Specialist Support
Counselling Through Life Changes
BACP accredited counselling during periods of transition, in person in Seven Kings, Ilford, and online across the UK. Divorce, redundancy, moving country, retirement, becoming a parent, a diagnosis, children leaving home. Change is unsettling even when it is change you chose.
What You Might Notice
Why transitions unsettle people
A transition does not only alter your circumstances. It tends to disturb your sense of who you are, which is why even welcome changes can be surprisingly hard.
Not knowing who you are now
Roles carry identity. When the role changes, parent, partner, employee, the question of what is left can be genuinely disorienting.
Grief inside a good change
Promotion, a new baby, a move abroad. Each means losing something, and the loss is awkward to mention when everyone is congratulating you.
Decisions that will not resolve
Turning the same choice over endlessly without moving. Often the deadlock is about values rather than information.
Being newly alone
After a move or separation, the absence of people who simply knew you. Rebuilding that takes longer than expected.
How Therapy Helps
Working through a transition
Therapy during a transition is partly a steadying exercise and partly a clarifying one. It gives you a fixed hour in a period when little else is fixed, and somewhere to think out loud without managing anyone else’s reaction to your plans.
We tend to look at what has actually been lost, which often goes unnamed, and at what you want the next stage to contain. Reading on hope and on what mental health really means can be a useful starting point.
Transitions commonly disturb sleep, appetite and routine. Where that is happening we address it practically, drawing on things like everyday self-care, mindfulness and simply getting outdoors.
If you are unsure whether now is the right moment to start, this guide to choosing a counsellor covers the practical questions worth asking anyone.
Practical Details
How sessions work
Sessions last 50 minutes and usually run weekly at the same time, in person in Seven Kings, Ilford, or by secure video anywhere in the UK.
Face-to-face in Ilford
A quiet, discreet ground-floor room at 59 Cameron Road, Ilford IG3 8LG, a few minutes on foot from Seven Kings station, with free off-street parking.
Online across the UK
Secure video sessions if travelling is difficult, or you would simply rather meet from home.
Day and evening slots
Weekdays 9:00am to 2:30pm, plus evening appointments Monday to Thursday, 5:00pm to 7:00pm.
A free first call
Start with a free 15-minute phone consultation before you commit to anything.
Further Reading
Related reading
More across the blog.
Take the First Step
Book a free 15-minute consultation
Transitions rarely wait until you feel ready. Book the free call whenever suits.