Welcome to Introspective
Counselling & Psychotherapy
A safe and empathic space to explore thoughts, emotions and behaviour
and to reflect upon our relationship with ourselves and others
COUNSELLING & PSYCHOTHERAPY
Hello, I'm Wendy Cummings and I am an Integrative Psychotherapist, Supervisor and Lecturer in London and Hampshire. I offer therapy in person in Winchester, Southampton, Basingstoke and Chelsea and online via Zoom, Skype or WhatsApp video calls.
There are times in our lives when we may feel overwhelmed and powerless. We may have a desire for radical change or to maintain stability right where we already are. When our circumstances feel chaotic we may seek an overall sense of control. Our instinctive ways of managing psychological distress often leads to brief interventions, which in time reduce our sense of self-worth and can result in self-harm.
We can get caught up in the experience, having a limited sense of how to separate from it. Looking at our experiences both in the moment and retrospectively and asking ourselves the right questions can give enormous insight into the emotions we attach to these experiences, helping us to regain control over how we decide those experiences will affect us and what we will do with those experiences in the future.
REALITY
You will be able to talk freely about your thoughts and feelings in confidence.
Therapy is a non-judgemental space in which your experiences will be handled with genuine empathy.
OBJECTIVITY & IMPARTIALITY
Talking with an experienced counsellor who provides impartiality can afford you the opportunity of seeing your experiences from an objective view, when previously engulfed by subjectivity.
OPPORTUNITY
Having a safe space in which to explore your thoughts and feelings can promote your ability to reflect and redress areas of concern, to find solutions and make positive changes which enhance your quality of life.
ABOUT THERAPY
Talking therapies give us the opportunity to explore our experiences introspectively, as though we are an onlooker of our life events past and present. As your counsellor or psychotherapist I will encourage and support you to define and discover how those experiences impact on your behaviour and decisions.
In working in accordance with the BACP (British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy) code of ethics, procedures and the law, you are assured of a warm, caring environment in which you will be supported to experience, explore and frame your thoughts and feelings. You will be provided with a safe space where you will be met with a caring and non-judgemental attitude. The specific type of approach used will depend on your needs and goals in attending therapy.
Where applicable, you will be encouraged to:
- explore the past and how this interacts with the present
- recognise patterns in your behaviour and automatic reactions to problem areas of your life
- look at negative thoughts and behaviours in the here and now and their impact on the quality of your life
- access your resources and promote your strengths to take back control of how you engage in the world.
Identifying where automatic thoughts & feelings trigger reactive behaviours enables us to bring them into awareness and take back control of our actions. This control affords us the opportunity to make changes where we see fit.
People come to therapy for an array of different reasons, including:
Anxiety
Paranoid thoughts
Relationship problems & problems relating to others
Grief, loss or bereavement
Anger Management
Trauma
Stress
Post critical illness or injury
Current & historic abuse
Depression
Self-esteem
Issues relating to sexuality
Addictions
Social difficulties
Panic attacks
Problems with work or retirement
New parenthood
Phobias
Children moving to independence
It can often be difficult to start the process of therapy.
By being here you have already taken one of the biggest steps.
ABOUT ME
I have worked in roles empowering others since I first graduated from University. Following on from years of experience working closely to support individuals, groups and families, I have extended my understanding of the effects of neglect, abuse, trauma and loss in childhood and beyond in training at Masters level in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy.
I chose to specialise in counselling and psychotherapy to increase the intensity and therefore effectiveness of this work placing all my resources into direct work with others, giving them my full focus and undivided attention whilst supporting them in navigating difficult times. Coming from a humanistic - relational approach and informed by Psychodynamic and Cognitive Behavioural theory, my work considers the past as impactful on present thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
One of the main bodies overseeing the accreditation and registration of counsellors in the United Kingdom is the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I am a BACP Registered Counsellor, which means I have met their criteria for qualified and experienced therapists and work in accordance with their ethical framework.
MY LOCATION
I work from private offices located in London and Hampshire.
FEES & AVAILABILITY
Session Fees
Therapy session: £90
£75 (Hampshire)
Session Timing
Therapy sessions are 50 minutes weekly
Cancellation Fee
Cancelled sessions incur a 25% admin fee. Sessions cancelled with less than 48 hours' notice are charged at the full rate
GET IN TOUCH
If you have any queries regarding therapy or wish to make an initial appointment please call me on 07939 901869, email me at contact@introspectivetherapy.co.uk or use the below contact form. If you wish to leave a message please do so providing your preferred method of contact and I will respond accordingly.
FAQs
All efforts are made to ensure that your initial contact is responded to within 3 working days and your first appointment is scheduled within 2 weeks.
Yes, what you talk about in sessions is treated with the upmost confidentiality.
However there are circumstances that will require confidentiality to be broken: when a client is assessed as at risk of either harming themselves or others and certain areas of the law require the appropriate authorities notifying.
Sessions will be 50 minutes, weekly.
Counselling can be long and short term depending on your needs. Should you specifically require short term work for financial or other reasons this can be discussed in more detail during the initial appointment.
Counselling focusses on more immediate concerns over a shorter number of session.
Psychotherapy works with a deeper level of emotional awareness over a longer period working from the origin of the problems.