Julie Leeper Counselling
How are you coping at the moment?
Have you experienced a bereavement or loss? Are you feeling anxious much of the time? How are you coping with the stress of work and managing your home life?
Life can feel difficult and sometimes overwhelming. You might be feeling anxious and helpless.
How Can I Help You?
Talking to a counsellor - someone outside of your family and friends - gives you space to say what you really want to say. To explore your feelings and how they are affecting your behaviour. To identify ways to help you cope with your feelings and move forward. To help you manage your stress and anxiety or work through relationship issues or grief.
Talking to a counsellor can help you to understand why you feel and act the way you do. I can give you a safe space to talk about how you really feel and give you a non-judgemental environment to work through your feelings and how you can make positive changes in your life.
Why Me?
I've been there. Counselling helped me with a number of issues that I thought I could deal with. Having the space to talk them through with a therapist enabled me to move forward. Find out more about me here. I am a qualified counsellor, registered with the NCPS. I offer sessions online via a secure platform, and face to face counselling sessions in Shenfield, Essex.
I can help if you are struggling with any of the following:
Work stress
Redundancy
Bereavement
Work-life balance
Relationships
Anxiety
Depression
Life can be tough
Like most people, I have faced a number of challenges in my life.
For thirty years I worked in the City of London including senior, demanding roles mainly in the legal and financial sectors. I have seen lots of changes and the impact that has both professionally and personally. As a working mum I had the challenge of balancing that career with family life. I experienced a close family bereavement with a huge impact on me and my children.
Through all this I found a way to make positive changes to my life.
You can read more about how I became a counsellor here and hear me talk to WAY (Widowed and Young) about my experience of grief here.
My qualifications
I became a counsellor after the counselling I received helped me to move forward.
I am an Accredited Registrant with the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS).
My qualifications:
Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling
Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills
Masters Degree in Strategic Human Resource Management
I'd love to help you - please contact me and we can talk about what we can achieve together.
Work Stress
I worked in the City of London for over 30 years.
I understand how it feels to work under pressure. The deadlines. The constant changes. The personalities. Wanting to do a great job. And trying to have a home life as well.
I can give you space to work through all these competing demands. To look at what you can change and what you can't.
I can help you make sense of your feelings and how you can be you among everything else that's going on.
Grief
I know what it's like to lose someone close.
The shock. How it affects your sense of self. The difficulties of trying to continue with your day to day life. The sheer exhaustion.
I can give you a safe space to work through these feelings. Grief is different for everyone - there is no "normal" path.
Online and face to face counselling
I offer online counselling as well as face to face sessions in Shenfield, Essex.
In my experience, both types of counselling can be really effective.
Online counselling works well if you can't physically get to meet me. It has the advantage of no travel time so can be easier to fit into your busy day. I'm able to offer early morning appointments online, as well as daytime and evening slots.
Face to face counselling allows us to sit together in the counselling room. For some people, being able to sit together with a counsellor helps them to open up.
You can decide which type of counselling works best for you.
Stress
Depression
Relationship problems
Anger
Anxiety
Work stress
Sexuality
Retirement
Grief
Bereavement
Family relationships
Problems with confidence or self-esteem
What's the first step?
Please make contact with me by phone or email. We can arrange a free initial phone call so that we can get a feel for each other, and you can give me a brief outline of what has led you to consider counselling and ask any questions you have about the process. This will take about 15-20 minutes.
What happens next?
We'll arrange to meet for an assessment meeting, either online or face to face. I know that this is a huge step and can be scary. This meeting will give us both a chance to get to know each other and for you to talk in a bit more detail about what has led you to counselling. I will take some personal details and background from you. We can then discuss how counselling will work and what you hope to get from it. We will work together to ensure that the counselling is working for you.
How frequent are sessions and how long do they last?
Sessions are weekly and last 50 minutes. It's difficult to say how long the sessions will continue - some clients are able to work through their concerns in 6-8 weeks, others require a longer timeframe. Although the work will be open ended we will review progress every six weeks or so to see if the counselling is meeting your needs.
Is counselling confidential?
Yes it is. Confidentiality is an important part of the counselling process. There are some exceptions, generally around your safety and to ensure I give you the best service. I will talk to you about these as part of the assessment process.
How much does it cost?
The fee per session is £70. Sessions must be paid for in advance.
Get in touch
If you think counselling might be what you need right now, please get in touch. I'll arrange a short free telephone chat where we can talk about what you are looking for and how I can help you.
Please contact me by calling me on 07568 628132 or by using the contact form below to arrange an initial consultation or to ask any questions about the counselling process. I will respond to all messages as soon as I can. Any communication will of course be treated in the strictest confidence.
"Honestly, from start to finish Julie has been amazing. Julie provides a safe space to speak about your emotions, however big or small they may seem. She is a great listener and and helps you to understand that it's OK not to be OK."
October 2022
"I felt very comfortable talking to Julie in a welcoming, safe environment."
February 2022