Anika Burbery

Talking to a counsellor can help you move through difficult situations and unlock stuck patterns in your life, opening you up to new ways of looking at the world and being.

Areas of Special Interest

• anxiety and low mood
• stuck patterns of behaviour
• sexual abuse and trauma
• life transitions
• post natal distress
• longer term therapy
• family issues and dysfunction
• domestic violence & abuse
• teenagers & young people experiencing distress/anxiety

Counselling Services

Often when things become stuck in our lives, when there is repeated conflict or situations we don’t want anymore, we come to a point where we want something to change. Talking to a counsellor can help move these situations and unlock stuck patterns or behaviours and open up a new way of looking at the world and being. Sometimes the things we want to share can feel frightening to say out loud, and we fear the judgement that saying these things will bring – this, for me, is a huge part of the benefit of counselling and what it offers people.

As a therapist and counsellor I bring a genuine caring and openness to our relationship and provide a non-judgemental space in which you can feel safe in the knowledge that whatever you communicate and share, will be met with empathy and understanding for what you may be experiencing. Being able to share these things can bring a sense of lightening the burden and provide clarity on your situation.

Not every person is the same and I appreciate that different ways of working will be required for different issues. My counselling style aims to be flexible, to work with what is in front of us in a way that supports you to grow in the way that suits you best.

Counselling Approach

I take a Rogerian/Humanistic approach to counselling which encompasses the belief that we are all unique individuals that have the capability to bring about positive change in our lives. This doesn’t mean being the ultimate best and brightest achieving person, this means an inner movement toward positive change in light of our life story and circumstances.

Sometimes it’s helpful to look at the past, which is done without blame or shame, to get a better understanding of why we are in the world the way we are. Looking back can help us understand how and why we behave the way we do now, allowing us to build empathy for ourselves and loosen the things that bind us. This way we can become free to look at different ways of being.

My key areas of work and experience are with:

• Anxiety and low mood with both adults and teens/young people; life transitions and change; young people moving through the challenges of adolescence and early adulthood;
• Therapeutically addressing old wounds and family dysfunction, integrating past and childhood experiences into the present, supporting clients in working through life difficulties and challenges.
• Identifying and building understanding of stuck patterns of behaviour and relationships.
• Young people and adults with traumatic backgrounds including domestic violence and family violence, sexual abuse and assault.
• Mother’s experiencing post natal distress, birth trauma, work/life expectations; loss of identity.