Julie Proudley

The heart of my psychotherapy service is person-centered and I aim to create a friendly, safe space to explore whatever is currently affecting you at your own pace. Creating a safe, regular space for someone ( particularly if they have a clear goal and intention) creates a powerful transformation space in itself. On top of this my approach and training is integrative which means that I can suggest different approaches and strategies to support you in moving through your issues and towards your goal which can include working on the mental, behavioural, emotional and spiritual levels depending on what you feel comfortable with. I work with all kinds of issues from shorter-term goal-orientated issues relating to specific circumstances to more open-ended deeper work looking at more chronic issues with repeating patterns or those causing ingrained feelings such as anxiety, depression, feeling lost or loss of identity. The aim is to support transformation of your issues through deeper awareness on all levels, going back to the root causes, supporting deeper self-acceptance, understanding and compassion as well as reviewing and letting go of old patterns, beliefs and ideologies that may no longer be serving you. I believe the challenges and stresses of life, be they physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual, can often be the triggers that give us the chance to really look at our life and what we want to change as well as a chance to deepen our relationship to ourselves. My passion is to support the awakening of the authentic self. We all have created distractions, defences, masks, and personas in our life in order to cope with past traumas, challenges, and beliefs about living in the world. These would have served us well at one point but if left running can create anxiety, depression or feelings of stagnation and dis-ease so becoming aware and reviewing these can be part of the process. I have witnessed people’s lives changing dramatically for the better when they have had the courage to look at these honestly with support. It is hard to do this process by yourself or with only friends and family for support and the safe, neutral, and consistent container provided by the therapeutic space will create the best conditions to support this. Even though it can be difficult, having the courage to do the inner work and look honestly at ourselves can really support positive changes in our lives.

I qualified with MA in Counselling Psychology & Spiritual Psychology in 1997 from the University of Santa Monica, California. This qualification met eligibility for MFCC (Marriage, Family Child Counsellor) license application in the US. I am a registered member with BACP ( British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) registration 388802. As well as my psychotherapist work, I worked for over twenty years mostly in a managerial capacity for charities running projects offering 121 and group therapeutic services for clients with mental health issues for both NHS and local authority contracts. I also worked for several years specialising in supporting those experiencing stress in the workplace.