Mission statement
My background
I worked for 5 years as a bereavement counsellor for Cruse Bereavement Care Glasgow which gave me a lot of insight into the complexity of loss and bereavement. This led me to work for 2 years as a counsellor in the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow. I helped people there to come to terms with being terminally ill and what that meant to them.
I spent 3 years volunteering for the Tom Allan Centre in Glasgow which was great in terms of getting a lot of experience working with a large variety of issues like stress, anxiety, depression, anger, self-harm and relationship problems.
I also worked 7 years for Victim Support Glasgow which made me appreciate how differently we all respond to life's events. It highlighted to me strongly that we can be deeply affected by seemingly small incidents, not just by big things and that this can severely undermine our confidence and ability to cope.
After Victim Support I worked 4 years as an alcohol counsellor for the Glasgow Council on Alcohol. This work confirmed my suspicion that addiction more often than not is a form of self-medication, a way of masking or dealing with underlying issues. Many people develop addictive or compulsive behaviours in order to cope with past events like abuse, bullying, losses, trauma, and issues like depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem. This led me to train in trauma therapy, because my experience over the years had shown me that normal talking therapies often do not really help to heal the source of the problems people have.
I also worked with groups at the Glasgow Council on Alcohol as a life coach. The courses I ran were designed to help with the underlying issues that cause people to drink. Issues like stress, anxiety, anger, and lack of confidence.
Underpinning and supporting all of my work is extensive training in a great variety of methods as well as over 20 years of Mindfulness practice.
I am an affiliate counsellor with Validium.
My Qualifications
Qualifications:
Certificate in Becoming Safely Embodied 2016
Certificate in Advance CRM and Core Self 2015
Certificate in CBT Toolkit 2014
Certificate in the Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM) 2013
Certificate in Brainspotting (Phase 1 & 2) 2013
Accredited Alcohol Counsellor 2012
Certificate in Psychotherapy and Positive Psychology 2011
Certificate in Coaching 2011
Diploma in Person Centred Therapy (PCT) 2005
Certificate in Bereavement Counselling 2003
Counselling Skills 2002
MA in Critical & Cultural Theory 1995
Other Training
Working with Guilt and Shame (Deirdre Fay) 2016
Becoming Safely Embodied (Deirdre Fay) 2016
Self Empowerment 2014
Working with clients who have experienced Trauma 2014
Trauma Release Exercises & Somatic Experiencing (Introduction) 2013
ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) 2013
Motivational Interviewing 2012
Group Therapy Skills 2012
Mental Health First Aid 2011
Working with Survivors of Sexual Abuse 2010
Support after Sudden and Violent Death 2009
Focusing 2008
Managing Change 2007
Problem Solving 2007
Working with Anger 2004
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a session?
A session usually takes an hour.
If you choose to do trauma therapy we usually need 1.5 hours per session.
Where is your practice?
At present I have a room in Stirling. The address is at the bottom of the page.
Do you do home visits?
I am happy to do home visits for people who have great mobility problems or suffer from agoraphobia.
How much do you charge?
My fee for talking therapy is £50 per hour. For trauma work, which tends to take 1.5 hours, I charge £75. My initial session is free of charge. If you think you cannot afford to pay these fees, talk to me. I am happy to discuss a discount.
Do I have to come weekly?
No, if you find that weekly is too intense for you or not possible because of your lifestyle or finances, I can see you on a fortnightly basis.
We can discuss what suits you best in our initial session.
How many session might I need?
This depends very much on what your issues are, how ready you are to engage and how deeply you want to go into your healing. However, in my experience most people need a minimum of five sessions.
How will I know which approach is right for me?
You can have a look at the page called Trauma. It can help you to determine, if you might suffer from unresolved trauma. We will decide in the initial session which approach is most suitable. However, if in the course of our work together I come to believe that a different approach might be more helpful, I will suggest changing at any of the following sessions. Every six sessions we will review the work we are doing and decide how we proceed from here.
For any other questions or to book an initial free session use the email form at the top of the page or call me on 07801413442.