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What Is Counselling?

Working With Me

Education and Experience

What To Expect

Testimonials

Contact

Blog

What Is Counselling?

Working With Me

Education and Experience

What To Expect

Testimonials

Contact

Blog

What Is Counselling?

Working With Me

Education and Experience

What To Expect

Testimonials

Contact

Blog

Counselling and Psychotherapy in Bristol and Online

A Warm Welcome to My Website

I’m Hannah, a qualified and BACP-registered Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist.

If you have found yourself here, you are probably really struggling at the moment and are looking for some help. Wading through the hard situations we find ourselves in can stir up many different feelings, such as fear, overwhelm and helplessness. We may well feel alone in it all. We all go through hardships in life and sometimes need extra support or company to work through the challenges we face. Counselling can be a great way in obtaining this.

I chose the name Serenus — Latin for serene — because whatever brings someone here, whether grief, anxiety, depression, or trauma, my aim is to support them in returning to a place of calm, groundedness and inner peace.

Central to my work as a counsellor and therapist is creating a respectful, compassionate and non-judgmental space in which you can begin to explore and better understand yourself and the situations you find yourself in. Together, we journey towards making the positive changes you feel ready to make. Sometimes this will take a short set of six to twelve sessions; sometimes it will be a longer open-ended working relationship. We will work out together what feels right for you.

Clients often say they feel safe to open up in ways they haven’t before and have felt comfortable from the start. Others have shared that our work was “life-changing” and has led to meaningful, lasting growth (see my Testimonials).

If you’re considering therapy, please feel free to explore my website, to get to know more about me and my practise, and to see if I could be of help to you.

What is Counselling and Psychotherapy?

Counselling and psychotherapy both offer a supportive, confidential space to explore your inner world — your thoughts, feelings, relationships, and experiences — with someone trained to listen without judgment and with care.

The main difference is often the focus and depth of the work.

Counselling tends to be shorter-term — often around 6 to 12 sessions — and may focus on a specific issue or situation you’re facing right now, such as anxiety, grief, or a life transition. It can be a helpful way to work through something current, find clarity and gain tools to support you day to day.

Psychotherapy is usually a longer-term process, offering the opportunity to explore your experiences at greater depth. This often includes looking at your past, your patterns of thinking and relating, and how these may be influencing your life in the present. Psychotherapy supports longer-lasting change, deeper self-understanding and emotional healing over time.

It’s really important that you feel comfortable with the therapist you choose and that the relationship feels like the right fit. That’s why I offer a free initial consultation, so we can see whether working together feels right for you.

Working With Me

I am an Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist, which means I am trained in different therapeutic approaches: Humanistic/Person-centred, Psychodynamic and Cognitive Behavioural. Being trained in these different approaches means I am able to work flexibly and create a different type therapy for each client. This is done collaboratively, based on what feels most helpful and of value to you. The belief here is just as each person is unique—their personality, life experiences and needs—so will counselling be different for each client. If you wish to understand more about the approaches mentioned, please see https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/types-of-therapy/integrative-counselling/

I have experience supporting people through a wide range of issues including:

Grief and loss
Anxiety
Depression
Trauma and difficult life experiences
Stress and burnout
Low self-esteem and self-confidence
Life transitions
Relationship challenges
Spirituality

Alongside traditional in-person or online sessions, I also offer Walk and Talk Therapy, on Clifton Downs. This takes place outdoors combining the benefits of counselling with the calming, grounding effects of being in nature. For some clients, walking side by side can help the counselling session feel more relaxed and less clinical; clients find it easier to open up. Being outside and observing the natural world around us can also support the reflection of our inner world. If you’re interested in this option, we can go through the practicalities and how this would work during our initial consultation.

Contact Me

I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy (Level 7) from the University of South Wales. My academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from St. Stephen’s University.

In addition, I’ve completed specialist training in the BACP competencies for telephone and e-counselling. This ensures that I can offer a safe, ethical and attuned therapeutic experience when working with clients online.

Alongside my private practice, I have gained valuable experience volunteering at several low-cost counselling services. I have also been a befriender with charities supporting the elderly, people facing addiction, homelessness, and mental health crises, as well as coaching school children. These experiences have exposed me to many different communities and life circumstances, deepening my understanding and appreciation for the diversity of human experience.

I also help to lead retreats which use the natural world, music and creative art to aid self-expression and discovery, and bring a sense of restoration and recovery. I have interests in holistic health and well-being, and the connection between physical, emotional and spiritual health.

Education and Experience

What To Expect

I offer in-person, online (Zoom), and telephone appointments. In-person sessions take place in Filton, Bristol. Each session lasts 50 minutes and is priced at £55.

Sessions take place on a rolling basis, with no set number required — you are free to continue for as long or as little as feels right for you. Some clients come for a few weeks or months; others find ongoing work helpful over a longer period. We will work together to find the right pace and length of your therapy journey.

If you’re interested in starting therapy with me, I will offer a free initial assessment session, lasting 30 minutes. In this session, you’re invited to share what’s bringing you to counselling and I’ll take time to understand more about your situation, your needs and preferences for counselling. We’ll also discuss how we might work together.

This first meeting is as much about how things feel as it is about the content. It’s a chance to see whether we both feel comfortable to begin working together and are a good fit. There’s no pressure to decide immediately — you’re very welcome to take some time afterwards before making a decision.

Testimonials

“The counselling relationship with Hannah was nurturing, enlightening, and completely accepting. It felt like a collaborative process which was full of compassion and kindness.

I have had counselling in the past and it has had a positive impact, however, my counselling journey with Hannah has been a complete revelation. It was been life changing and transformative for me.”

~

“Could not recommend Hannah more, I felt comfortable opening up to her from the first session. Our work together has been transformative and it is thanks to her excellent skills and the safe environment she creates. Hannah gave me tools and understanding to help cope with everything I'd been going through, and been so supportive the entire time. Incredibly grateful for the work we've been able to put in together.”

~

“Counselling with you, has made all the difference to me. From the first phone conversation you put me at ease and made me feel comfortable enough to say how I was really feeling. Our conversations have taught me much about myself and my experience of grief. I am, and will always be, deeply grateful for the change this has made to my life. I am a better wife/mum/daughter/sister and am much more at peace with my own feelings, and indeed the circumstances which led me to you.”

~

Counselling with Hannah has helped me to better understand my reactions to some of the issues I have faced. She has challenged my thinking and also helped me to understand why my brain has reacted in the ways that it has by identifying moments from my past that have shaped my thinking.

This was done in a supportive and open way, and could not have happened if I did not feel comfortable fully discussing these issues with Hannah in the sessions.

~

It has been a healing and relieving experience being able to express myself in ways I haven’t before in a space that is not judgemental or critical of my thoughts and feelings. I am glad to have had counselling and finally be able to say things out loud to another person without fear of ridicule or demands for explanations. This counselling experience, using IFS, has allowed me to find parts of myself I had buried or forgotten for many years. It has been amazing to rediscover those parts and reconnect with them. I am coming out of this experience with a feeling of peace and calm in my internal world for the first time in years.

~

“Hannah is kind, empathetic and an excellent listener. She provided me with a safe space where I felt like I could be open and honest about whatever I was feeling and experiencing. She was never judgemental and helped guide me towards a better understanding of myself and my problems. I would leave our meetings feeling empowered and more confident. I very much recommend Hannah’s services to anyone who is seeking therapy.”

~

“It has been a really useful experience. It helped during a really tough time to talk about what I was feeling and that sometimes, things are not my fault and it just happens. I have become more aware of situations which can be anxiety inducing and have developed ways to cope with them and understand my reactions to them.”

If you would like to ask any questions or are interested in exploring counselling with me, please send me a message either using the form below, telephone or email. I will respond as promptly as I can.

Contact

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Thank you!

Phone: 07592 418214

Email: serenuspsychotherapy@protonmail.com

Practice Room: Network Counselling, Filton