Welcome to Sue Clayton Counselling
A confidential space to explore the thoughts, feelings and challenges in your life
Welcome, and thank you for visiting. My name is Sue and I am a counsellor based in South London, easily acessible from Wandsworth, Putney, Roehampton, Barnes, Sheen and Richmond.
About Me
I am Sue a qualified experienced Integrative Counsellor/Psychotherapist and a registered member for the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy)
As I am an integrative counsellor, I work with different theoretical approaches. This gives me the ability to tailor the counselling to a client’s individual needs. Together we can explore your situation and needs and make the changes you need to live a more happy fulfilling life. Couselling is not about giving you solutions or advice but empowering you to make your own changes.
I work with people from all walks of life and backgrounds, coming to me with a diverse range of problems. As a fully-qualified counsellor I am a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, and abide by their code of ethics.
Counselling and therapy in a safe, comfortable and private setting
I have been volunteering in a Hospice for the past two years and gained further training and experience counselling people going through loss and bereavement, including complicated grief. I would like to further help anyone going through this most difficult time of their lives. I will offer you a safe space to talk about your feelings around the loss of your loved ones. I have also worked with a low cost agency helping people who would otherwise find it difficult to access counselling. I therefore offer some sessions at a reduced rate depending on your financial situation. There is sometimes a waiting list for these sessions.
I want to help anyone who is struggling with negative emotions and thoughts or going through a difficult period in their life. I will treat you with respect, listen to you and give you a safe, non-judgemental space for you to share what is going on for you.
I believe the counselling relationship is the most important aspect of counselling. Your feelings, thoughts and experiences are precious. It is important that you find the right counsellor for you.
When you are experiencing difficulties, you need your emotions to be acknowledged and understood. Otherwise, these can lead to unwanted and unresolved issues which you may carry on through to other aspects of your life.
What issues can I help with?
People come to me for help with a wide range of problems. Here are a few of the more common difficulties that can be supported through counselling:
Feelings of stress or anxiety
Panic attacks
Relationship problems
Grief, loss or bereavement
Problems with addiction
Trauma and post-traumatic stress
Abuse
Depression
Problems with confidence or self-esteem
Anger management
Issues relating to sexuality
Difficulties at work or in retirement
Problems with family or school life
My location
I am based in South London, easily acessible from Wandsworth, Putney, Roehampton, Barnes, Sheen and Richmond
Fees & availability
Sessions last 50 minutes and are online or by telephone and are usually on a weekly basis.
Sessions are £60 and I also offer concessions to students and people on a low income.
Get in touch
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how counselling works, or to arrange an initial free 20 minute appointment. This enables us to discuss the reasons you are thinking of coming to counselling, whether it could be helpful for you and whether I am the right therapist to help.
You can also call me on 07915 094515 if you would prefer to leave a message or speak to me first. I am happy to discuss any queries or questions you may have prior to arranging an initial appointment.
Some frequently asked questions
Many therapists tend to view Counselling as ‘short-term’ work; when someone has a problem that can be looked at and discussed in a clearly-resolvable way. This work often requires undertaking sessions for a certain number of weeks, to explore, discover and clarify a way forward. Therapy is a word used more to describe ‘long-term’ work; discussion that tends towards substantial issues and things that might be life-changing on a deeper level.
Whether counselling or therapy work best as a short- or long-term option depends on the client though, and the difficulties they are facing. In some cases counselling can prove helpful as a continuing, longer-term option, or therapy can help resolve an issue in just a few sessions.
There’s no fixed or ideal length of time for the counselling process; it varies from person to person and will often depend on the depth of the issues they are facing. While I can work on an open-ended basis with clients, I find it is helpful for us to both agree before we start on undertaking a certian nunebr of sessions and reviewing where we are at once we reach that point. You are able to decide how long your therapy willl last, and in return my aim is to make sure therapy continues for only as long as it is of benefit to you.
This depends on what your needs are. Some people find that after only a very few sessions they have some clarity and focus and are ready to end the therapy. Other people value the ongoing support and relationship with me and will continue to come for weeks, months, or even years. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' when it comes to therapy.
My aim is to offer you a first appointment, known as an assessment session within 1-2 weeks, this is once we receive your completed client pack back. However, waiting times will vary according to pressure on our resources, your own availability and the service you seek.
An appointment to our short term counselling, which is not subsidised, can be offered within about one week.
Confidentiality is one of the main ways in which therapy differs from many other forms of helping - for example, talking to friends or family can rarely offer the same degree of confidentiality as talking to a counsellor. Because of this confidentiality, you will find that - as you get used to coming for therapy - you are freer to talk about whatever you wish to.
No therapist can offer 100% confidentiality: there are some situations where the law requires disclosure of risk (e.g. certain child protection issues) and in common with most other therapists, there are some situations where I may not be able to keep total confidentiality. In particular, if someone tells me that they are thinking of harming themselves in a way that I believe puts them at serious risk, or if someone tells me that they are doing something that could put others at risk, I may not be able to keep such information confidential. However, breaking confidentiality is rare, and only happens after talking to the person concerned.
When you come for counselling it's important that you feel free to talk about whatever is important to you. Sometimes, you may not be clear what those issues are. Having a friend or family member with you is not usually helpful because they may have their own agenda for you. Even if this is just that they want to be supportive, or want you to 'get better', this agenda can prevent us opening issues up. When you come for therapy, you may need to explore thoughts or behaviours about which you feel ashamed or embarrassed and you may censor yourself so as not to hurt someone, or you may find that what they want you to talk about is not really what you need to discuss.
Sometimes, family/friends can even be part of an underlying issue which needs to be aired and discussed. Usually, people who ask this question are nervous about coming for a session alone, or they are anxious for the person who is thinking about arranging sessions. This anxiety is quite normal, and you will not be forced to talk about anything you feel uncomfortable about - but you do need to be able to talk about whatever is important. For this reason, I do not see clients accompanied by friends or family
© Sue Clayton
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