27/12/2020
TESTIMONIALS
" I went to Stuart for counselling to help me deal with work related anxiety in February 2020, initially meeting face to face and completed my sessions over the phone when lockdown kicked in.
This followed a series of medical tests for a range of physical symptoms that I had experienced for over 2 years, including stomach pains, irritable bowel, white tongue, problems sleeping and chest pains and had made no progress in identifying the underlying cause. I was at a complete loss, I just knew I was not right and felt overwhelmed, totally exhausted and unable to concentrate at work. This was really unusual for me as I had hardly had a day off sick in over 30 years.
I completed a questionnaire with my doctor who subsequently signed me off sick with anxiety and suggested I try some therapy. The waiting list for NHS face to face support ran into months and I decided to seek help from a private practitioner.I did not know where to start to find a therapist and selected Stuart based on his outstanding qualifications, clinical experience and the way he came across as authentic and caring on his website.
It was undoubtedly one of the best decisions I have ever made.Stuart explained what to expect from therapy at our first session, including that I was likely to go through some ups and downs. I felt that he was creating a safe and trusting space for me to open up about how I was feeling and share my vulnerabilities, including my fears and feelings of guilt. In effect, my hidden self. I felt quite emotional after my first session, along with a sense of release.Stuart helped me reconnect with my authentic self, review my values and future goals in life and complete the grieving process, finding the compassion to forgive myself and free myself up to make choices about my future, aligned to my values.
In parallel he encouraged me to follow a Mediterranean diet in consultation with my GP and later helped me to identify a nutritionalist. He helped me to explore more about my personality type and how this was impacting on my stress levels, making me more self aware of what had been happening to me and why. We explored how to introduce activities into my daily life to help me recover from chronic work related stress, for me this included discovering mindfulness, practicing Pilates and taking more mindful walks.
In addition, Stuart shared a range of techniques to help me face and deal with my anxieties and to rewire the way I approach my fears. We also covered how to manage endings, including how to take control of creating a good ending for my therapy. Between sessions, Stuart shared video clips through WhatsApp to help me understand some of the theory behind our sessions, I found these really helpful as I was curious about the process.During the sessions, I built up the courage to have an authentic conversation with my boss which led to me volunteering for redundancy, which has opened up a range of new possibilities. I started to have confidence to trust my intuition and follow my heart, taking control of my life and making my personal goals a reality.
Fast forward 10 months, all my physical symptoms have gone and I feel like I am being the real me. I feel unblocked and have a new sense fo freedom and excitement about moving to the next stage of my life. I am feeling a sense of happiness and growth within myself that I would not have thought possible a year ago.I can not thank Stuart enough for his professional approach, tailored to my needs that skilfully combined compassion with gentle challenge, together with a range of techniques to help me heal. I would recommend him without question and have already done so to my friends.
A really big thank you.
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