Welcome

Hello. I’m Séan.

No matter what you've been through or are going through, I offer friendly and professional support when understanding and change need time and place.

Referrals via Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) welcome -

My specialist background is in Acquired Brain Injury issues. If you have a brain injury you may be thinking counselling is not for you because of the tricky ways your brain is working. Even so, you may still be feeling a need to share things with someone in confidence. There are different sorts of counselling. Finding the counsellor who is right for you is important.

If you feel you would like to speak to me, please get in touch. I may be unable to answer my phone straight away, but if you leave a message I will get back to you as soon as I can. Or you can email me, letting me know how best to contact you - for example, telling me you'd like me to phone you, and the best time to do so. I will do my best to answer any question.

About Me

I am someone who has grown up with cerebral palsy, a brain injury due to complications at birth. For me it has meant weakness down my right side, difficulties with walking and general co-ordination. I have never been wheelchair bound and have always been academically minded. So throughout childhood and now others do not easily see my difficulties, and of course, not everyone understands.

In 2005 I became a Support Worker for Headway (Norfolk & Waveney), a charity supporting not only those who have acquired a brain injury but their carers and loved-ones too. My experience has gained me an insight into their own emotional costs and strains, and the complex upheavals to the lives of all those involved. Coming to terms with the many fears that arise is as much part of rehabilitation as re-learning and discovering new ways of doing things.

Listening to the bereavement, anger, anxiety, relationship difficulties, exhaustion, guilt and low self esteem as experienced by others, the more I felt drawn to counselling.

Since 2007, I have furthered my counselling training and practice around other concerns, including victims of crime. I am currently trained to Post Graduate level having earned that particular qualification in 2011 and am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

I offer face-to-face long-term and short-term counselling. This is in a safe environment to mainly individual clients. Couple counselling agreements may be discussed at an introduction session if requested, with both parties present.

My group workshops are aimed at fellow professionals, though this may change.

Acquired Brain Injury

A lot of things can lead to brain injury. Problems may not always be physically obvious. Most often survivors are left struggling with "invisible" problems less likely experienced by other clients. Professional or friend or family member, if you are a carer these can equally affect you especially where there is lost awareness of the effects they have on you and others. Here are some examples of the types of problems associated with brain injury:-

• Long-term memories of a life that was and little or none of the short-term memory needed to cope with life here and now
• Difficulties "reading people"
• Strong emotions and new and unexpected behaviour making survivors and those around them question who they've become and how much of the familiar self is still there.
• Communication
• Fixed opinions and methods
• Managing daily routines and deadlines
• Prejudice
• Other external pressures

Testimonials

Counselling It was a great help talking to someone I trusted, who understood my moods and behaviour & was able to talk everything through. I found that many medical professionals do not really understand head injuries and their effect on your life. C.P. Speaking to Séan helped my husband greatly. Both myself and my children have noticed changes for the better following his sessions. A.P. Following an attack I was left with brain damage, the consequences of which were post traumatic stress disorder, agoraphobia and acute anxiety. Now I am not great at talking about myself but thanks to Séan's patient calm manner, he was able to help me no end. Thank you Séan. K.G. It was good to be able to talk about my situation now rather than how it was. Séan helped me to feel more positive about my situation and to live with it rather than try to change it. J.S. Séan is a very good, patient and helpful counsellor, tolerant, and an excellent listener. He has helped me enormously. J.S. I am pleased to say [my husband] decided to stay and keep trying. Our counselling has had a positive effect, so thank you for being brilliant at your job, Séan. You are well worth the praise. A.O. Sean is a great, patient listener who allowed me to open up freely about how I was feeling. D.P.

Workshops Inspiring and informative. S.B. I especially liked it when you made the link for how and why focusing could be helpful to those with brain injury and when you gave examples from your experience in practice. Your explanations of brain functions were clear and simple. They were much easier to take in and make sense of than anything I have seen before. C. Thank you for an interesting and informative morning. C.M.

Our Agreement

I do not oblige clients to have a written agreement of how we will work together. I am nevertheless aware that some clients find formality reassuring. The following represents in writing the terms of our verbal agreement for counselling.

1. Your dignity and equality is regarded positively and unconditionally in every respect.
2. In accordance with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy's Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions, and the Law, what you choose to deal with in counselling will be listened to in confidence and in a safe environment. This means I may seek additional assistance if I consider you are at imminent risk of harming yourself or someone else. This will normally be done with your consent unless the circumstances prevent this, in which case I will, where appropriate, endeavour to inform you as soon as possible about what I've communicated and to whom.
3. I have regular sessions with a counselling supervisor. This is to enhance the quality of counselling I offer. During supervision I may discuss matters arising from my work with you but will not name you.
4. My standard fee is £40 per 1-hour session. ("1 hour" is accepted to mean 50 minutes with additional time no longer than 10 minutes as felt needed.)
5. Appointments shall be weekly and subject to review every 6 sessions.
6. I will keep paper based, basic records such as contact details, as well as essential session notes. These will be secured under lock and key and will continue so for seven years after the end of your counselling. At the end of this time, these documents will be shredded. You have a right to see your case notes by request at any time up until their destruction. Records may be "weeded out" periodically to remove information that no longer serves a therapeutic purpose and does not form part of a brief factual record of our working together.
7. Any communication of information about our work together for research or training purposes requires your explicit consent. If I believe aspects of your case would benefit the profession, I shall seek your consent in writing at that time. Choosing to withhold the details of your case will in no way affect the quality of service you receive.
8. If it becomes apparent at any time that some other form of counselling could possibly benefit you more, I will discuss this with you and will try to help you obtain it. In the event of referring you to a different therapist, communication of case records may be requested. If so I shall seek your consent in writing at that time.

Workshops

These are offered in the workplace or at CPD Group meetings to a minimum eight people. Why? Because the numbers game isn't always about safety, it can be about having fun. Having fun is always the best way to learn.

"Introduction to Counselling Survivors of Acquired Brain Injury"

A presentation and workshop covering:

• Basic information on the physiology of the mind,
• Causes of brain injury,
• Its consequences,
• Research regarding the relationship between brain plasticity and talking therapies.

Length: 3 Hours.