Jane Straw

Do you feel stuck or struggling to make sense of how you are feeling?

Hello, I am glad you have found me and made your first step towards therapy.

You may find yourself unable to cope at times. I can offer that safe space to focus on you and help to find a way through anxieties or concerns you may wish to discuss in therapy. I am a qualified teacher with 20 years’ experience of working with young people and studied part time to retrain and become a qualified Counsellor and develop my practice.

An inspiring quote by Dalai Lama once said:

"Calm minds bring inner peace and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health”

This resonates with me because our mental health is incredibly important to our well-being and our perceptions of the world we live in.

I am a person centered counsellor, so our sessions together are led by you. I am also a member of BACP and guided by their ethical framework.

I know that searching for a counsellor can be unnerving especially when you may feel overawed with angst or tension; despondent, grieving or struggling with relationship disputes. I recognise how that feels and the complications that may follow.

I offer a fifteen minute no obligation call during which time, I will introduce myself and you can determine what you want to focus on and what to expect from our sessions together. I believe that the relationship between a counsellor and client is fundamental to the counselling process. Choosing the right counsellor for you is key to our work together. Together we will work with whatever is concerning you, I will support you to help you find a greater understanding, clarity, and peace of mind.

Counselling

Who I work with

I have experience working with clients, children and young people and couples.

How I deliver sessions

I offer 50 minute sessions online or telephone. My hours are flexible and I also offer limited weekend sessions to suit you. Ask for further information.

First session and what to expect

This will be a chance for you to ask any questions or concerns that you may have. We can explore together the difficulties you may be experiencing and help you feel supported.

Online Counselling

This is a popular and flexible way of attending counselling appointments suited to you at your time and safe place.

Individual therapy

I offer short- and long-term counselling for individuals experiencing difficulties such as loss or bereavement; depression; feeling ‘stuck’ or overwhelmed with feelings or emotions you may not comprehend or perhaps your physical health has altered and wish to discuss and try to make sense of these at your pace.

How can therapy help you?

Counselling is a talking therapy which offers you a suitable safe time and space to talk to a professional therapist. I won’t judge you, only help you understand yourself better and help resolve any complicated feelings you may have or help you find coping strategies to live with them. I can help you recognise your unhelpful negative patterns of thinking and find ways to change them (if you want to).

What counselling is not

Counselling is not giving you advice or influencing your own attitudes, values or beliefs. You are the expert on yourself.

Misconceptions about counselling

Counselling is only for severe problems:

Yes, counselling can help you through traumas or life issues but those are not the only situations where counselling can help you. Often, we need someone unbiased to listen to how we feel especially when you may feel you’re not quite yourself and are unsure why.

Counselling is a sign of weakness.

We are all unique and counselling is not going to be the same for everyone. Counselling will give you support, new perspectives and ways of coping when things don’t go to your plan. Counselling is empowering when you can talk about your feelings and emotions with a trained, qualified unbiased Counsellor who offers unconditional positive regard and listens empathetically.

Once I start counselling, I will be doing it forever

The number of sessions you require will vary and depend on such factors as: severity of your issue time you need to self-manage how long you’ve been dealing with the issue

Counsellors will judge or blame me

Every event in your life is unique. Your therapy will be guided by you and the episodes of life that you want to focus on e.g. past, present or future. Your past events, environment and the people around you have helped shape the person you are now. Counselling is non-judgmental and is not about assigning blame to anyone, instead it’s learning about the importance of a positive mental wellbeing with a healthy relationship with yourself and others in your life.

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£ 45

per session

Couples: £50.00

Telephone
Google Meet
Microsoft Teams
Skype
Whatsapp
Zoom

Therapies Offered

Training, qualifications & experience

I am conscientious and acknowledge the importance of UpToDate continued professional development and changing research and theories. I regularly attend personal supervision training workshops to enhance my practice.

I hold a Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling and I am a member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) adhering to their Ethical Framework.

I have experience of counselling clients at two different charities since 2021 working with client issues ranging from anxiety, bereavement, emotional and domestic abuse and feelings of low self-worth that comes with this type of abuse. Eating disorders and Adverse Childhood Trauma; agoraphobia; hoarding; suicidal ideation; bereavement etc.

BSc (Hons) degree
Master’s degree
CPCAB Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies (CST-L3)
CPCAB Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills (CSK-L2)
Registered Member BACP (MBACP)
Post Graduate Certificate Education
Qualification in online and telephone therapies. (Counselling tutor 2021)
Child and young people’s Counsellor
Applying theories of grief to practice. BACP
Body Image and Perception. First Steps Eating Disorders
Domestic Abuse. BACP
Eating Disorders in Men and Boys. First Steps Eating Disorders
Exercise Addiction. First Steps Eating Disorders
Making sense of Autism. First Steps Eating Disorders
Mental Health First Aid. MFHA, England
Online and telephone Counselling. Open University
Safeguarding Children, Level 2 and Level 3. Flick Learning
Safeguarding Adults and young people, Level 3. Flick Learning
Trauma-informed interventions for Therapsists. Counselling Tutor
Unconscious bias. Flick Learning
Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. Flick Learning
Understanding Autism, Asperger’s & ADHD. University of Derby
Understanding Autism, Asperger’s & ADHD. ADHD Foundation

Experience to date

I am experienced and currently work with children and young people as a qualified school teacher for over 20 years.

I am continually updating my knowledge and experience as part of continual professional development (CPD) E.g. Adverse Childhood Experiences; Eating disorders; Trauma informed behaviour.

“We cannot change, we cannot move away from what we are, until we thoroughly accept what we are.
Then change seems to come about almost unnoticed.”
– Carl Rogers

Areas of counselling I deal with
Abortion	Abuse	Addiction
ADHD	Adoption counselling for adults	Affairs and betrayals
Alcoholism	Anger management	Anorexia nervosa
Antisocial personality disorder	Anxiety	ARFID
Asperger’s syndrome	Attachment disorder	Attachment disorder in children
Autism	Avoidant personality disorder	Behaviour problems
Bereavement	Binge-eating disorder	Bipolar disorder
Blended family	Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)	Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
Bulimia nervosa	Bullying	Burnout
Cancer	Career counselling	Carer support
Child counselling	Childhood bereavement	Childhood bullying
Children’s learning difficulties	Chronic illness	Depression
Depression and anxiety in children	Disabilities	Discrimination
Dissociation	Domestic abuse	Dyslexia
Dyspraxia	Eating disorders	Emotional abuse
Family issues	Feeling sad	Gender dysphoria
Health anxiety	HIV/AIDS	Hoarding
Jealousy	Learning difficulties	Learning disabilities
LGBTQ+ counselling	Loneliness	Low self-confidence
Low self-esteem	Menopause	Mental health
Money	Narcissistic abuse	Narcissistic abuse
Neurodiversity	Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)	Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Older people’s counselling	Panic attacks	Paranoia
Perfectionism	Phobias	Physical abuse
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)	Postnatal depression	Racism
Redundancy	Relationship problems	Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Self-harm	Separation and divorce	Separation anxiety
Sexual abuse	Sexual assault	Smoking
Social anxiety	Stress	Suicidal thoughts
Trauma	Work-related stress	Young carers
Young people’s counselling

Get in Touch

I am happy to answer any queries you may have.

FAQs

What is counselling?

Counselling involves talking to a trained therapist about your feelings and emotions. The therapist supports and helps you to unpick those thoughts and feelings. It gives you a space to talk freely, without judgment.

How can counselling help me?

As a counsellor, I can support and help with a wide range of mental health and emotional issues.

How many counselling sessions will I need?

In my practice, I offer as many counselling sessions as you feel you need.

How often will I need counselling sessions?

The frequency of sessions can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly whatever your requirements.

What happens in a counselling session?

I offer a safe space where we can unpick your issues confidentially.

What will I be asked in my first counselling session?

What has brought you to therapy today?

How are you feeling?

What will counsellors be looking for during therapy session?

Body language e.g eye contact, facial expressions, your posture and positioning of your hands, arms and legs.

What questions will be asked in counselling sessions?

I ask questions to clarify my understanding of what you may be feeling using more open questions which allow you to say more than ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

What questions can I expect at the end of the counselling sessions?

I may ask you:

What you have learned about yourself?

What was helpful to help you cope during therapy?

What support group have you got to help you when you leave therapy?

How will you managing your self care?

How will you manage changes?

Is counselling expensive?

Counselling sessions are priced at £45.00 for individual sessions and £50.00 for couples. I do offer concessions and these will be £30.00.