Blossom Counselling

Integrative trauma, anxiety and bereavement counsellor, ONLINE AND NEAR BANBURY

CALL 07973131726
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About Me

My name is Sarah Dean and I am a counsellor providing both short- and long-term therapy to anyone aged 13+. I am a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) which is regulated by the Professional Standards Authority and I abide by their rules of Ethical Practice.

I also offer counselling by telephone or online, using Skype or Zoom. For ability challenged or persons within a care home, we could explore the possibility of a home visit.

We all experience times of difficulty in our lives, when events or relationships feel overwhelming, or we can feel a loss of direction or purpose. Talking to a trained professional helps us make sense of those challenging times and offers a way through them, moving towards a better understanding of ourselves and our feelings.

Before becoming a counsellor, my childhood and adolescenthood was spent living in different countries. I returned from the USA and trained to be a secretary which led me to all sorts of places and experiences. Whilst this transition into early adulthood was hard, for me it remains a gift. Although I specialise in helping people who are struggling with trauma, bereavement and anxiety, my commitment to ongoing training means that I can help with any issue that you may be facing. Please see my ‘Issues I help with’ section for more information.

Qualifications & Experience

Qualifications
  • NCFE Level 3 Certificate: Counselling Skills and Theory
  • NCFE Level 2 Certificate: Award in Helping Skills
  • Edexcel Diploma Level 5 in Therapeutic Counselling
  • Richmond Adult Community College, West London, 2011 - 2014
Experience
  • 2017 to date - self employed at Blossom Cottage. Enabling people with abandonment, anxiety, perfectionism, anger, abuse, bereavement/loss, confidence and relationship issues, bullying, school, peer and parental pressures, self harm, suicidal thoughts and ideation, trauma (particularly since lockdowns), relationship issues, sex and sexuality, confusion, loss of identity and human development
  • Cruse, Oxford - Bereavement Volunteer - 2016 - 2017, I enabled people within their homes who were missing their loved one(s) ie a child, baby, adolescent and spouse.
  • Banbury Therapy Centre - January 2015 - 2017 - private practice and self employed. Here, I enabled adolscents and adults experiencing many life challenges including Domestic Violence, low self esteem, confusion, loss/bereavement, anxiety, anger, identity. depression, relationship issues. Here, I became a vehicle of change for them.
  • Youthline, Bracknell, 2014 and 2015 - as a counsellor in training I enjoyed (having been an adolescent once myself!) listening to their stories where family, school and friendship groups wobbled. I was honoured that they kept on coming back to see me week after week during term time.
  • Bereavement Services Hounslow, London, 2013 - 2014. My second placement working with adults in bereavement - oh the stories they shared and how they were a in human developmental stages. The anger, sadness, feeling bereft, alone, isolated because they were anxious of their own ending and passing away and some asked What will I leave behind.
  • Teens and Toddlers, Children Our Ultimate Investment, COUI (UK), London, September 2011 - 2013 . My first placement as a counsellor in training. The adolescdents were at risk of NEET (not in education, employment, nor training) due to their family systems where they witnessed and experienced Domestic Violence, peer, family and school pressures, their identity, never being good enough, judged and these adolescents had a kaleidoscope of issues.


Continued Professional Development
  • Working with Anger and Young People, Nick Luxmoore 2023
  • Understanding Mother-Daughter Attachment, Rosjke Hasseldine, October 2022
  • All clients are Heroes, Stefan Charidge, July 2022.
  • The Red Herring - How the mind can’t control the body, Shauna Quigley, July 2022.
  • Ice Cream for Breakfast - Laura Jane Williams, June 2022.
  • The Penny Model - Stefan Charidge, June 2022.
  • Working with Boarding School Survivors, May 2022.
  • Feel the fear and do it anyway - Susan Jeffers, May 2022.
  • The Myth - explaining the truth about Attention Deficit Disorder, OCD, Dyslexia, ADHD, Dyspraxia and other conditions - Do not exist - Robin Pauc, May 2022.
  • Introduction to Working with Boarding School Survivors, Karen Macmillan and Sara Warner, May 2022.
  • Working with Hopelessness and Powerlessness, Geoff Hopping, 29 March 2022.
  • Overcoming Powerlessness and Unworthiness - Geoff Hopping, March 2022.
  • Working with Archetypes, Stefan Charidge, January 2022.
  • Down the Rabbit Hole, Stefan Charidge aka the Metaphor Man and author of The Penny Model, January 2022.
  • Gestalt Theory, Stefan Charidge, December 2021.
  • Fear and Trauma, Stefan Charidge and author of The Penny Model, September 2021.
  • Post pandemic thriving: using neuroscience to build resilience and harness our strengths
  • Children and young people's mental health: Critical insights and a vision for the future, Barnados, Pesi UK, May 2021.
  • Exploring the future of counselling and psychotherapy in a post pandemic world, Pesi UK, May 2021.
  • Fire Starting - Adolescents: what makes them do it? BACP, July 2021.
  • The current mental health landscape: individual and community recovery, Janine Fisher, Pesi UK, May 2021.
  • Grief and Loss, finding meaning as we heal individually and collectively, Julia Samual, Pesi UK, May 2021.
  • Key insights into recovery from stress and trauma related disorders, Paul Farmer, Mind, Pesi UK, May 2021.
  • Recovery from stress and trauma related disorders, Janina Fisher, Pesi UK, May 2021
  • Prolonged Grief Disorder and Complex Grief, BACP, May 2021.
  • Working with Communities in a pandemic world, BACP chairman, May 2021.
  • Outdoor Therapy, Sean Tierney, Glasgow, 2021.
  • The Power of Vulnerability, Brene Brown, February 2021.
  • Depression, Stefan Charidge, November 2021.
  • The creation of a sovereign with a client and stopping the trauma, Stefan Charidge, October 2021.
  • Working with Shame, Carolyn Spring of PODS, Birmingham, 2020.
  • Dangerous Desire: Psychodynamics of Addiction, Riverside Counselling Service, Henley-on-Thames, 2019
  • Working with Gender Diverse Children & Young People - Gloucestershire Counselling Service, Stroud, 2019
  • Supporting Women through the Menopausal Transition - Riverside Counselling Service, Henley-on-Thames, 2019
  • Working with Dreams, Recurrent Childhood Nightmares in Psychotherapy & Counselling - Riverside Counselling Service, Henley-on-Thames, 2019
  • Photographs & Therapy When a client hands you their phone, Riverside Counselling Service, Henley-on-Thames, 2018
  • Psychopharmacology and Therapy - an uneasy relationship, Banbury Therapeutic Training, 2018
  • Working with the Anxious Client, Banbury Therapeutic Training, 2017
  • Understanding and Working with Pregnancy Loss, Banbury
  • Therapeutic Training, 2016 Bereavement Support Group facilitation, Cruse, Oxford,2016
2014 and 2015 - Nick Luxmoore
  • Young People and the meaning of Self Harm and Depression
  • Young People, Sex and Sexuality
  • Young People and the meaning of Self Esteem
  • Shame and Self-harm
London Therapy Foundation, 2015
  • Introduction to CBT
  • Working with Chronically Depressed Patients
  • Working with Male and Female Victims of Domestic Violence
  • Working with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence
  • Understanding Trauma and PTSD

©2023 Sarah Dean

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