Client feedback

"Helpful, offered some release and I feel calmer for it. Changes in how I react to worries - less panic attacks and intense anxiety... Understanding why I strive for perfection... Rethinking decision making..." Client (anon)

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"Process has helped me to reflect on and organise my feelings towards my [baby-] feeding journey, they feel clear in my head now rather than being a jumble... Thank you so much for your support, your experience made you the perfect person to support me through, change my perspective and see that my experience was not unique, all of which have greatly helped." Client (anon)

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"I have learned how to set boundaries for myself to stop people-pleasing. I have discovered that being proud of myself is ok. Thank you for working with me. Talking to you feels natural and 'normal'." Client (anon)

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"My self-belief has been restored. I am re-empowered and feeling better than I have in years. [Counselling has been] so helpful and enabled me to move on from being very stuck and full of anger and uncomfortable feelings. Thanks for all your support and useful feedback - it's helped me to re-frame what was a terrible time and find a way forwards." Emma

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"I've learnt a lot about myself, in particular I've discovered the real 'ME' ... It's highlighted my passions, values, and beliefs... it's also made me realise what my barriers are and what is holding me back from being the person I want to be. I've learnt to accept the things I cannot change, to be comfortable with silence and let uncomfortable memories come and go..." Client (anon)

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"Insightful. Understand more about my fear response and ways to help keep it at a manageable level 90% of the time." Bob

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"Helpful, thought provoking, calming and rationalising. Thank you for helping me through another tough time in my life. Thank you for helping me see things more clearly, being kind and supportive along with teaching me how to try and do those things for myself too." Lorna

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"I had specific needs around pregnancy and childbirth which led me to you. I have more tools to deal with anxiety that might arise, and I also have more of an understanding of what I’ve been through with miscarriages and how that could still have an effect on me in the present. This understanding has allowed me to process my feelings with more kindness to myself. I’m glad I found you. I’ve spoken to 7 counsellors in my lifetime and only you and one other have had a lasting impact on me. In a warped way I enjoyed our sessions because you always got what I was saying and helped me see things that I couldn’t for myself." Anna

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[Counselling was] "Comforting. I have learned to be more confident in my decisions and feelings, and that it is not my job to ensure myself and everyone around me is 100% happy all the time. That being sad isn't a "bad" thing, it's a very normal emotion... Thank you for all your help. I kept dropping bombs in a lot of our sessions and you have helped me talk through and understand how to navigate all of them." Client (anon)

 

"I can decide if I am going to spend my energy/time feeling a certain way... tuning in to my emotions rather than always using my "thinking brain" to try and make sense of them. I can just be happy, sad, calm, excited, whatever and not have to provide a narrative to go with it!... Thank you for being so open and kind as you have helped me find my way to a better state of mind. I have appreciated being gently challenged to consider things a different way.... Certainly it was tiring at the start, but I can honestly say the whole experience has been positive and I have felt in safe hands. Thanks again." Emma

 

[Counselling] "...gave me tools to help manage my anxiety. Thank you so much! I really think I've benefitted from coming here and feel more positive about the future." Client (anon)

 

"I have now seen that.... I am the product of all my experiences... I have learnt new ways of seeing the world and now I have a better understanding of myself I am more able to catch myself when spiralling into overthinking... Thank you for your help over the past year. I think there is still work to be done and I wouldn't have stopped coming if I wasn't moving away. I feel like I have made a big improvement in being able to articulate my feelings to someone and a good start to being more understanding of myself - which I plan to continue. ... [and which will] lead me to be kinder to myself in the future." Cat

 

"I liked the informal approach. I found this helped me to relax and open up. I think that talking about some of my concerns and anxieties with somebody unconnected to me or my life was really helpful. It enabled me to think about these and put things in my life into perspective. This has helped me to understand why I have anxieties and what I can do to manage them. I generally feel more positive and in control of things. When I do feel overwhelmed and like things are getting out of control then I am much more able to rationalise and see things more clearly. I feel more focused and generally relaxed." Client (anon)

 

"Thank you Zana for your patience and empathic understanding. I have learned to forgive myself a lot more and to accept I did the best that I could do at that time. I have started to realise that I am OK and to like myself more." Lynne

 

"Thank you Zana for your open, kind and gently challenging approach. I have become calmer in myself - I understand and am able to stop, think and only react when I need to rather than jumping in with both feet. I have learned to let go of feelings and emotions and my "inner control freak" is losing out to a more laid back version of me I didn't know was possible." Pip

 

"Thank you for all your help. The breathing exercises are really helping. Also thank you for giving me more confidence with the way I deal with certain situations and that it's ok to feel and think a certain way." Client (anon)

 

"Thank you very much for being so patient with me and so easy to talk to. Taking what was a very big step for me at the time to come to counselling was the best decision I have made. I have learnt a lot about myself and lots of different skills that I will take with me and use in the future." Charlotte

 

"Productive and useful." Rachel

 

"Zana has helped me to see things from other peoples points of view and not to see things in such a "black and white" way. She has helped me to understand when I am feeling down better and to be able to remain calm and get myself out of negative thought patterns. Thank you Zana for your patience and support during some times which I found difficult." Rich

 

[Counselling was] "Invaluable... I cannot thank you enough. I don't have the correct words to get out how much this has helped me. I will always keep in my mind what you have taught me and that I matter. You will always be a part of my life because I will always be able to draw on what I learned about myself. Thank you!" Lexi

 

[Counselling] "..has helped me come to terms with my negative birth experience. I don't feel as much of a failure about not being able to breastfeed...I feel I have more control in my life again...I appreciated having my feelings listened to and validated. Thank you for providing a safe place to discuss my problems and not making me feel stupid for how I felt, for helping me see alternative points of view...for being able to give me support and advice relevant to now and in the future." Client (anon)

 

"Very helpful. It supported me to grow. I learnt about myself; that I need to let go of unnecessary thoughts. I am now more confident. I am able to put things more into perspective. Thank you so much for the "experiments". Drawing was better for me to see where I was at. The chair experiment really did help me to separate past and present." Flo

 

"I can't thank you enough for how much you have helped me improve my experience of life. I am a very private person and it was a huge step just to enquire about counselling. I felt safe laying out all my deepest fears in front of you. You listened so carefully as I spilled years and years of unsaid things, and I was amazed how fast you "got" me, helping me to understand how I feel and how I can think/feel differently. You gave me permission to just be me." Alice

 

"Thank you for helping me through my muddled thoughts and feeling totally prepared for my labour as I think without your help I would have ended up being pushed into a VBAC and ending up in a similar situation to before. It [the birth] was all very uneventful, calm, in control and exactly what I wanted." L