Adrian Tupper

You may be feeling hurt, sad, anxious, angry, nervous, ashamed or lonely. Or a combination of these.

Maybe you lack confidence or self esteem. Maybe your social or intimate relationships are causing you stress. Maybe you lack self-care. Maybe, quite simply, life could be better.

Importantly, neither searching the internet nor self help books have been enough, and you need someone to talk to. Someone who will listen to you without judgement, and who will acknowledge and help you process your sometimes overwhelming feelings.

Equally, you may be looking for a therapist to work with by way of self development. Perhaps you are a counsellor yourself, or are on the path to being one.

My approach is integrative, although much is derived from psychoanalysis where we aim to make the unconscious conscious. We explore the unconscious processes that affect us and our defences against uncomfortable, overwhelming, shameful or even terrifying feelings. We consider how early relationships reveal themselves in the way we relate to each other in the therapy room. This can be challenging but our task isn’t to traumatise. It’s about identifying the discomfort and loosening its power over us.

If that sounds technical then in practical terms, you will experience an empathic listener, gently encouraging you to put words to your thoughts and feelings in the security of a confidential, boundaried, therapeutic relationship.

Within counselling I have particular interests in relationships in all their expressions; personal and interpersonal issues around age, sex and gender; anxiety and stress of living away from home; workplace stress; and helping people towards confidence and empowerment.

Choosing a counsellor is a personal decision. Some like the safety of choosing a counsellor who they will like, including the counsellor’s age, sex, or whatever profile feels comfortable. Perhaps someone who reminds them of a kindly relative. Others choose a counsellor less within their comfort zone, to challenge themselves, or they choose their counsellor because of their particular experience or expertise. Indeed the process by which you choose your counsellor provides for therapeutic reflection in itself! My own opinion is to be open minded and to see what happens. There is always learning to be had.

Often, having made the decision to seek a therapist, we are impatient to get going but we are apprehensive about how to start. Which is why I have deliberately presented this page in a way that gives you an idea of how you might experience me. Even after we meet for the first time or first few times, you are under no obligation to continue working with me. For longer term work especially, you will want to choose the counsellor who is the right therapeutic partner for you.

If you have any questions or would like to book an appointment, please contact me (scroll down) using the form or contact details below. My fee for a 50 minute session is £60, payable by card, app, bank transfer or cash.