ukcp logocosrt logoAmanda Hollingworth Counselling

Areas of expertise

I have experience or special interest in these areas:
  • Abuse
  • Cultural Issues
  • Parents
  • Adoption
  • Depression
  • Phobia
  • AIDS
  • Eating Disorders
  • Physical Abuse
  • Anorexia
  • Employment Difficulties
  • Post-Traumatic Stress
  • Anxiety
  • Family
  • Race Issues
  • Bereavement
  • Gender
  • Relationships
  • Bulimia
  • HIV
  • Sex
  • Bullying
  • Identity Problems
  • Sexual Abuse
  • Cancer
  • Infertility
  • Sexuality
  • Children & Young People
  • Mental Health
  • Stress
  • Confidentiality
  • Obsessions
  • Transgender
  • Couples
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
  • Trauma
  • Crossdressing
  • Older People


Children & Young People

Children and young people can experience similar emotional problems to adults resulting in behaviour which for parents can be difficult to understand and manage.
"Counselling can support young people by reducing their anxiety and diminishing their distress"
Children can pick up on distress in the family even though parents believe they are protecting them from their relationship problems. Grief at the loss of a family member can have a profound effect on childrens' emotional stability. This is sometimes overlooked by adults who are experiencing their own pain.
Adolescence is a tumultuous episode in a young persons' development, leading to feelings of anger, sadness and confusion. Some young people develop problematic behaviour such as obsessive compulsive disorder, school phobia and self harming. Counselling can support young people by reducing their anxiety and diminishing their distress.

Couple Counselling

The intimate relationship between a couple works best when there is trust and honesty. Conflict has a place in a relationship as long as there is an eventual resolution to help understanding between the protagonists. Some people will avoid conflict at all costs believing it will destroy their relationship. A counsellor can help a couple manage the tensions in a marriage by intervening to aid good communication.

A relationship may falter if it becomes stale and fails to satisfy one or other of the parties. People change and develop over years and a relationship may need to be renegotiated with different terms of reference.
One party may start an affair and on discovery this can have a devastating effect on their partner.
"A relationship can be reinvigorated with the intervention of a good couple counsellor"
However, with help from a counsellor some marriages can survive when the affair represents the parts that are missing in the relationship, such as sharing intimacy together and sexual excitement.
Undoubtedly, there is great loss when a marriage or relationship ends, and counselling can help with processing and working through feelings of sadness and anger generated by a partner leaving.
A relationship can be reinvigorated with the intervention of a good couple counsellor, enabling a couple to improve mutual respect and understanding.

I also work as an accredited psychosexual and relationship therapist. Many people find it too painful to talk to anyone else about their fears, even their partners. Sexual and relationship therapy can be helpful for an individual or couple who feel their difficulties are affecting their quality of life in an emotional, psychological or physical way.

Individuals

"Counselling can help people to express themselves"
Individuals struggling with diverse emotional, behavioural and psychological problems are helped by developing understanding of themselves, and gaining control over behaviour which is limiting their full participation in life. Counselling can help them to express themselves, helping them to improve their relationships with others. Below are examples of some of the many problems that can trap people in a cycle of despair.

PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

A condition where people experience symptoms such as flash backs, intrusive thoughts, disturbing dreams, feelings of panic and distress that appear out of the blue. A piece of music, a smell, or more commonly a loud noise, can provoke disturbing symptoms.

EMDR & Ego State Therapy

Eye Movement Desitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful technique used to treat a variety of presenting conditions that include phobias, anxiety related issues and trauma. It stimulates a safe, effective and rapid processing of "time frozen" disturbing material allowing a person to achieve rapid resolution of their problem. Ego State Therapy is an advanced psychodynamic approach to working with a wide range of behavioural, cognitive, emotional, and trauma based conditions. Using techniques akin to family therapy and group therapy, it provides a powerful approach to working with the individual components of a persons mind.

OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

A condition where people find themselves repeating actions (rituals) that start by giving them a sense of control over their lives but can become all-consuming and an end in itself.

Post Natal Depression

After the birth of a child, a woman can experience feelings of intense sadness and anxiety. The sufferer finds it very hard to understand why she is feeling this way and this can lead her to feel shame and guilt. I have a particular interest in Post Natal Depression as I suffered the condition after the birth of both my children.

Private Healthcare referrals

I am registered with BUPA to take private medical insurance referrals. I also take referrals from consultant psychiatrists, child and adolescent psychiatrists, GPs and individuals.