About Me
I'm Rachel Clark, a person-centred therapist committed to providing counselling in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental environment.
I provide an open-ended counselling service for adults and young people from my own private practice in North Rauceby, Lincolnshire (NG34 8QW) and work in schools and colleges throughout Sleaford, Lincoln and Grantham.
I work with young people (aged 8 and upwards), adults and families with the aim of providing space, a voice to be heard and the opportunity for each client to reach their own potential.
Qualifications
I'm a qualified counsellor with a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, hold a Certificate of Counselling Proficiency and am an accredited member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy). Just click here to see details of the BACP Ethical Framework.
I have been counselling young people and adults since 2014. My career began volunteering as a school counsellor where I had the privilege of witnessing the growth and development of many children and adolescents despite all the challenges facing them.
This led me to strongly believe in our capacity as individuals to heal, grow and achieve our full potential. The role of counselling is to facilitate this: to travel the road with a client rather than dictate the route to take.
Personal Approach
I believe that a person is their own expert on themselves - I am not here to fix my clients or tell them what to do. Instead I welcome them with warmth and without judgement and offer a safe and accepting space to talk.
My approach is integrative, meaning that I tailor sessions to meet the needs of each client because everyone is unique. I use the person-centred approach as the foundation of my work but incorporate elements of Transactional Analysis and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to support clients with specific challenges.
When away from family, friends and school life, my clients have the opportunity in our counselling sessions to share their thoughts and feelings; to explore what is troubling them and identify what they might like to change.
In 2018 I introduced Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) to interested clients to complement the therapy offered at Rachel Clark Counselling. The goal of AAT is to improve a client's emotional, cognitive and social functions - in other words to help an adult or young person to achieve their goals whether that is coping with anxiety and stress of improving self-esteem. Chester's gentle and calm nature has helped clients to open up more readily in our sessions.
"He's wonderful. I just sit there stroking his head as he looks at me and I feel ready to talk. Just sitting with him makes me feel better." - Robert, 14
Whilst clients, whether children, teenagers or adults, cannot alter the way people behave towards them or change what has already happened; they can learn more about the way they think, feel and behave and with support can really bring about positive change.
