As you know, my name is Sharon and I support recovery and healing from life experiences that have felt overwhelming, deeply impacting, and that have left us feeling negatively about ourselves in some way = trauma.
I am a BACP Registered and Accredited Therapeutic Counsellor, with specialisms in Counselling for Depression and Narcissistic Abuse Recovery.
I am also a certified Somatic Trauma- Informed Coach with a Narcissistic Abuse Specialist ™️
I have undertaken specialist training in working with trauma, symptoms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and Complex PTSD.
Narcissistic abuse recovery is an area of my work that I am passionately invested in as I am also a survivor of this insidious trauma.
Like us all, I am more than just my professional qualifications and I bring who I am at heart, as well as my lived experiences, to my work.
I'm sharing a little here about my story, beliefs and values to help you to decide if we could be a good match ~ working with the right therapist for you is one of the most important parts of your personal healing experience.
Passion, inspiration and connection, are all themes that have likely gone missing for us when we seek counselling or therapy ~ they had certainly gone missing for me.
Now all three of these themes give me a sense of meaning and purpose in my own life, and are inextricably linked to my work and what I offer you.
I really do feel that my own therapy brought me back to life, helping me to start living rather than just existing ~ I hadn't really recognised that I'd become a ghost of myself and I'd existed that way for years.
It can be surprising to realise just how much we can hide from ourselves ~ a survival strategy that can serve us well and yet also keeps us imprisoned and stuck at times.
I truly appreciate the courage it can take to engage with private counselling ~ I've sat in the client's chair and experienced that vulnerability.
I've also experienced effective therapy and not so effective therapy (for me) so please do not give up if your experience of therapy has not yet been what you need.
Post Traumatic Growth is real - We all heal differently, and not everyone will experience the same growth, but it really is possible to thrive after trauma.
Post traumatic growth includes positive changes in relating to others, in appreciation of life, personal strength, new possibilities and in spiritual change.
I wasn't always able to hold onto the possibility of my personal healing, in fact there were times when I feared that I would be haunted by certain experiences forever.
Through my own personal therapy I was able to connect to who I really am and I now celebrate the fact that my life is totally unrecognisable compared to how it used to look.
I feel forever inspired by my clients capacity to heal and grow, and I'm absolutely here to help you to step into YOUR power to heal.
Trauma does NOT have to be a life sentence.
I've come to greatly appreciate the value of integrity, self-respect and self-care. Learning what our own versions of these look like can be both surprising and enlightening ~ it may not be what you think!
I appreciate and respect that we are all different and sadly our differences are often rejected by ourselves.
I value kindness and self-compassion as a powerful resource ~ if we have not been taught how to be self-compassionate, we will naturally struggle with this...this is not our fault.
I value autonomy, personal empowerment and consciously granting ourselves permissions ~ we may experience inner conflict as we unknowingly withold permissions from ourselves and this can be self-limiting.
I value being able to trust our own truth and connect to a sense of personal meaning and purpose ~ if we have learnt not to trust ourselves, we will suffer as a result.
I believe that our experiences can change us, but they do not define who we are ~ a heart-felt and embodied understanding of this really can be a game changer for us.
I qualified as a Therapeutic Counsellor in 2006 and I've been working as a counsellor and clinical supervisor in various settings ever since - public, private and voluntary.
At first my therapeutic work was part time, alongside my role as a Youth Worker.
I held a portfolio lead position in The Dorset Youth & Community Service, managing a county-wide team providing supervision for youth workers and 1:1 mentoring and coaching for 18-24 yr olds.
I also designed and facilitated a personal and social development project for young people in further education within Children's Services, Dorset County Council.
After qualifying as a Therapeutic Counsellor, I counselled in a Women's Refuge, on an unpaid basis for several years, and then moved into working as a High Intensity Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor in various GP surgeries within the NHS.
In addition to my counselling work, I lead 'Pattern Changing' personal development courses for women who had experienced domestic abuse - specialist facilitator training with Dorset County Council & BCHA.
My NHS work spanned 10 years in total and was mostly focused around supporting clients through depression, anxiety and grief.
It was whilst working in the NHS that I gained my specialism in Counselling for Depression, with The Metanoia Institute, London.
Alongside the work above, I founded my private practice in 2007, initially counselling in Weymouth and Dorchester, Dorset.
As both my passion for counselling and my practice grew, I decided to focus on this full time.
My practice is now exclusively online and I offer counselling and trauma therapy sessions via Zoom video across the whole of the UK.
Supporting recovery and healing from narcissistic abuse has become my main specialism and passionate purpose.
I love sunsets and sunrises ~ I'm rarely up early enough to catch the latter and I take far too many photos of sunsets!
I love to be inspired by a good book and to wander by the sea or in nature, especially wrapped up snug and warm on a crisp cold, blustery day ~ there's nothing quite like 'blowing the cobwebs'.
To get lost in a film is a real treat and I love to dance, even if just around my lounge ~ lots would say their kitchen but that's really not my favourite room in the house!
There was a time when I had no idea what I loved, I'd moved so far away from myself that all of this was off my radar. It really is a joy to be able to list these for you here.
If you feel drawn to working with me, send me your message via one of the contact forms and I'll get back to you within 48 hours...please check your spam folder if you haven't heard from me.
I really do look forward to working with you and helping you to discover yourself ~ again or maybe for the first time!
Copyright © 2017 Sharon Nicholson Counselling - All Rights Reserved.
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