Wednesday 10 March 2010    

Christabel Butler Phone:  01367 850516 at any time - Confidential answering service available, including weekday evenings and at weekends Email: christabel@cotswoldtalkingtherapies.co.uk Locations: Cirencester & Fairford (Disabled access at Fairford) I offer: Individual gestalt counselling/psychotherapy Couples (relationship) counselling Individual home counselling for the housebound Support for collaborative law clients who are separating/divorcing Training & qualifications Four year Gestalt psychotherapy training with Cambridge GATE (Gestalt Awareness and Training Experience) Couples Therapy Training with Jamie Agar, UKCP Continuing professional development trainings every year, (including annual 3-day residential course) Accredited: UK Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners. UK Council for Psychotherapy (Psychotherapeutic counselling section) Other professional associations: UKRC, BACP,Gloucestershire Network for Counsellors and Psychotherapists Experience I have been working as a gestalt counsellor/psychotherapist for 17 years in private practice. For the past 13 years I have worked also as a volunteer counsellor for Cotswold Counselling, in their centres and in people’s homes. For five years I was the part-time co-ordinator of Cotswold Counselling’s Home Counselling service. My Approach Gestalt is a German word meaning a complete pattern or whole. In gestalt counselling and psychotherapy we consider the whole of a person’s experience and their context, talking about emotions, physical sensations, intellectual concepts and even dreams, to enhance awareness of what is going on. We review situations that are uncomfortable or distressing, communication skills, what is missing and may be needed, and explore the possibilities for choices and change, which may not have been obvious to you. Some areas in which counselling can be helpful are: anxiety/stress; depression; family problems; relationship issues; poor communication (not being heard and understood); issues at work; bereavement; self-confidence; isolation; illness and disability (home visits available for the housebound). Counselling may be short- or longer-term, from a few sessions to a year or more, and is often about current and urgent uncomfortable situations and sensations, and how to make them better. Psychotherapy begins with an agreed number of regular sessions, and to continue entails ongoing commitment of time and energy. The work tends to be on a deeper level and identifies patterns of unsatisfying and unfinished issues. With recognition and acceptance of personal responsibility and awareness of how you interact with others and with situations, you are empowered to make appropriate choices for changes. However the line between counselling and psychotherapy is flexible and mutable, so that often both are happening within our work. We will also explore the way in which we interact together and see how this can throw light on your relationships with other people. Couples counselling/relationship resolution If you have been together for several years and would like to explore the strengths of the relationship, change any discomforts into enhanced connection and increase good communication, three or four sessions (either in Fairford or Cirencester), can add to what you already have and lay down important foundations for a continued future together. Sometimes a relationship becomes stuck in a repetitive unproductive process and fruitful communication breaks down. Couples counselling can help the partners to optimise the best aspects of their relationship and support them to find an appropriate way forward, whatever that may be. However unsettled the situation seems, improved communication will support better negotiation, whether you are trying to stay in or leave a relationship. When children are involved, improved communication skills between the parents and with the children can make a difference to the futures of all concerned. I'm a member of the Gloucestershire Collaborative Family Law Group, working to resolve relationship conflicts between separating couples without resorting to court battles. Collaborative work encourages and supports solutions that consider the needs of both partners/the whole family, particularly the best interests of children. As a group member quotes: "collaborative law promotes workable solutions by attacking the problem and not each other". Home counselling Although generally it is agreed that a neutral venue is the most conducive to fruitful therapy, if this is not possible (because you are housebound), useful support can be given in your home. I have a wide experience of home counselling. There is a charge for travelling, depending on the distance/time. Rates Individual counselling/psychotherapy £40 (1 hour) Couples counselling £62.50 (1 ¼ hours) Home Counselling £40 (1 hour) + negotiated fee for travel time/distance Some concessions can be arranged - when available. I am registered as a provider with some of the major insurance companies so you may be able to reclaim some counselling fees if you have a health, household or other policy.