Rate Sharon McHugh

Hello my name is Sharon and I specialise in helping you heal from the anxiety and trauma that come from experiencing a difficult upbringing, be that your childhood, teenage or early adult years.

Thank you for looking at my profile. I am an experienced counsellor and my goal for us is to allow you to heal and to grow into the person you want to be. Our sessions together will always be led by you, this will be your space to bring anything that you wish to the session. My aim is to best support you in any way I can which includes providing you with a safe space to explore your thoughts and feelings, whilst offering an environment that is non judgemental, where you can talk openly and freely with no influences and no pressure. My approach is open and empathetic. At our first session we discuss your goals, what you want to gain from counselling and make a plan of how we can make this happen.

During our sessions, I may ask you questions around what you say, so we can deeply explore what is going on for you, which gives me the opportunity of understanding your life through your eyes, and together we can make sense of what is going on for you.

I have worked in both my private practice and external agencies, as a counsellor for a number of years, working with people who are suffering from anxiety and trauma from growing up in an environment where it wasn't ok for them to be themselves, where they had to learn coping strategies that were able to help them keep and feel safe. As we grow older, this can lead to feelings of low self esteem, becoming a people pleaser and a deep feeling of not knowing yourself, or who you are on a deep level, it can feel like you are what everyone else wants or expects you to be. It's at this point you feel like something needs to change, and unfortunately for a lot of people who have had this experience, you do not know where to start. This is where our journey together starts.

I am qualified as an Integrative Counsellor to Level 4, a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist at Level 5, and hold a diploma in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. Although these are my main qualifications, in line with the guidelines and ethics of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (and because I enjoy it) I regularly attend courses designed to keep me updated on my core training, but also to learn new ways of working as a therapist to broaden my knowledge and most importantly to allow my clients to receive the best therapy they can receive from me. This also allows for my clients and myself to have a bigger skill set to bring into the room if needed.

I look forward to working with you.

Sharon