Patrick Fountain
Hello & welcome,
How Counselling/Therapy can be Helpful
Your life may bring about very human challenges: transitions, anxieties, doubts, uncertainties and dissatisfactions concerning your relationships, your understanding of yourself and your life as a whole. You may be struggling to make sense of your experiences past and present, leaving you feeling many things including overwhelmed with responsibility, out of control within the unknown, stuck, alone, anxious, angry or confused whilst you do your best to navigate this.
Meeting in a neutral space regularly with a supportive and curious outsider can help in gaining relief, insight, self-understanding, self-acceptance, help to make changes if you so wish, identify choices, possibilities and envision a way forward. Counselling is a unique encounter between two souls and offers a freedom to bring yourself in a way to another person, perhaps not possible within your day to day by expressing and processing your experiences safely. Counselling can help you to understand your world and how you relate to yourself and others at greater depth, representing a special investment: your time to place yourself first
My Approach
I am a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor, underpinned by the Person-Centred approach. This means that what you need is central to our work, content is led by you, exploration is gently conducted together and co-creating a down-to-earth relationship between us based on acceptance, empathy and genuineness is key to facilitating a meaningful experience. Psychotherapeutic also means I work at depth and usually long-term, drawing from different approaches to best suit your needs, primarily through Person-Centred, Existential and Psychodynamic lenses, allowing room to explore your past and present life and how you might envision your future.
I have a special interest in exploring life’s big questions: Am I living authentically in-line with what I value and believe? Who am I as an individual and in relation to others? How do I feel fulfilled and with meaning and purpose in my life? What opportunities are there for my life and how do I want to live? I do not view challenging feelings such as anxiety, uncertainty, loneliness and sadness as problems to be fixed or eliminated, rather as meaningful, human responses to living and together we can sink a little deeper into them and explore what they may be showing you.
A Typical Session: What I Provide
My approach emphasises respect towards the clients freedom to choose what to bring, and so sessions are client-led and I will not impose an agenda. I will not position myself as the “expert with the secret formula for the good life” (I don’t believe this is true of any therapist), rather adopt a stance of curiosity and passion to help you open-up your unique experiencing. I will deeply listen and allow space to really let you be heard within the provision of an environment based on empathy, non-judgment and honesty.
I will facilitate exploration when appropriate for you, through use of exploring further description, questions, gentle challenge and regularly checking-back and clarifying with you that what I’m hearing and understanding within your story accurately captures your experience and meaning. Perhaps most importantly, I will join you in just being with those difficult and sometimes painful feelings and experiences. Sessions are open-ended and so we can work together for as long as you need. We will usually meet weekly at the same day/time/location each week.
I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, adhering to their standards for safe & ethical practice.
Patrick Fountain – therapist | BACP
Sessions are open-ended (ongoing or within a pre-arranged end date).
I offer a free initial 15 minute conversation either online via Zoom or by phone. This will allow us to talk about what I am able to offer and will help us to gage whether we will be a good fit to work together. If you would like to arrange this please get in touch by phone or email.
Fees: A free initial consultation, £60 per session thereafter. A limited number of concessionary spaces at £50 are held open to those who are experiencing financial hardship: those who are unemployed, on low income, students and trainee counsellors: Subject to an initial discussion, enquire for availability.
Training
- Master of Arts Degree in Counselling & Psychotherapy Practice
- Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling
- Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies
- Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills
- Certificate in Online & Telephone Counselling
- Three-year placement completed whilst training, working with those wanting to explore their relationship with alcohol & substance-use
As part of my commitment to ongoing professional growth, I participate in learning such as:
- Introduction to Existential Therapies (10 weeks, University of Oxford)
- Exploring life anxieties & nurturing resilience and wellbeing
- Supporting and being curious about the lived experiences of Transgender and Non-Binary people
- Understanding the holistic effects of traumatic experiencing to provide a ‘trauma informed’ approach, with my dissertation on existential anxiety, resilience and trauma, broadening my understanding.
Areas that I have experienced within my practice include and are not limited to:
- Life transitions
- Anxiety (physical & philosophical)
- Identity (personal & in connection to others)
- Sadness
- Loneliness
- Ageing
- Life meaning & purpose
- Addictions
- Relationship difficulties (family, romantic, friendships)
- Stress
- Trauma
- Gender-related expectations (personal & external)
- The experience of living with a diagnostic label.
Online and/or telephone appointments are available.
