Julia McGarragh  -  Adv. Dip. Couns.

 MBACP (Accred)

I have been Counselling for six years and have now been awarded Accreditation status by the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) in May 2007.  This means that my Counselling practice has been deemed to be competent and ethical and meets the BACP professional standards.  I am also a UKRC Registered Independent Counsellor which means I am on their register of Independent Counsellors.

Previous to my Counselling training, I worked for a number of years in Banking.  This lead me to become very interested in the well-being of people at work; under the pressure of deadlines and targets.  In many organisations now, there seems to be an atmosphere of uncertainty and staff well-being often takes a back seat.  This is reflected in the number of people affected by stress-related illness, such as anxiety and depression.

I currently work in a part-time capacity as a Counsellor supporting employees of a large local employer.  I see employees from a wide range of professions including the teaching profession and medical profession.

I have worked at Lincoln College as a Counsellor to students of all ages, dealing with a range of issues.  We ran some stress management workshops to help students in the run up to exam time, including relaxation techniques which can often help. 

Counselling Training

Lincoln College  -  Higher Professional Diploma in Counselling 2004 - 2006

                         Advanced Diploma in Counselling  2002

                         Advanced Certificate in Counselling 2002

                         Certificate in Counselling Skills  2001                    

Counselling Experience

Local Government - Workplace Counsellor - since April 2005

Lincoln College - Counsellor Student Services - 2004-05

Working with Victim Support - 2004-05

Private Practice  -  since 2003

Welton Family Health Centre  -  Voluntary Counsellor  -  during 2003

Interests

Anxiety and stress related illness/depression

Confidence and low self-esteem

Positive thinking and motivation/ finding direction

Relationship difficulties

Theoretical Orientation

Working integratively with Humanistic approach being core approach.  Using Psychodynamic approach to explore problems in childhood and unhelpful patterns that are being repeated in adult life.

Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT) is used when needed to help make changes where necessary.  Sometimes this can include keeping a diary with a note of thoughts and feelings during the day; then looking at how realistic these thoughts and feelings are and challenging them!