Counselling

I am a qualified humanistic integrative counsellor, accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), by whose code of ethics I abide.

If you are experiencing any of these issues, I am experienced in these areas and would be happy to talk with you:

• Depression, anxiety, panic attacks
• Post-traumatic stress
• Bereavement
• Sexual problems
• Bullying or harassment
• Relationship or family problems, including divorce and child custody
• Addiction: alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling
• Suffering from violence or crime
• Disordered eating: bulimia, anorexia, over-eating
• Survivors of sexual abuse or sexual attack
• Chronic illness: cancer, HIV, hepatitis, diabetes, ME or chronic fatigue

After listening carefully to you, I specialise in exploring different ways of thinking, enhanced communication skills and positive behaviours to help you get more of what you would find fulfilling in life. There may be more possibilities than you currently think.

My approach is humanistic integrative. This means I have trained in several psychological models, so I am able to select what may be most helpful for you. I may draw upon Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Transactional Analysis (TA) and Gestalt techniques.

Counselling is a personal process undertaken by the client, facilitated professionally by me. I am happy to work to an agreed number of sessions, or in an ongoing way. It may take some time to reach a deeper understanding of the issues, then find the most appropriate changes or ways to resolve difficulties. The number of sessions may depend on your desired outcome and the length of the evolving conversation.

I practice in Malmesbury. Sessions are held in my consulting room on the first floor.

My fee for an hour’s counselling session is £35 for individuals or £45 for couples.
Without 3 working days’ notice, missed or cancelled sessions are chargeable in full. Sessions are generally held weekly or fortnightly. 

Fees can be funded by private health insurance provided by companies such as BUPA, Allianz, Aviva, Cigna, PruHealth, Standard Life. Please let me know if you'd like to claim on your health insurance.

If you are thinking of starting counselling, please feel free to contact me for an informal discussion about what’s on your mind, or email me to make an initial appointment:
Sarah Briggs | 07973 368512 | sarah@ashlar-evolution.com

Supervision

I really enjoy working with supervisees to discuss their development through looking at the puzzles and challenges in their practice. In supervision, I aim for a balance of support and challenge, while attending to the needs of the client as well as the reactions that occur for the therapist. My training was integrative, so it’s usual for me to be working across modalities with counsellors or psychotherapists who may come from a different theoretical background.

My fee for supervision is £40 per hour. If you prefer supervision monthly or fortnightly, or for more than an hour, I work flexibly to suit you.

Coaching

I have qualified from two coaching training programmes: Diploma in Organisational Development and Executive Coaching; Diploma in Life Coaching. I am also a certified practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

I believe in working with clients by harnessing their skills, energy and resources to facilitate profound and positive change. My coaching support is always tailor-made to fit the needs of the individual or team.

The benefits of coaching can include a more positive mindset, greater focus on what you want to achieve and how to do it. I’ve seen clients make huge changes and enjoy life to its full potential.

Coaching involves looking at who you uniquely are and what you want in life. Then follows an exploration of how you can achieve your preferred way of living. This can involve communication and behavioural skills, career development, personal goals, not forgetting relationships or family systems.

For individuals, coaching can involve finding new perspectives on situations; enhancing authentic communication and leadership skills; managing expectations and performance delivery. Within organisations, this approach includes reference to the demands of the business, commercial targets, plus an appreciation of the challenges and culture of the working environment.

I may use a variety of tools in coaching, including goal-setting, NLP, team dynamics and personality profiling.

My fee for coaching sessions is usually £40 per hour in Malmesbury, £50-£100 per hour in London, or by arrangement at other locations.

If you’re interested in some coaching, please contact me to find out more in an informal chat, without obligation.

Definitions of coaching:

“The aim (of coaching) is to help and support people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximize the potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and enable them to become the person they want to be.”
Eric Parsloe & Monika Wray, 2000

“Unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.”
John Whitmore, 2003

“The art of facilitating the performance, learning and development of another.”
Myles Downey, 2003

“Personal / Life Coaching is a collaborative solution-focused, results-orientated and systematic process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of work performance, life experience, self-directed learning and personal growth of the coachee.
Executive Coaching is defined as for personal coaching, but it is specifically focused at senior management level where there is an expectation for the coach to feel as comfortable exploring business-related topics, as personal development topics, with the client in order to improve their personal performance.”
Anthony Grant, University of Sydney, 1999

Organisational consultancy

The evolving disciplines of coaching and organisation consulting are practical and results-orientated – yet their practice is a human art as much as a science.

“My university degree and my background are in chemical engineering. But over 90% of my time during my business career has been spent in dealing with people, motivating people, understanding people, appealing to people – and finally trying to unite people in pursuit of our goals.”
Robert Goizueta, former CEO of The Coca-Cola Company

“Leadership is different from management, but not for the reasons most people think.”
John Kotter

“Managers seek order and control, and are almost compulsively addicted to disposing of problems even before they understand their potential significance.”
Abraham Zaleznik

If your organisation is going through change; if there is conflict within or between departments; if achieving your business targets is hard work – then please get in touch to find out how working with me could improve the way you are working.

Much of my consultancy involves performance improvement during periods of change in role or within organisations. This approach focuses on behaviours and communication skills that are essential to achieve the business goals expected. I also work with executives or team leaders to manage performance during periods of structural change or in transition, perhaps due to a promotion.

Recent management development assignments include a programme of motivational coaching for under-performing foreign sponsored students in the UK; facilitating a management team in Monaco to resolve conflict and develop enhanced communication for business planning; delivering a seminar to a firm of solicitors on how to handle emotional and difficult clients.

My approach involves developing authentic leadership and modelling the methods and outcomes that you want, using your intrinsic skills and potential within a business or organisational environment.

If you are experiencing problems in any of the following areas, I can certainly help to resolve the situation:

• Underperforming teams
• Conflict between managers or departments
• Underdeveloped management skills
• Demotivated staff or high absenteeism
• Uncertainty following a merger or restructuring

I am experienced in this type of work:

• Conflict resolution
• Mediation
• Professional development workshops: authentic management, communication skills
• Staff mentoring
• Executive coaching

Each project is tailor-made to fit the client needs, so the fee varies according to the location and duration of my involvement. Please contact me to discuss what kind of issues you’d like to address, so I can give you an indication of a fee which falls within your budget.