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Dave-Wakeham

Fees:

£55 for regular, weekly 50 minute sessions

Contact:

Direct mobile number for Dave Wakeham:
07311 478595

Email:
dave@westberkshirepsychotherapy.co.uk

Website:
www.westberkshirepsychotherapy.co.uk

Location

Newbury & online

UK Council for Psychotherapists logo

Treatments Practised by Dave Wakeham:

Psychotherapy and Counselling


Philosophy and Style of Working:

Dave’s approach to psychotherapy involves the opportunity to explore ourselves and how we relate and react to others and the world around us in a safe, contained and understanding environment. We might feel ashamed of or confused about who we are, things we’ve done, ways we are behaving, ways we are relating to others, or ways we are reacting emotionally, and we might be struggling to make sense of our lives. This approach to psychotherapy can help us to make sense of things in the context of our past experiences and to realise that we are not behaving as we are because we are bad people, or we are not being stupid or weak for feeling as we are, we are simply responding to and dealing with life in the best way we can given our experiences up to now.

This can be of enormous help particularly when it feels like we can’t make sense of our lives on   our own. However, psychotherapy in Dave’s view more importantly grounds itself in the value of being able to have a fuller experience of ourselves, including perhaps until now more hidden and shameful emotions and aspects, in relationship with a listening, accepting and empathic other. Such hidden parts are likely to have been buried deep inside due to the ineffective responsiveness of others in our past to difficult or traumatic events and to our emotional needs growing up. However, they can continuously bubble to the surface and cause us constant inner turmoil and distress as we fight to deny them and hold our emotions back (either consciously or unconsciously).

The aim is thus that we can come to understand and accept ourselves more fully without having to constantly hide from who we are, which can drain us of energy and strip away our sense of vitality in life. Through a process of psychotherapy we can over time learn to know, accept and integrate the different aspects of ourselves and to see them in a different light, thus freeing ourselves from the hold they may have had over us and enabling us to live more fully in the present moment. It may therefore mean delving into difficult, and often painful, emotions and experiences but in a supportive, accepting and non-judgmental environment. It can help us gain new perspectives, as well as find greater meaning or purpose in our lives.


Professional Accreditations:

  • Fully registered member of United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
  • MA in Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy, at Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and
    Counselling (BCPC). Accredited through Middlesex University
  • Foundation Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy, BCPC

Training and Experience:

Dave is a UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapy) registered psychotherapist. Having completed his MA in Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy as part of a 7 year training at Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling (BCPC), and remaining a current graduate member, he abides by the principles and code of ethics laid out by both BCPC and the UKCP. He has been working in private practise for over 5 years and prior to this spent a year working as a voluntary therapist for Turning Point with adults with addiction problems. He has also spent over 7 years working for NHS Southern Health and Andover and District Mencap with adults with mental health problems and learning disabilities, and a year working with mental health patients at an acute inpatient unit for NHS Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust (AWP).