My name is Robynne Wood and I'm a therapist trained in the Humanistic (Person-Centred) approach to counselling. I'm based in Worsley (Manchester M28) and Bolton offering counselling to young people and adults. I have a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, a member of the BACP, enhanced DBS and a registered teacher.
I currently offer online (video and phone) counselling across the UK and face-to-face counselling local to the Bolton, Wigan, Salford and Greater Manchester area.
In addition to private practice, I'm currently provide adult counselling for the Simeon Centre a charity in Bolton seeing NHS patients. I have previously volunteered for Fortalice (Bolton based domestic abuse charity) and a primary school in Salford for Place2Be on a voluntary basis.
It's not uncommon for people to retrain in counselling later in their careers and in my case I was a secondary school teacher. I taught Geography for 13yrs at schools across Lancashire and Greater Manchester. My last post was teaching A-level at a sixth form college in Wigan and it was here that my journey into counselling began.
I'd always enjoyed spending time with the students outside of the classroom and ran a range of extra-curricular activities such as "Crafternoon". This was a creative space for students and staff to have a brew, try crafts and generally escape from academic pressures. However, my eureka moment came when I offered the services of my Bearded Collie Mink to work as a stress therapy dog. She was perfect for the job as a retired show-dog who loved everyone and a regular ambassador of the breed at events.
Mink went to college once a week to co-teach my lessons, run library drop in sessions and she could be booked for classroom visits. The visible impact on student and staff well-being was instant and I could see that people were talking to me through Mink. I did an introduction to counselling course so I could be confident of not doing harm. However, I realised that counselling gave me the opportunity to connect with and support people in the ways that I'd hope to do in teaching.
I followed my heart and left teaching to complete my counselling training but my experiences continue to enrich my practice. I'll always be thankful to Mink, and her successor Evie, for starting me on this path and I'm hoping to reintroduce my dogs into my work in the future.
I work using the Person-Centred (or Humanistic) approach, which is often referred to as the "how does that make you feel?" style of therapy. However, a more accurate description would be I focus on building a supportive relationship where we can view the world from your perspective and we work together to make changes that you want. I believe that you are the expert in your own life and have the ability to solve your own problems but recognise that sometimes an "outsiders" support and perspective can be helpful. I aim to create a non-judgmental safe space to explore your world using empathy, honesty and unconditional positive regard helping us to work through the thoughts, feelings and issues that are impacting you.
Many counsellors offer the kind of therapeutic relationship described above but what makes me different is my creativity and adaptability to create the space that you need to achieve what you want. This comes from drawing on my experience working in adult and children's counselling services but also my skills gained from my years spent teaching at a range of ages and abilities. I approach my counselling with a balance of gentle, playful curiosity and robust, calming demeanour meaning that I am able to go with you to the places (light or dark) you need to go.
I have particular experiences in counselling adults (talking therapy context) , children (play and art mediums), working with neurodiversity and domestic abuse. I am happy to work with a wide range of issues including anxiety, depression, loss/grief, experience of relationships (in childhood and adult), impact of medical diagnoses, sudden life changes, uncertainty around futures and self-esteem related issues.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss whether we could work together on the areas that you wish for support in addressing. If I'm not able to accommodate then I'm more than happy to offer suggestions or signpost you towards more appropriate help.
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