Hesther Somerville MBACP

THERAPEUTIC COUNSELLING & INTEGRATIVE, TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOTHERAPY

"Psychotherapy from a soulful perspective"

I am an experienced therapeutic counsellor, and am a Member of the BACP (British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy). I work to the standards set by the BACP ethical framework for good practice.  My latest qualification is a post-Diploma in Psychotherapy from a Soulful Perspective, which evolved out of Psychosynthesis and Jungian roots.  My work offers a soulful perspective that honours body, mind and spirit. An integrative approach means I draw on different modalities to reflect on your particular issues and needs.  The modalities I can draw on include: Psychodynamic; Psychoanalytical; Psychosynthesis; Existential; Transpersonal; Mindfulness; Cognitive Behavioural (CBT); Gestalt; Person Centred; Humanistic.

To put it simply, these modalities offer a theoretical backdrop or framework which I can draw on intuitively in response to the individual and unique needs of each client I’m working with: they allow us to work fluidly and creatively in response to what emerges in the therapeutic process.  We will spend time initially getting to know each other, developing trust and rapport so that any creative work that feels appropriate evolves out of this safe and stable foundation in the therapeutic relationship.

Qualifications


I adhere to BACP standards regarding regular professional supervision, and am committed to continuing my professional development and training, which include the following short-courses, workshops and talks:

A Gathering of Stories with Jan Blake, Sharon Blackie, Bayo Amakolafe (Feb.2021); Active Imagination with Marie Beresford (Jan.2021); Black Lives Matter, Re-Vision (Jan.2021); Taking Therapy Outside with Mary-Jayne Rust (2020); Working with Imagination in the clinical setting with Marie Beresford (2020); 'Death Stare' with Nicky Marshall (2020); 'The Night Sea Journey - searching for authentic connection with self and others' with Antonia Boll (2020); Exploring the Divided Brain with Iain McGilchrist (2019);  Polyvagal Theory & Clinical Application (2019); 'The Cognitive Behavioural Tsunami' with Farhad Dalal (2019); 'A Fair Chance in Life' with Sue Gerhardt (2018); Shipwrecks Psychodrama with Nicky Marshall (2018); Myth Enactment - The Story of Orpheus with Joan Crawford and Mary Smail (2018);  Minding the Space: Welcoming the Daimon - a Time Between Two Stories with Chris and Ewa Robertson (2018);  Metaphor Making in the Relational Brain with Susan Mizen (2017); Mid-Life with Joan Crawford (2017); Theseus and the Minotaurand the Perils of Early Ego Development (2017);  Body as Wounding/Body as Healing with Sissy Lykou (2017);  Invisible Disabilities with Andrew Carpenter (2017);  Becoming Conscious Elders with Suzanne Lyn-Cook (2017); Pandora's Box with Lesley Brown (2017); The Fool in Fairy Tales with Antonia Boll (2017);  The Present Moment - Cultivating Embodied Attunement and Empathy with Margaret Landale (2016);  Soul-Searching, Soul-Making, Soul-Breaking Neuroscience, Psychotherapy & the Soul with Iain McGilchrist, Farhad Dalal, Julia Vaughan Smith (2016);  Narcissism and the Alienation of the Self with Jarlath Benson (2016); The Good Life with Graham Music (2016);  Social Dreaming Matrix with Antonia Boll and Nuala Flynn (2016); The Myth of Psyche and Eros with Jarlath Benson (2015); A Child's View of Grief (2015);  Sex, Porn, Repression and Obsession (2015);  Working in Prisons (2014); A Simplified Genogram, Inner Child Growth and Maintaining Boundaries (2013); Sudden and Traumatic Death (2013); Working With Trauma, Based on Principles of Somatic Experiencing (2012); Nature Therapy (2012); Making the Implicit Explicit (2012);  Working With Clients Who Have Experienced Sexual Abuse (2012);  Working With Body Process (2012);  Sandplay Therapy (2011); Safeguarding and Child Protection (2011);  Escape From Depression (2011); ‘Write for Life’ Therapeutic Writing (2011); Working with Substance Misuse (2011); Working with the Gestalt Approach to Dreams (2011); Developing Self-Esteem (2010).