Psychotherapists and counsellors help by inviting open dialogue and by empowering a person to resolve the difficulties in their life. Being able to talk things through with professional guidance and support makes a huge and positive difference.

People come because they want to feel better, to grow or to change something about themselves. We meet and talk about what you would like for yourself and we plan how you can achieve this.

Through the sessions people build an awareness of their short and long term behaviour patterns, the major influences in their life and how these have affected them. They learn about their strengths, explore what change is possible and how they can make this change. With empathy and support people make better choices for themselves.

Couples come for counselling when they need support with, or want to improve, their relationship. The purpose of couples work is to create an environment of mutual respect and growth in which each individual endeavours to be satisfied.

Couples work can cover many areas within the relationship, such as communication, conflict, money, sexuality, addiction, parenting, step-parenting, intimacy, listening skills, etc. The sessions can transform how each person is present in the relationship, both with themselves and with their partner. Couples learn that there are possibilities and ways of talking with each other which make a difference.

Counselling can also support the transition of a relationship coming to an end when each individual wants good future relations.

Relate can help anyone who is distressed or experiencing difficulties as a result of a relationship problem, whether current or past and works with you and/or your partner whether you are married or not, and regardless of ethnic origin, faith or sexual orientation.

A relate counsellor will offer a suportive environment to help you understand your relationship and feelings and how to make improvements. They are specially trained to work with past childhood abuse, affairs, mental health issues and domestic violence.

As an independent charity Relate receives very little direct financial support so there is a charge for each session. This charge varies according to your income and in certain circumstances we may be able to offer a subsidy for a limited number of sessions.

Call 01823 390118 for more information.

relate services

Talking through family issues within a safe and contained environment can provide families with the support they need to function better, communicate more effectively and learn how to handle issues of concern within the family.

Children and teenagers often struggle with their emotions and can benefit from the care of professional help to deal with difficult feelings and behaviours which may be alienating them from their families, peer groups and producing, for them, feelings of low self esteem.

It can be helpful for children to talk about their feelings or, for younger children, explore their experiences through the familiarity of play or drawing.

The women’s group is for women who want more from their relationships, both with themselves and with others. Having your story witnessed and heard by a group can be a profound, and for many, a first experience. The gift of group work can be the personal learning from other women’s stories, and the magic that happens when women come together to tell their stories and work on their issues.

Couples are introduced to effective communication structures designed for improving relationships. The group runs for six weekly sessions of one and a half hours. It is a structured group, confidential and limited to four couples. The group enhances couple communication by highlighting important areas of communication, good will, listening, anger, and negotiation.

Working together, sharing experiences, learning more satisfying ways of being in your relationship. This group is for couples who have worked with Jane Gotto.

Providing professional mentoring for people at work (employed), people dealing with issues of unemployment and redundancy and in business (Director, Manager, self-employed) to improve confidence and motivation.

• Are you stuck in a rut and need someone to explore the possible changes you can make in your working life (e.g. promotion, different work, complete change of environment) and to support your move forward?

• Do you need practical support with a CV, Application Forms (maybe the dreaded “why do you want this job/promotion” question), Interview Skills etc? Are you facing Redundancy or Retirement and need to evaluate your options?

• Are you studying and find it difficult to keep to deadlines and plan around everything else that is going on?

• Do you need support with management or supervision skills in your workplace?

Mentoring will help you develop an action plan which will allow you to:

• explore and acknowledge your potential to succeed gain confidence in your ability to achieve your goals;

• progress in a positive and meaningful way restore the balance of life and work so that it does not feel like a constant struggle.

How long will I be Mentored for?

An initial session of one hour, during which time we can explore what it is you need, in order to achieve the changes you may want to make – be these practical changes or changes in the way you interact with colleagues, managers or social situations.

Mentoring usually takes place over 12 sessions, the first eight will be weekly and then we will move to fortnightly for three sessions with the last session following on a month later.

Mentoring is especially helpful for:

• Difficulties in Role Change
• Management and Supervision of others
• Seeking a change of work
  (Evaluate options, CV’s, application forms, interview skills)
• Studying and Exam Anxiety
• Self Confidence in dealing with Social Situations

Through sensitively paced assessment together relevant information is explored in consideration for a clinical diagnosis of an Autistic Spectrum Disorder, including Asperger Syndrome. Specialist sessions aim to help parents understand their child’s difficulties and behaviours. The individualised use of specialist approaches is explored to help parents feel more effective with their child and to improve family relationships. Follow up support and therapy is also available working towards strategies for skills development and for managing difficult behaviours.

The death of someone close is an experience we all have to face at some time in our lives. Family and friends can support us in our process of coming to terms with our loss. Sometimes, however, we are overwhelmed with feelings of desolation, guilt or anger or even accepting the reality of the death. A death can trouble us with unresolved issues in our relationships. We may feel we are ‘going mad’. Many people describe great difficulty with concentration and memory, poor sleep, physical ill-health or pain.

Specialist bereavement counselling will help you to understand the grieving process better and to work through unresolved issues in order to help you find your own way through your grief.

Bereaved children sometimes behave in ways adults do not expect. Our specialist counselling can help you to understand and support your child. We also work with individual children themselves, using a range of appropriate creative activities in order to help them with their grief.

The Terrace also runs workshops for professionals (e.g teachers, solicitors, medical professionals) whose work brings them into contact with bereaved adults or children. These can be arranged here or in your workplace.

The bereavement group offers its members the opportunity to meet with other bereaved people for mutual support. It can be very helpful to talk through issues with others who are also grieving following the death of someone close. Participants find comfort not only in receiving the support of others, but in finding that they can offer it, too. New friends are often made.

Participants have often described their experience in a bereavement support group as being the ‘turning point’ for them in finding a happier way forward in their lives.

Confidentiality is important for members to feel safe to explore feelings together. Annie runs the group and facilitates sensitive and supportive feedback. Each participant would meet with Annie individually before joining the group to discuss details.

CBT is one of the most effective therapies for many areas of psychological distress and aims to identify and change unhelpful patterns of thoughts or behaviours which may have their roots in past experience and is an effective treatment for conditions especially when anxiety or depression is prominent. CBT uses a gradual and structured approach to develop more positive thoughts and patterns of behaviour and improve the way you feel.

CBT can also be used with children.

Mediation is designed to ease the process of separation and divorce. It is not a marriage guidance service and does not seek to keep couples together. Family mediation helps couples (whether married or not) to discuss and resolve any issues connected with the separation or divorce in a thoughtful and co-operative way. Mediation aims to improve communication and reduce bitterness – and consequently benefits any children involved.

You will be encouraged to seek legal advice at an appropriate time, but using mediation reduces the time and cost of going to two separate solicitors from the outset and asking them to negotiate a settlement on your behalf. Mediation is much less stressful and upsetting than a fight in court.

The mindfulness stress reduction programme (MBSR) is designed to help you learn new ways of managing difficult physical sensations, feelings and moods and to live life more in the present moment.

The core skill that you will learn is mindfulness meditation, a way of paying attention, on purpose, non judgementally to what goes on in the present moment in your body, mind and the world around you. Mindfulness can enable you to see things differently. It can increase your sense of personal confidence, of having more options and more strength to face the different challenges in your life.

Mindfulness has been widely researched and is used to help people manage anxiety, depression, stress, chronic pain and chronic conditions. People come for a range of reasons; to help them deal with pain, emotional difficulties, stress, chronic health conditions or just to slow down and live life more in the present moment.

Supervision provides a fundamental support system for professionals working one to one with clients or with groups. Its function is to create an environment to discuss the therapeutic relationship in a confidential setting.

Supervision is an essential part of running a professional practice, with support for the individual being vital in the area of working one-to-one with clients.

Supervision focuses on who you are as a professional and looks at what you would like to achieve and how you can do this, as well as working with the therapeutic process of the work. Supervision reduces isolation and increases a sense of being part of a system where the professional is ‘held’ in their work.

Providing companies and organisations with mediation and group or individual development working with people at all levels of the organisation. The focus of the work is to improve relationships, resolve conflicts and increase group function. Working with groups, pairings and individuals who want to function better or wish to develop themselves.

The Lightning Process is a 3 day training programme with ongoing follow up support, combining aspects of NLP, lifecoaching, physical / posture exercises to enable people to retrain their neural pathways so that they stop firing up destructive patterns and relearn to fire up healthy patterns instead.

The Lightning Process is particularly well known for the results it achieves with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Post Viral Fatigue, Fibromyalgia and Burnout because it teaches people to turn off the dysfunctional autonomic nervous system which is keeping them trapped in Fight and Flight response. It is equally successful with anxiety, panic attacks, stress responses and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Many people, such as in Tinker’s testimonial, use it to overcome depression or any other destructive pattern such as jealousy, co-dependency, compulsion or unhelpful habits.