Working Together to Understand and Grow

It’s challenging to tell you what counselling with me will be like because I can’t say for sure what our relationship will end up being like. What you should always expect from me though are; non judgmental conditions, and a commitment to ethical and professional standards. If you want to, you can book a twenty minute consultation to see how we get on here.

A counselling session can be funny, insightful, challenging, scary and deep. For me, counselling is a shared journey. Each person who comes to me teaches me something new — about resilience, difficulty, hope, and the strength found when we take how we feel seriously. I’ve learned that insight and acceptance can come in unexpected moments. Counselling can be about discovering what’s alive inside you; finding relief from a struggle you’re having; challenging yourself to say the thing that matters; and building a place where you can come and work out what you want from your life.

I love being a person centred counsellor because it enables me to stay with you. I won’t fill the space with advice, guidance and ‘you should’ or ‘you need to’. I leave that to the influencers, colleagues, friends and family members who I’m often told mean well, but who give input that leaves us feeling a little hollow. I want you to be the authority on your own experiences and feelings. I bring all I’ve learned from my own journey and from every person I have met — which is where I get my genuine desire to understand your life on your terms, and my openness to grow alongside you.

My practice as a therapist is underpinned by a COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills from Glasgow Caledonian University and the Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy that I have received from the University of Strathclyde. How I practice is also informed a decade spent working with adults and young people in the charity sector, and my degree in Politics and Social Policy from the University of the West of Scotland - where I thought deeply about how the social pressures that come from our laws, our media and our communities can leave us feeling judged, shamed and isolated from the people around us. I am a registered therapist with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and I’ve delivered over 2,000 counselling sessions.

People that I've worked with have said;

“Jamie put me at ease right away and has given me the space to start exploring my emotional responses. I really feared talking about how I was feeling, but now really look forward to our sessions.”

And:

“Jamie is kind, non-judgmental, and supportive. I’ve had previous therapists who were very neutral and passive—which I understand, but it can feel frustrating. I like that Jamie responds and validates my feelings, and even expresses his own opinion, and at the same time he always checks in with me that his observations are accurate. (They are!)”

Sessions are online via Google Meet or in person at my home in Paisley. I’ll send you a link to my in-person availability if we feel like a match after our consultation. Sessions last about an hour, cost £60 and there’s no limit on the amount of time we can work for.

It is usual for therapists to offer reduced cost sessions. I don’t do that because I spend one day a week volunteering for Hopeful Spaces, the community counselling service that I set up. As well as seeing people there, I manage and support two trainee therapists.