Carol Maynard Psychotherapy & Counselling

About

I work UK wide with a base in South Manchester / Cheshire and clients typically based across Manchester, Cheshire, London and Surrey areas, along with some clients in Europe.

I WORK WITH; adults, couples & young people.
I WORK FACE TO FACE; indoors & outdoors in Cheshire & South Manchester areas in Cheadle & Wilmslow.
I WORK ONLINE; UK wide & internationally through Zoom with a hub of clients over Zoom across London & Surrey.
I WORK OUTDOORS; in nature with walk & talk, outdoor therapy & wilderness therapy

FOR COUPLES I also offer private couples therapy days & weekends, these can be UK wide for face to face and at clients houses. 

MY WORK COVERS; family and childhood, inner child, health issues, body aches and pains, eating, depression, anxiety, stress, abuse and sexual violence, negative belief systems, trauma, PTSD, Complex PTSD, attachment, relationships, codependency, marriage, divorce and separation.

THERAPY FOCUS; The three pillars of my work are Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy, Imago Couples Therapy and Somatic Body Therapy. Across this I work relationally and / or with a trauma focused approach.

Happy to do a free video or phone call initially - contact me to arrange this.

Please note practice times are typically between 9am-5.30pm, no evenings or weekends.

WHY YOU MIGHT COME TO THERAPY; You might be feeling down, stuck, confused, experiencing really difficult emotions. You may have experienced a particular challenging or traumatic event or series of events. You might have been thinking about it for sometime and then saying to yourself and others, no I'm fine; there are many clients who when they first come say they don't usually talk to anybody. Perhaps you are continuously doubting yourself and being critical of yourself. You may have tried self-help and you are finding yourself in the same patterns. You may want to understand some patterns you've noticed. You may be going through relationship difficulties or there seems to be no other alternative but to break up. You might feel helpless or hopeless. And you may want information and to understand why and you may also want to see shifts in your life. 

INDIVIDUAL WORK; My focus with individuals is based in Transactional Analysis (TA) Psychotherapy, which for me is a really accessible form of therapy and one that made total sense to me when I started personal therapy. I also believe that all experiences and emotions are stored in the body, so I help clients learn what’s happening in their bodies & use this to achieve shifts and change. I am a ‘why’ person and believe you need to go backwards to understand and acknowledge in order to go forwards. This includes body and emotional regulation techniques. I enjoy helping clients be curious, join the dots, peel back the layers, gain awareness and to have a different experience in life. Some clients want information and some clients are looking for information and change, both are okay. I also work with 'parts' theory and use creative techniques to help clients with understanding. 

COUPLES WORK; The work I do with clients is based in Imago Couples Therapy (ICT). Imago is the latin for ‘image’ & is the term used for the unconscious image we hold for our potential partner, the ‘unconscious image of familiar love.’ Imago was introduced by Harville Hendrix & helps couples understand why they were attracted to each other, teaches them about the stages of a relationship & helps them understand how they got in to difficulty. It provides knowledge, tools & resources to have a different & better relationship, improved connection, a new way of communicating & an understanding of each other’s feelings, experiences & wounds. I work with the Imago Dialogue process which provides a safe space to develop understanding, communication, validation & empathy. I really believe in the Imago process & see the difference working in this way with the client being the relationship itself & the understanding & communication being between the couple, as opposed to directed at the therapist. 

WHAT I AM NOT; If you are looking for a ‘quick 'fix’ or just purely coping mechanisms, I may not be the right person for you. I would imagine my approach might be too in-depth & I might ask you too many questions. I may also not be right for you if you are just looking to come for one session, if you are not wanting to enquire & find out ‘why’ or to consider links with past experiences & what was modelled or not modelled to you in childhood. And for couples I direct & facilitate the work to be between you both & not me as central; Imago therapy is couple centric as opposed to therapist centric.

PASSIONATE ABOUT; I am passionate about helping people understand why they think, feel & act the way they do, helping people gain awareness about how they relate to themselves & others, understanding the root of it all, helping people get unstuck, the connection between body-mind-emotions-lifestyle-experiences, understanding what the body is trying to tell us or can tell us, understanding clients language & helping them finding language for what they are experiencing, helping therapy being accessible to clients, clients feeling safe & secure & being in it together with clients on their journey. Also passionate about giving couples an opportunity to explore an alternative to splitting or divorce. And seeing how couples can reconnect is amazing! 

INTERESTED IN; attachment theory, trauma work, the effects of childhood trauma & neglect, self-worth & boundaries, relationships, the roots of anxiety along with the different types of anxiety & how it presents, body therapy, psycho-somatic sensations, how couples work, the nature of relationships, nature as therapy.

THE JOURNEY; my journey began in 2014 with personal therapy & from believing I should be able to sort myself out to then knowing everyone can benefit from therapy. Found therapy tough but great & life changing. Went from not knowing what my feelings & emotions were or where to find them to being able to recognise them, talk about them & feel them. I felt lighter, less anxious & more able to cope with difficult situations. Started training as a psychotherapist in 2016 & began seeing clients in February 2018. Learnt a huge amount about myself & ended the 4 year course a different person & ready to give that to others.

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