Find a Counsellor in Portishead

Hello and welcome. I’m Ingrid. I am an experienced practitioner working in Portishead and central Bristol. I hold a Diploma in Integrative Transpersonal Counselling and a postgraduate certificate in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Please see my website https://ingridmurphycounselling.co.uk or below for more information about my approach. Don't hesitate to get in touch for an initial reduced cost session to find out whether you’d like to work with me. If it turns out I am not the right person for you it may still be a good opportunity to explore what type of help would best meet your needs. Deciding to come to counselling takes courage. The process of counselling can help hidden parts of you to find a voice, a voice that may have been lost long ago to bravery and silence through shame, guilt and fear. Just turning up may be a big step. Sometimes we do not understand why we are feeling rageful, fearful, low, lost, or lacking in meaning. We may feel very unsure. Sometimes we know there are things in the recent or more distant past that we need to acknowledge and come to terms with in order to move forward in life. Difficult times, especially in early life, can leave us with communication problems, depression, anger outbursts or panic attacks, self harm, addiction, eating disorders and more. Times of crisis and uncertainty can be a turning point but some things must fall away to give space for new growth. What does this mean for you I wonder? What is your soul calling for? Psychotherapy in its original Greek means ‘care of the soul’. ‘What is soul?’ you may ask. Some say soul has to do with the way we make sense of life, the process of meaning-making, of sifting through what matters in our life. We often feel ashamed of the symptoms of psychological distress. We call them pathological. What if we thought of our ‘psychopathology’ as our soul’s suffering (psyche’s pathos) trying to find meaningful expression (logos)? Perhaps it would be a kinder way of thinking about ourselves, and a more fruitful one. My approach My aim is for us both to develop a compassionate understanding of your needs and difficulties and to find the way through together. Words alone cannot always convey the truth of your experience. I work with imagery and pay attention to how emotions may be held in the body. Integrative: My training and my approach is ‘integrative’ in that I draw on a range of therapeutic traditions and models rather than just one, as different perspectives can be helpful at different times for different people. The word ‘integrative’ also speaks of the process of counselling. There is always a repression of some parts of ourselves. Much of the time that may not be an issue, but when we are in emotional difficulty it is often these parts of the self that need to be given attention. We will seek to locate the silenced parts within and to given them a voice. Embodied: Where we have experienced trauma, this tends to be held in the body. We will therefore be working to integrate what is held in the body as well as the mind. Transpersonal: My approach is also ‘transpersonal’. This recognises that our psyche is moulded not only by our childhood but by a stream of influences: ancestral, social, cultural and environmental. It recognises that we are all part of a larger whole and so allows for the importance of nature, spirituality, and the urges of our soul. Dreams & imagery: There are many doorways into the psyche. The trick is to find the paths that work for you. Our split-off unconscious parts often speak through imagery, metaphors, or bodily sensations. We will work with what arises for you through images and dreams as well as words. Relational: We may pay attention to what arises between us relationally as this can offer a window onto significant relationships in the world. Most importantly we will work to establish a space which is safe and supportive enough for this journey of exploration. I hope to have the privilege of accompanying you on your journey.