Counselling and EMDR for children, young people and adults
About Me
My name is Laura Schofield and I am a qualified postgraduate counsellor, based in the Kirklees Local Authority and registered with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. As a member of the BACP I work within their Ethical Framework and am professionally supervised. I am experienced in counselling children and adults.
As an integrative therapist I tailor the way I work with my clients depending on their needs. Very often we find it difficult to verbalise our feelings and I am qualified to work creatively using a variety of materials to support the counselling process.
I am also a qualified EMDR practitioner and offer this service either online or in person. This is a treatment which is particularly useful for those who have experienced trauma as well as for a range of other issues such as anxiety, depression and panic disorders.
I have a specialist interest in and current experience of counselling children and young people in schools. Having worked as a teacher and senior leader in primary schools I understand the pressures facing both pupils and school staff and work sensitively, flexibly and confidentially in the educational environment.
My aim is to assist my clients to achieve a greater understanding of themselves and their relationship to the world and support them in developing resilience to address problems and be able to move forward.
Qualifications
- PG Dip Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Children in Schools
- PGCE – Primary Education
- BA (Hons) Psychology Degree
- EMDR Certificate
Therapy for Adults and Young People
I am an integrative practitioner which means I tailor our counselling work to best suit your needs. I will work with you to understand what you hope to gain from counselling and how we can best achieve this together in the time we have available. I offer a nurturing and confidential space to explore any issues you need support with. My work is based around person-centred principles which means we work collaboratively to explore what you need to feel better. I make use of compassion focused therapy which places the emphasis of our work on what is going on in the here and now and helps us to understand ourselves better. Gaining such insight is a useful tool in moving forward.
I work with all issues and have a particular interest in the use of EMDR to treat anxiety, low self-esteem, panic disorders as well as those struggling following traumatic incidents.
What is EMDR?
The mind can often heal itself naturally, in the same way as the body does. Much of this natural coping mechanism occurs during sleep, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Francine Shapiro developed Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 1987, utilising this natural process in order to successfully treat Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Since then, EMDR has been used to effectively treat a wide range of mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and panic disorders.
What is an EMDR session like?
EMDR utilises the natural healing ability of your body. After a thorough assessment, you will be asked specific questions about a particular disturbing memory. Eye movements, similar to those during REM sleep, will be recreated simply by asking you to watch the therapist’s finger moving backwards and forwards across your visual field. Sometimes, a bar of moving lights or headphones is used instead. The eye movements will last for a short while and then stop. You will then be asked to report back on the experiences you have had during each of these sets of eye movements. Experiences during a session may include changes in thoughts, images and feelings. With repeated sets of eye movements, the memory tends to change in such a way that it loses its painful intensity and simply becomes a neutral memory of an event in the past. Other associated memories may also heal at the same time. This linking of related memories can lead to a dramatic and rapid improvement in many aspects of your daily life.
EMDR can be used as a stand alone therapy or integrated into a longer term of psychotherapy sessions. Sessions last between 60-90 minutes and the recommended number of sessions is usually between 8-12 depending on complexity.
Services for Schools
The benefits
Counselling can often help children and young people who are struggling with a variety of issues. These may include anxiety, depression or low mood, grief or those suffering from or supporting others with long term illnesses or disabilities. Counselling can also help if there are problems with relationships, body image and self-esteem.
Having the opportunity to meet weekly and work therapeutically on their counselling goals can support a young person’s development in many positive ways. Pupils may already be receiving support in nurture groups or from a TA; the work I do can support this but is different and helped by me being impartial.
Sometimes it is unclear exactly what is going on for a child but as professionals we may be aware something isn’t right; counselling can provide that safe space for a child to work confidentially to access and reflect on their feelings. In offering such provision a school sends out the important message that our mental health is important, support is available and change is possible.
The aim of my work is to support children and young people in developing confidence, resilience and motivation to lead their best possible life. In order to work towards this I focus on:-
- Assisting the young person to achieve a greater understanding of themselves and their relationship to the world
- Supporting the creation of a greater awareness and utilisation of their personal resources
- Developing the young person’s ability to address problems and pursue personally meaningful goals
- Helping children and young people build their resilience
Service delivery
I work with individual children for 50 minute sessions. The first session will include an assessment of the client’s needs and the final session will include an evaluation of the counselling work. This means outcomes of the work can be monitored while confidentiality is maintained. Longer term work with a client will also involve interim assessments to ensure counselling continues to be effective and the right option for that young person.
I provide all necessary creative materials for the counselling work but will require a quiet room in which to work where confidentiality can be maintained.
I recommend a minimum of 8 counselling sessions, with 12 sessions being an optimum amount.
I hold a current enhanced DBS certificate, up to date safeguarding training and am GDPR compliant.
Please contact me to further discuss your needs.
Contact me
If you have need of my services or would like to know more please feel free to email me, Laura Schofield at laura@bloom-counselling.co.uk
