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Thanks for visiting!​

My name is Julie Pryke. I am an experienced counsellor/psychotherapist. I provide a confidential counselling service in the Chester, North Wales and Wirral area.

 

If you are looking at this website, perhaps you are wanting to find out more about counselling - what it is and whether it is for you, or you are looking for a counsellor who will best suit your needs. Either way, I hope you can find everything you need here to answer your questions. If not, just give me a call, text or e-mail (see Contact Me).  I can offer counselling via Skype, WhatsApp, telephone or face to face sessions.

What is counselling?

Counselling, put very simply, is talking to someone who is trained to listen. A counsellor's way of listening is called active listening. This means listening to you with absolute concentration and helping you unload your thoughts with a little professional guidance. Active listening means you will be allowed to finish what you are saying without interruption, even if that includes a few silences. Counselling  is not telling you what to do or solving your problems for you, more helping you to help yourself, which is much more rewarding for you and equips you to help yourself in the future. A counsellor is someone with whom you can share a problem, without being judged or having to worry about their thoughts and feelings AND you can be sure of confidentiality. These are all factors to  consider when talking to a friend or family member.

With​ such listening comes understanding, both for you and your counsellor. Counselling increases understanding and awareness - awareness of how you think and feel.Once you have awareness, then you can start to make changes.

Counselling helps you get your life back on track, or make the changes in your life that you have always wanted to make. But you will get as much out of counselling as you are prepared to put into it, which means being as honest and open as you can be. Counselling isn't just what happens during a session - it is the start of a process which hopefully, continues between sessions too.

Choosing a counsellor.

There are lots of counsellors for you to choose from, but just how do you choose? Making the right choice can be the difference between a good and bad experience and whether the counselling is successful or not. Some of my clients tell me they have had bad their experiences with previous counsellors - so please take care.

he first step is to look for qualifications and experience, then look at the approach used - this means how they work. If you don't know what the approach is or what it means -find out, by simply asking the counsellor or doing some research of your own.

What is the counsellor saying and how is it being said? Does it make sense? Does it appeal to you? You will be sharing some extremely sensitive material with your counsellor, can you trust this person with it? Will they take care of it and you, keep you safe?

So why choose me?

I have 25 years experience of working with people from a wide range of backgrounds with a wide range of issues. In addition to an Advanced Diploma in counselling, I hold a Masters degree in Counselling Studies.

Research has shown that the most important aspect of any counselling approach (and there are over 400), is the client/counsellor relationship. My clients tell me I am warm and friendly and easy to talk to, with a good sense of humour (when appropriate). All of which help me to relate well to my clients. A good relationship with your counsellor will help you benefit more from counselling and encourage you to go deeper into your problems, deep within yourself to find resources you never knew you had.

Counselling can be hard work, but we will work through it together and by working through it we will share times of light relief. Light relief is not something all counsellors offer. I firmly believe you can enjoy your counselling AND get the results you want. Some people dread their counselling, because their counsellor makes them feel uncomfortable or they have little faith in their counsellor's abilities. It makes sense to make sure you are with the right person. It makes sense for you to feel comfortable and safe.

My way of working and experience, means there are very few issues I would not be able to help with and it is very unlikely that I would be shocked or upset by anything you tell me.

Many people browse through counselling websites because they feel they need some kind of help, but they hesitate and often delay making a decision for months. Don't delay, if you are unsure give me a call or try a free assessment session in which we can discuss your concerns. Small problems soon grow into big ones if left unresolved!

For more information about the way I work, my background and qualifications, please click here

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