About Me
Welcome. I’m Rebecca, a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
Having worked for over 30 years within the NHS with adults and children (with birth, death and most things in between) I bring a great depth of working experience and knowledge when I support you.
In addition I bring my own life experience and a postgraduate degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy. This means that my support is helpful and effective in bringing insight and change to the challenges and difficulties that you are facing.
The Role of Psychotherapy
Although life can be challenging, there are times when these challenges feel overwhelming or devastating and have the potential to develop into crisis. Psychotherapy helps you to find your way through these difficult times, knowing that there is someone walking alongside you.
We will build a relationship of trust and confidence so that you feel supported to explore your situation and become increasingly aware of what it is that you really need and want. You’ll be able to make more sense of your situation and experience increasing ease and wellness.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Together we will look at your unique story, using feelings and emotions, thoughts, memories, hopes and dreams. The sensations you feel within your body may also help to reveal what cannot be thought or spoken.
As your story unfolds, psychotherapy brings awareness and insight into previously unseen truths and influences, which can then be worked through and made sense of together.
The Process
Psychotherapy and Counselling brings your awareness to the many different parts of your ‘Self’. We are often unaware of these different parts but they influence, or are influenced by, the challenging situation you find yourself in. Therapy works by using the relationship between you and your therapist to bring parts of yourself that were previously unconscious and hidden from your view into your consciousness. This gives you insight, enabling you to connect the parts together, bringing wholeness and authenticity.
The process depends on you being able to feel confident, safe, and relaxed with your therapist so that the real work of delving deep beneath the surface can take place in a supportive relationship.
The Benefits
Psychodynamic therapy enables you to know your own mind, realise your identity and find out what you really want and need. It helps you to find your ‘true self’ and live an authentic life. It works by freeing you from unconscious assumptions, patterns and behaviours. These were often established in very early life, holding you captive and keeping you stuck, without you even being aware of them.
Once these parts and patterns have been brought into your consciousness and you can see them, their spell is broken, and they no longer hold the power to keep you stuck or repeating unwanted patterns of behaviour.
Areas of Expertise
I provide support for a wide range of issues, including but not limited to:
- Anxiety and stress
- Attachment issues
- Depression, sadness, grief, and loss
- Trauma – past and present
- Anger and emotional instability
- Relationship issues
- Acute and chronic ill health, physical and mental
- Life transitions – including leaving home, starting out alone, fertility issues, becoming a parent, living with teens, children leaving home, becoming a couple or becoming single, menopause, retirement, facing elderly life, and facing our mortality
- Birth trauma
Pregnancy, Birth & Early Parenting
Having practised as an NHS nurse, midwife and early parenting specialist, I bring experience and expertise to support new parents with the transition to parenthood. Complications such as fertility issues, miscarriage and baby loss, birth trauma or breastfeeding trauma can be difficult to navigate. These painful issues can bring further pain and turmoil to what is often already an overwhelming and complicated time for new parents. Feeling supported to work through birth trauma and other painful experiences related to fertility and early parenthood can be incredibly healing for individual parents, couples and the whole family unit.
Becoming a parent may bring up unresolved grief about one's own parents. It may raise uncomfortable thoughts and feelings about how we ourselves were parented, bringing our own attachment style into question. I support new mothers and fathers to be able to explore their own attachment style whilst being able to promote a healthy attachment style for their baby.
It may be possible for us to meet in a counselling space where you can bring your baby.
Sessions & Fees
Sessions are £65 and last for 50 minutes although I am able to offer some reduced cost sessions for those with restricted finances such as students (please discuss your needs with me during our initial consultation).
I take payment through a contactless card reader at the end of each session and require minimum 48 hours notice in order to cancel a session without charge.
Sessions can be face-to-face, online via Zoom, or a mixture of both. I work from a variety of beautiful, comfortable and relaxing counselling spaces in Brighton and Hove.
Get in Touch
If you would like to ask any questions and find out whether you feel we could work effectively together, please email me (hello@rebeccamelvillepsychotherapy.com) to arrange a free 20 minute phone consultation.
It is important for you to find the right therapist for you, so that you can get the most benefit from your psychotherapy.
All enquires are usually answered within 24 hours, and all contact is strictly confidential.
“The most common form of despair is not being who you are” – Kierkegaard