Chris Mooney
Member Status: Accredited
Member No: NCS24-04071
Location: Bournemouth
Selecting the right therapist can be tough.
Scanning the websites and profiles to find someone who might understand what you're faced with and who will listen, while you attempt to say out loud what's been going around in your head for so long.
I've been there.
Now that you've done the toughest part of looking for help, and looked over the words and many headshots, I hope that is where I can come in to potentially offer you the support that you're looking for.
It's not always easy to ask for help; to admit that we haven't in fact got this, yet we can all benefit from having someone to lean on from time to time. Needing help today doesn't mean that you won't get back to a better, happier place; just that right now, in this moment, you could do with a little support.
Perhaps you don’t want to - or you’re not able to - talk to your family and friends. Maybe they wouldn’t ‘get it’, or you don’t want to add to their worries. You want someone to talk to who will:
* Help you to make sense of what’s been swirling around your head.
* Support you in finding the best way forward.
* Offer you some reassurance.
* Listen, without judgment.
My approach is focused on your individual needs, because there isn’t a one-size-fits-all when it comes to counselling.
Through our work together, I’ll offer you a safe space where we can explore what’s really going on for you. The clients that I work with regularly achieve their goals through counselling, such as:
* Developing coping mechanisms and healthier habits.
* Improved relationships and communication.
* Clarity on personal values and direction.
* Increased self-esteem and confidence.
Who am I, and why might you want to choose to work with me?
I grew up in Northern Ireland and my lived experience is what inspired me to help others. Growing up there wasn’t always easy and I had a turbulent childhood, living in an environment centred around alcoholism and domestic abuse. I began to realise that I was ‘different’ at around the age of 11 and that difference turned out to be that I was gay.
My journey from adolescence into adulthood had many ups and downs; in a short space of time, my first partner took his own life, my younger brother was taken into the care system and my mother died.
I have sought out my own therapy at various stages of my life, whether to understand my sexuality or to help with my grief, trauma, internal anger, worries and frustrations.
As a client, I have had therapy at both ends of the spectrum; unhelpful therapy where I was judged, pigeon-holed, told what to do or simply wasn’t understood. Conversely, I’ve also had life changing, enlightening therapy that gave me a safe and non-judgemental space full of empathy, to explore my innermost thoughts and feelings.
My career started in learning and development almost 25 years ago and my work within the field of wellbeing and mental health began in 2012, when I set up my business.
For more than a decade, I have been privileged to help thousands of people to develop a stronger mindset and build up their resilience-reserves through training and solution focused coaching.
When the Pandemic happened, it offered me the chance to fulfil a passion to help people at an even deeper level through therapy. So, over four years I juggled the demands of my business whilst also studying for my therapeutic counselling qualifications.
I’m a therapist of the humanistic integrative variety, with a dash of Person-Centred, Transactional Analysis and Gestalt theories.
That probably sounds like a very odd recipe, and you mightn’t have heard of some of the ingredients before. Essentially, it means that the work in therapy happens through your own free will, self-discovery and desire to achieve your full potential and I’m not restricted to one type of theory to support you with.
Instead, I am able to choose from the pic ‘n mix of my theoretical knowledge depending on what I think might help you in the moment.
No matter the theory, you and the relationship that we develop is always at the centre of therapy. Sometimes we forget the simple yet powerful effect of having someone there who can empathise with us in a completely non-judgemental way, no matter what we're brave and courageous enough to talk about.
The other thing to know about me is that I will never tell you what to do, which can surprise some clients. Whilst it might feel lovely for me to take the reins of your life, if I did that, I would just be one more voice in your world telling you what I think you should do. I believe that nobody knows you better than you know yourself.
I identify as a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community (my pronouns are he/him/his), and I am GSRD affirming. I am inclusive and work with people of all cultures and backgrounds.
Get in touch to arrange your free 15 minute telephone or video call. It's often said that we form our first impression in just 7 seconds, so this gives us time to start getting to know each other and for me to get a sense of your needs and whether I'm best placed to help you. If we agree to work together, we'll then book a day and time for your first session.
You can email me to arrange your call, or book directly on the homepage of my website.
Support is out there 💚
