Counselling & Psychotherapy

I offer professional counselling and psychotherapy services designed to support you through life’s challenges and foster personal growth. Whether you’re struggling with emotional difficulties, navigating complex relationships, or seeking clarity and balance, I provide a safe, confidential, and compassionate space to explore your thoughts and feelings. Using an integrative approach, I draw on a range of therapeutic methods to tailor each session to your unique needs. My services are available face-to-face in Banbury and Brackley, as well as online, ensuring flexibility and accessibility. Together, we can work towards greater understanding, resilience, and a more fulfilling life.

The first session

The first session will be a chance for you to tell me in more detail what brings you to counselling.  I will also do an assessment.  This will involve me asking some questions and completing a short form about your history, current lifestyle, experience of counselling and what you would like to get out of your counselling.  It will also be an opportunity for you to ask me any further questions you may have.

Ongoing sessions

As we start to work together I will be open with you about my ways of working.  There is no mystery – if I suggest ways to work I will share where I am coming from and why.  My primary concern is your safety, and I will work alongside you to ensure that where we go in sessions feels safe for you.  What feels safe may change for you over time and I will work with that.  As our therapeutic relationship develops we will be likely to explore deeper into your internal world; I see each person as unique so I tailor the counselling to suit what you need and want.  Some of the ways I work are:

  • Explore how you are feeling through talking.  We may look at things in a deeper and wider way than you have been able to before, so you can increase your self-awareness
  • Noticing how your mind and body are working together, and working with what’s going on in your body if you feel comfortable to do so.  Our body’s give us lots of clues as to what is going on in our emotional world.  It can be hard and uncomfortable at first, but we will go at your pace
  • Gently challenging you to try different ways of being, for instance if  you are stuck in certain behaviours.  This usually starts within the safety of the counselling room and if you choose then outside too
  • Develop understanding of your internal and external world by using objects to represent different parts of you or your life
  • Giving you tools to help manage day to day feelings, anxieties and pressures – ways to help you feel calmer in difficult situations
  • Look at our therapeutic relationship, and our experience of each other.  This can be a looking glass into your relationships in the outside world.
  • Reviewing our work together regularly and making changes to the way we are working when needed
  • All of the above ways of working are grounded in psychological theory and research.  I am integrative which means I draw on a number of different theories to support my work.  The core theories that support my practice are Person Centred, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis, Relational, CBT, Existential and Solution focused.

How long/how many sessions?

I am often asked this question, and the answer is that is your choice.  It will be up to you when you want to end therapy and your view may change as we continue to work together.  I can work short and long term and tailor the therapy accordingly.  I will always try to accommodate what you need and what works for you.

Reviews and Endings

Wherever possible I strive to have a planned ending to our counselling work and encourage you to talk openly about how you are finding the therapy.  We will review our work regularly to facilitate this.  When it is time to end we will agree together how we will do this, and how many sessions you will need to complete the work at that time.  The door will be open should you wish to come back at any time to continue the work and/or explore other aspects of your life.

Annalee Counselling in Brackley and Banbury
Online Counselling
Online Counselling
Trauma Counselling

Free 20 minute telephone or Zoom consultation

I offer a free 20 minute consultation over the telephone to see if we would be well suited to working together.  When we talk I will look to find out briefly what you would like to bring and explore so I can assess if I have the appropriate skills and experience to work with you and if there is a good fit. This will also be a chance for you to ask any questions.  If so we will arrange a mutually agreed time and location for our first session

Contact Annalee

What I can Help With

  • Bereavement and loss
  • Isolation and loneliness
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Anger
  • Internal conflict
  • Loss of identity and purpose in life
  • Unhelpful repeating patterns of behaviour
  • Counselling Children and Young People (low-cost)
  • Difficult relationships
  • Difficulty connecting to others
  • Attachment issues
  • Impact of past relationships on current relationships
  • Managing conflict
  • Changing how you relate and respond to others and the world
  • Problems at work
  • Family issues including issues relating to adoption