Rate Edward Thomas

My approach

I am passionate about the power of therapy to help improve people's lives and I believe that everyone should have access to talking therapy. I provide Person-Centred counselling based on the Humanistic Existential approach. This mean I believe that you understand your own world best and that it is my job to try to gain an understanding of your world, so that we can work together to gain insights and explore what is important to you.

I aim to use my skills to help you reflect in a way that can often be difficult outside counselling. The therapy is client-led. I am here to provide a safe, non-judgmental space for you to speak and be listened to. This means that you will have lots of space to explore your thoughts and feelings. This could include me making practical suggestions where appropriate or offering challenges at times. My focus though, is to empower you.

My experience

Since qualifying in 2018, I have counselled clients in a wide variety of settings - in organisations, the third sector and private practice. I am also an experienced counselling tutor, and mental health trainer, and have delivered tutoring and mental health courses in colleges and training centres across the country. In addition to my counselling and tutoring roles, I am the counselling coordinator for a large mental health charity.

My training

I hold a CPCAB Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling. I have also completed a Foundation Degree in Counselling and an MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Further study such as this is an important part of my professional commitment to continually improving my practice.

I am committed to undertaking regular training as part of my continuing professional development. I have completed training in online and telephone counselling, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), using CBT skills, as well as courses on a wide variety of other topics. I have completed courses in mental health first aid (MHFA) and applied suicide intervention skills training (ASIST).

What I work with

I have worked hard over the years to build a warm, welcoming practice where all my clients can feel safe, no matter who they are. I believe that good quality counselling is something which everyone should be able to access and this goal remains at the heart of my practice. Whilst I enjoy working to build relationships with every kind of clients, there are a number of areas where I have gained particular experience.

A topic I do a lot of work on with my client is self-esteem. Whilst this is a feature of my work regardless of gender, I have found that many of my male clients find safety in speaking to a male counsellor about this issue. I believe that my person-centred approach, with its focus on the core conditions, helps clients to explore this in a non-judgemental space.

Loneliness is a further area which I work on with many of my clients. Our vulnerabilities to this were considerably more exposed during and in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Lonliness continues to be a big issue for many of my clients and I aim to support them as they grapple with the demands of dealing with a world in which they often feel on their own.

I also work a lot with student counsellors in training. I love the perspective I get from working with the next generation of counselling professionals and believe that sharing my knowledge of theory with them as part of their journey to qualification is something which helps me develop my own practice. This is something that I also see in my work as a counselling tutor - a role which I think improves my counselling skills.

I am also passionate about improving access to counselling for LGBT+ clients. In recent years I have seen my work in this area grow rapidly, as clients seek services where they can be comfortable being authentic. I pride myself on having an inclusive practice which welcomes clients of all gender identities and sexual orientations and in which I provide an LGBT+ affirming experience of counselling.