Welcome
Hello, my name is Adam Goward, I am passionate about counselling and the benefits of therapy. I'm guessing that you are looking at this website because you are looking for a Counsellor / Therapist, I hope I can help you.
Based at Buxted, near Uckfield, East Sussex, I offer a FREE half hour initial assessment session, where you can ask any questions that you may have, with absolutely no obligation to continue further. You may feel I am not right Counsellor or Therapist for you, likewise I may feel I am not the right Counsellor or Therapist for you, whereby I would hope to signpost other alternatives for you to consider.
For me counselling is giving yourself the time and space to explore your issues, to gain insight with the help of a caring professional who is able to facilitate you through the often challenging and difficult experience of personal therapy.
About me
I am a Humanistic Integrative Counsellor, bit of a mouthful I’ll grant you, so let me explain further. I believe every human being has an inbuilt tendency to grow, and flourish, all that’s needed is the right conditions or environment. My aim is to understand your issues from your perspective, your locus of evaluation, which means how you are experiencing the world; we will gently together explore your thoughts, feelings, experiences and relationships, focusing on how you relate to your environment. Humanistic counselling is non directive, not advice giving, you are the expert on yourself, “if we have the capacity to think we have the capacity to choose and change” empowerment comes from self-awareness, not changing or doing something because you’ve been told by “an expert”. Integrative means I can draw on different counselling modalities, all humanistic, the bedrock being Person Centred, also Gestalt and Transactional Analysis, using the skills that are appropriate for you in the moment.
Qualifications
My experience to date covers a diverse background; I’ve worked as a school counsellor, within GP surgeries on IAPT scheme [Increased Access to Psychological Therapy] where client issues are very wide ranging. I’ve had 5 years’ experience working at a hospice where my work was centred around bereavement and loss.
Below are a list of my qualifications:
NOCN Introduction to counselling, 3 credits at level 1 and 2
AQA Certificate in counselling skills, VC11 skills acquisition and practice, VC12 working with loss and grief
TA 101, Transactional Analysis
Diploma in counselling, Humanistic Integrative, combining Person Centred, Gestalt and Transactional Analysis. Wealden Institute Crowborough, which is accredited by the BACP
Group bereavement work
Foundation in understanding and working with Dissociation
Member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapy
My Location
Yemoji
Framfield Road
Buxted
East Sussex
TN22 4LF
Get in touch
adamgowardcounselling@gmail.com
GDPR
What is discussed during our meetings is confidential. However, there is an exception to this. If there is a risk of you causing serious harm to yourself or another person, I may ask you to inform your GP or other relevant authority, or I will do this. I will always discuss this with you first.
As you would expect from your Counsellor, privacy and confidentiality are paramount in our work together. So too is compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation [GDPR]. Click here for more information.
I do not electronically process any of your personal data i.e. [information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual]. The information that I ask for on our initial assessment session is: name, address, contact details [personal data] and the personal information of what brings you to seek the help of a professional counsellor, all of which will be recorded on paper. This will be stored in a locked filling cabinet. In line with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy [BACP] professional conduct procedure, all information will be destroyed 3 years after the end of our work together.
Some clients are happy to contact me via email to outline their issues or reasons for seeking my professional help. For the passing of information and arranging appointments, I am happy to use email. However, any email [usually the first] with personal data and disclosure of reason for seeking my professional help, will be deleted.
It is my duty to keep brief notes about our meetings, which are all kept in a secure place where you cannot be identified. The purpose of keeping notes is to assist myself in helping you through regular supervision. The focus of these meetings is the work I am doing with you. Supervision is to ensure that you get the best possible service. The content of these supervision sessions are confidential and your identity is protected. Supervision is a BACP requirement.
