Thrive Counselling

04/09/2025

A new term and I’m excited to share my new website with you 😊
www.thrivecounsellingtherapy.com

28/07/2025

Many of us feel so much better with the summer sunshine on our faces 🌞
The chance for a BBQ at the weekend or a holiday in the planning helps to keep us feeling buoyant ⛵ But anxieties don't go away, they just get held at arm's length. Talking with a professional can be liberating. Invest in your own, precious peace of mind 🦋 Contact me at reach.out.to.thrive@gmail.com or find me, Joanna Browning, on Counselling Directory. I work from Byfield and have available appointments.

21/03/2025

07/02/2025

While we're in times of struggle, loss or challenge, it can be impossible to believe there is anything to take from it that may sustain or encourage us.
Finding a trusted counsellor to walk alongside you and hear your truth with empathy, and accept your feelings without judgement can be freeing and comforting.
I have known and seen transformation and can hold the hope when you feel there is none.
Please reach out if you would like to know more. I am here for you.

29/01/2025

You've probably noticed that I'm not great at posting regularly!! Social media is not my comfort zone and I can always find other stuff to do instead 😄 I'm so lucky that I love my work and enjoy all the reading, listening, watching and thinking that I do in order to enhance my practice. But I'm going to try harder this year to engage with folk on here. This is something that made me laugh and reminded me that there are times in life when I have to just 'get on with it'.

07/08/2024

Interesting session with a client this morning: They talked about wanting to have their "ducks in a row and not having great big swans instead."
It's easy to lose sight of the small things in our lives that hold value but whose quiet normality mean they're overlooked when the big, noisy things come along.
Shifting our focus to see how many 'little ducks' we have in our life that bring normalcy and comfort can help us regulate our response to the 'swans' when they come swooping in.

01/08/2024

I think we are beginning to move away from the unhelpful beliefs around grief and grieving. This may be a new way of looking at it for some people.

25/07/2024

Mindfulness and meditation have been practised for thousands of years.
In recent years they have come under medical scrutiny and the results have shown people who regularly practice mindfulness show lower levels of anxiety, depression and stress.
Other positive benefits include heightened empathy and improved co-operativeness, leading to better, stronger relationships.
Mindfulness doesn’t have to be difficult or scary, but it will feel easier with practice. Want to try?
This is called The Five Senses Exercise
It’s best practised in a comfortable, quiet place. Enjoy giving yourself time to go as slowly as you like through each sense, taking YOUR time to observe and appreciate the details. I use this exercise to centre myself and bring my awareness to the present moment. OK, breathe in through your nose for a count of four, hold for three and out through your nose for five…. Slowly..

1. Sight: Look around and name five things you can see.
2. Sound: Close your eyes (if you feel comfortable, no worries if you’d rather keep your peepers open) and identify four different sounds you can hear.
3. Touch: Notice three things you can touch around you. (Touch doesn’t have to be with your hands – fabric touching your thighs, the rug or grass under your feet, your glasses frames on your nose for example)
4. Smell: Take a deep breath and find two things you can smell.
5. Taste: Focus on one thing you can taste right now.

How did that feel?
Try it again sometime. Anytime, anyplace, no equipment necessary 😊

26/04/2024

When the weather isn’t kind it’s easy to reject the outside for a warm house and comfy sofa.
But we’re animals, and our need for connection to nature, for open spaces and fresh air is innate.
Endorphins released through movement help lift our mood and change our perspective.
Being outside helps shift our focus, move our perspective from us and our problems at the centre of everything, to us as a small cog within the awesome natural world we see around us.
You don’t need to exert energy or set yourself a physical goal: strolling with intention to hear, see, touch and inhale nature can move us to an unexpected & elevated place.
If you’re feeling low, try going outside for a few minutes each day. If you’d like support, reach out to thrive 🌻

24/04/2024

Are you feeling stuck? Overwhelmed?
Perhaps you want to understand your feelings or responses more clearly?
I offer a safe space where you can be entirely yourself. Where you will be heard, valued & accepted without judgement.
Together we can explore your feelings, establish ways of coping better and discover resolutions for you.
Hour sessions in a quiet garden room or online if you prefer.
Reach out and let me help you thrive.
Email reach.out.to.thrive@gmail.com or contact me on messenger.