A Safe Space to Explore

Counselling in Harpenden, St Albans, Wheathampstead and online.

Hello and welcome

My name is Eimear. I hold a Diploma in Integrative Counselling from The Minster Centre, one of the UK’s leading training institutions for counsellors and psychotherapists. I am currently working towards completing an MA in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling, which is accredited by Middlesex University.

Before setting up my practice, I gained valuable experience as a counsellor in various settings, including a low-cost community counselling service, where I worked with clients from diverse backgrounds facing issues including anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges, and a local hospice, where I supported patients, carers, and bereaved family members. Alongside my practice, I continue to work with Mind in Midherts, providing counselling support to clients who are struggling with their mental health.

I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), I adhere to their code of ethics and regularly attend supervision.

I'm Irish. I was born and educated in Ireland and moved to the UK in adulthood. The experience of being an Irish person living in England, has given me insight into how cultural heritage and intergenerational trauma affects our identity and feelings of belonging.

I am also a mother and I understand the full range of experience this brings from sheer joy and wonder, to stress, challenge and sometimes heartbreak. This understanding is brought into my practice when working with themes such as miscarriage, infertility, transitioning to parenthood, changes in identity, pre and post-natal depression and returning to work after having children.

Prior to training as a counsellor, I worked as a chartered accountant for 15 years in Banking and Professional Service firms. As a result of this experience, I have an understanding of the culture of 'the City’ and similarly highly pressurised working environments.

How I work

Making the decision to see a counsellor is a big step and it can be transformational. Finding the right therapist is crucial as I believe the relationship that we build together is often the key to therapeutic change and healing. My approach holds you, the client, at the centre of the work. The work we do together will be led by you and we will collaborate to find a way that works for you, be that short term, or longer term, or by using creative resources such as music or art, or whatever works for you.

I am a qualified integrative counsellor. This means that I have trained in a variety of therapeutic approaches that I can adapt to meet your specific, individual needs. My approach draws on childhood, inter-generational and wider cultural experiences to make sense of thoughts, feelings and sensations in the present. I believe that paying attention to our bodily sensations can enhance our understanding of ourselves.

I welcome clients from all backgrounds and I have experience working with clients living with chronic and/or terminal illness, or clients who are caring for someone with chronic illness and bereaved clients. I have also worked with clients experiencing, amongst other things, domestic abuse, childhood sexual abuse, bereavement, grief and loss, depression and anxiety, ADHD, Bipolar disorder, relationship issues, self-harm and suicide.

Some thoughts that resonate for me...

“There is a crack, a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.”

- Leonard Cohen

Photo from mythicalireland.com

"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

- Carl Jung

“Silence reinforces the godforsaken isolation of trauma. Being able to say it aloud to another human being, is a sign that healing can begin”

- Bessel Van Der Kolk

What issues can counselling help with?

People come to me for help with a wide range of issues. Here are a few of the more common difficulties that can be supported through counselling:

Anxiety and panic attacks

Depression and low mood

Relationship challenges

Grief and loss, including bereavement

Coping with chronic or terminal illness

Stress and burnout

Low self-esteem and self-worth

Trauma and past experiences

Navigating life transitions (e.g., career changes)

Rebuilding after significant life events

Feelings of isolation or loneliness

Improving communication and conflict resolution skills

Get in touch

If you are seeking support, or would like more information about the counselling services I offer, please feel free to get in touch. You can contact me via the form below, and I will respond to your enquiry as soon as possible.

My locations

I offer counselling services from my private rooms located at the following addresses:

AL5 1PU, 136a Southdown Road, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
AL1 3LF, 6 St Peter's Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire
AL4 8AN, 17 Brewhouse Hill, Wheathampstead, St Albans, Hertfordshire

These locations are easily accessible from central North West London, as well as the surrounding areas of Harpenden, St Albans, and Hertfordshire.

Unfortunately, none of my locations have wheelchair access. There are a few sets of stairs to climb, which may be challenging for some people.

In addition to face-to-face therapy, I also provide online sessions via Zoom for clients who cannot access my rooms or for those who prefer to work online. Online sessions are available for clients living across the UK.

Fees and getting started

If I sound like I might be a good fit for you please reach out by email and I will give you a call back. I offer a free 20 minute call where you can ask questions about how I work and get a feel for whether we can work together.

If, after the introductory call, you are happy to continue then we will agree a date and time for your first session. In your first session, I will complete an assessment, where I will ask questions about what's brought you to therapy, your family history, any diagnoses you may have, your psychiatric history and anything else that might be relevant for our work together.

Sessions take place on a weekly basis on the same day and time each week and last for 50 minutes. My fee is £70 per session. I do offer concessionary rates, so please ask and we can discuss what is affordable for you.

I offer both time-limited and open-ended therapy. If you decide that you would like to continue after our first initial session, I propose with starting with six sessions to help you get a feel for the counselling process. From here, we can review how we have found our time together, and discuss how you would like to proceed. I will always take the time to check in with how you are finding the counselling process as we go along.

You may not know it, but you’ve already taken the first step...