About
Mel Lingley
Everyone at some point in their lives experience trauma, stress, anxiety, and many other issues that we may need help with. You are not alone, and I am here to offer you a safe, neutral, non-judgemental, and calm space to explore what issues you are experiencing and how we can work together to reach that point of well-being. As a therapist I can help you gain a better understanding of your feelings and thought processes and help you to find your own solutions to problems. I work mostly by using the integrated approach, which is drawing on the Person-Centred Therapy, Psychodynamic and CBT models. I feel that each model has its own merit, however by incorporating all 3 gives a stronger support program. I can use the models individually if I feel this is a benefit to the client, but this does depend on the individual needs of the client.
Throughout my own life I have experienced a lot of situations that have been difficult, and this has given me the inspiration to help others.
I am a senior member of the ACCPH and abide by the Code of Ethics for standard practice in counselling. I also have a clinical supervisor who I meet with on a regular basis.
Experience
Different Methods Of Counselling
I am fully trained in all 3 methods of counselling. I will determine what method is the best one to support you. However, I may use all 3 methods as each one has their own merit and can support all issues that you may be experiencing at any one time.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
This therapy is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by helping you change the way you think and behave. The therapy helps to break down the issues the client may have into smaller parts so that the client is able to manage these better. During the therapy, the counsellor will support the client to focus on the here and now whilst noting how past events shaped their thinking/behaviours. The therapy is practical, and solution focused and involves the client to be proactive within the therapy which may include homework outside of the therapy. The therapy is to support the client to change the way they feel about life. It looks at the learnt behaviours and negative thought patterns with the view of altering them in a positive way. The focus of this therapy is to look more ahead as opposed to past experiences and although the past may be considered it is more focused on the current issues. Cognitive processes refer to our thoughts and beliefs which could trigger certain feelings or behaviours. The therapist will support the client to understand any negative thoughts and how they affect them and how to change them. The behavioural side looks at the behaviour which is often learned behaviour and therefore it can be unlearned.
Humanistic theory (Person centred approach)
This approach is to focus on the client’s experiences of themselves as opposed to the counsellor telling the client what to do or what was wrong with them. Self-actualisation involves the fulfilment of a person’s needs and the full realisation of their potential. Core to the person centred approach is unconditional positive regard, which involves taking a non-judgemental, accepting approach with clients during therapy to provide the most fertile ground for them to flourish and grow. The person centred approach allows the client to recognise their difficulties and able to resolve them themselves by taking more of a lead in discussions, discovering their own solutions enabling them to find their own way. It focuses more on the client being able to develop a greater understanding of self in an environment which allows the client to resolve his or her own problems without direct intervention by the therapist.
Psychodynamic Theory
The approach is to delve into the client’s past to find the causes of their own values, beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Whilst the therapists lead and guide the sessions, they are mostly silent, with the client doing most of the talking. Psychodynamic psychology ignores the science and instead focuses on trying to get inside the head of individuals to make sense of their relationships, experiences and how they perceive the world. We live by our conscious minds but have thoughts and learnt behaviour that sits within our unconscious mind, and this is where our memories are repressed but influence our thoughts and behaviour. We can retrain our unconscious mind. One of the key elements of psychodynamic theory is to understand the client’s issues, feelings, behaviours, and life situation. Therapists who use this type of therapy support people to understand their lives and everyday problems. They also evaluate patterns people develop over time. From this they can recognise recurring patterns which can help people see how they avoid stress or develop a defence mechanism to cope. This information may allow them to begin changing the patterns. The therapy is based on the concept that difficulties, which are experienced by the adults have their emergence in childhood; children neither possess the ability of making suitable choices for themselves nor they have an independence to follow the same and the methods that are developed in the childhood are no longer effective during adulthood. Psychodynamic therapy is based on an individual’s unconscious thoughts and perceptions that have developed throughout their childhood and how these affect their current behaviour and thoughts.
Review of sessions
It is important to ensure your sessions are working for you as much as it is important to me. It is easy to get complacent with your sessions therefore running the risk of missing important elements of what you first came here for. This is why I will do regular reviews of the sessions with you. This will give you the opportunity to reflect on what work we have covered, what is working and what is not and any other issues that may arise. There may be times when you need a break from a certain issue or just a break from counselling in general especially if you are having long term counselling as the process can be quite a lot to take in, especially at first. It also allows to change the way we are doing things if need be. I will suggest a review after every 6 sessions. This can be changed at any point if you or I feel a review is required before the 6 sessions or if we feel a review is not required until maybe after 8 sessions but generally as a rule I will review after 6 sessions.
Qualifications
I am a fully qualified counsellor achieving a level 3 and level 4 Diploma in counselling skills and CBT.
I am also a qualified family mediator and have worked within the care sector for 15 years supporting adults, teenagers, children, and families. I have worked with a vast amount of people presenting with many different issues throughout my career and my goal has always been to support people to get to where they need to in their lives. Working within this sector has always been where my heart is and I fully enjoy supporting people and I have lots to give. Everyone deserves to be happy, and everyone can be happy once they decide to start their journey. I strongly believe that our thoughts control our lives, BUT we control our thoughts and with this in mind anything is possible.