion.
The sessions give you time to talk, to discuss what you want to without judgment. They provide a safe environment in which to explore your difficulties or concerns and we will work towards resolving them with you. There is also a practical psychological element where required, for example coping strategies for stress, anxiety and better sleep.
There are several recognised and established approaches including, but not limited to psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Person Centred. You may already have a favoured approach in mind or one that has been recommended to you. If not, contact us by phone or email in strict confidence to arrange an initial consultation to discuss which is best for you.
There is no set number of sessions. This will depend on the issue(s) you bring to the sessions. CBT is usually short term, around six sessions, but person centred and psychodynamic can sometimes require longer.
Addiction, anxiety, depression, anger, work related stress, relationship issues, bereavement, OCD, low confidence/self esteem and others. We work with a full range of issues.
There is no contract to sign and no minimum number of sessions you need to commit to.
Sessions are usually weekly. This can be more or less depending on the issues(s) being addressed and your personal preference.
Yes, unless there is deemed a threat to your life or that of another or we are ordered to release information by a court of law. Issues may be discussed in supervision but anonymously.
We may keep brief clinical notes. They are kept securely and your name and other personal information will not be recorded on them, only a clinical code. Records are destroyed a year after your final session.
If you give 48 hours’ notice of cancellation there is no charge. We reserve the right to charge in full if you give less than 48 hours’ notice, or fail to attend the session.
We use Zoom for video counselling appointments.
Each session costs £45 for 45 minutes or £60 for 60 minutes.
How to Make an Appointment
Call us or send us an email in complete confidence confirming your preference for video or telephone counselling.
We will provide you with options for your first appointment and then agree on a date and time that’s convenient for you.
We can answer any questions you may have about therapy and show you how to make payment for your session.
You will then talk with a qualified practitioner who will listen intently to your concerns and work with you on a way forward.
Self Help
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