" . . . because sometimes we all need 
    a  helping hand . . . "

RICHARD  CLEEVE
Member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists
Accredited by the Counselling Society

Counselling       Psychotherapy       Life Coaching

Person-Centred

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Consultations

Counselling Services offered for:

• Personal problems
• Depression, anxiety and stress
• Personal relationships
• Family problems
• Gay / LGBT issues
• Sexual identity
• Loneliness and isolation
• Bereavement, grief and loss
• Domestic abuse and violence
• Sexual abuse
• Professional and work issues
• Multicultural issues
• Psychotherapy
• Life coaching
• Students in training

Fees

Telephone for a free initial consultation  01323 638765, 
or contact me via email

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My early work, which was the basis for my MSc degree, and later for a doctorate, was researching the post-war period in Paris, when people were trying to come to terms with the war, occupation, and issues such as collaboration, guilt and personal loss.  France was going through a period of "purification", as it was called, and people were trying to rebuild their lives, at the same time as coping with every kind of insecurity and pain.

But so many people today  find it just as hard to cope with everything that the modern world expects of us.  Most of us sometimes feel anxious, stressed or alone, and it can be very difficult to understand our feelings and actions, and how events in the past so often affect our present thoughts and behaviour. 

Therapy aims to meet these challenges, and provides a confidential, secure and supportive relationship, which is totally non-judgmental, and where we can explore our thoughts and feelings about ourselves and other people.

My approach is essentially humanistic and person-centred, but I integrate aspects of other models according to the individual needs of my clients, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. 

 All my work is undertaken in accordance with the strict code of ethics of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists.

In addition to my formal academic qualifications, I have a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling from the University of Brighton, and the Diploma in Counselling Skills from London Metropolitan University.  I am also a member of Sussex Counselling, which aims to promote high quality counselling practice, and to facilitate the availability of information about counselling and practitioners to the general public.

What is Counselling?
The code of ethics and practice of the British Association for Counselling defines the nature of counselling as follows:
The overall aim of counselling is to provide an opportunity for the client to work towards living a more satisfying and resourceful life. The objectives for particular counselling relationships will vary according to the client's needs. Counselling may be concerned with developmental issues, addressing and resolving specific problems, making decisions, of inner conflict or improving relationships with others.

Person-Centred
The person-centred counsellor believes that clients have all the resources necessary to know what is best for themselves. The person-centred approach, originally called client-centred approach, was developed by Carl Rogers in the 1950s. Rogers believed that the positive, self-enhancing nature of the client/counsellor relationship was the active agent in the helping process of psychotherapy, and he determined three core conditions, expressed by the counsellor, which aided the client in his/her search for self actualisation:  genuineness, unconditional positive regard and empathy. The aim of person-centred counsellors is to enter into and to understand the experience of their clients. Many counsellors using integrative or eclectic approaches use the person-centred ethos to inform other theoretical models of counselling.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Rooted in the academic traditions of psychological investigation, this enables clients to reach back to their earliest experiences of childhood, to identify their "core pain" and to understand how this may affect them in the "here and now". These approaches focus on the relief of uncomfortable symptoms and unsatisfying behaviour patterns, and they aim to help clients to recognise appropriate and inappropriate ways of thinking and relating so that they may live more fulfilling lives.

Consultations
Many people in the UK still feel reticent about seeing a Counsellor and wonder if it can help, and so I offer a free initial consultation where we can meet and talk, and you can ask all the questions that you like without committing yourself to anything.  My clients can either be individuals or couples with, for example, relationship or family problems and they come from all walks of life from labourers to solicitors and housewives, business people and teachers. Because no matter what we do, or how old we are,  . . . sometimes we all need a helping hand.

If you feel that your life is not as you would like it to be and wonder if talking to a counsellor would help, all you need to do is telephone or email to arrange a free initial consultation.  Telephone 01323 638765,  or contact me via email.

Appointments are available in the mornings, afternoons and evenings, including Saturdays.

Empowering      Strengthening      Life Changing