Counselling for change, loss, identity and the transitions of life
Counselling for change, loss, identity and the transitions of life
Humanistic Integrative Counselling in Bristol and online
Life rarely follows a straight line. Alongside its highs can come periods of uncertainty, loss, grief and transformation – times when our relationships, bodies, identities, priorities or sense of who we are begin to shift.
I'm Victoria, a Humanistic Integrative Counsellor offering a warm, thoughtful and non-judgemental space where you can explore what is happening in your life and what it means for you. I work with adults and have a particular interest in women's lives and the transitions we move through.
You might be experiencing anxiety, low mood or overwhelm. Perhaps something has changed in your family, relationship, work, body or identity. You may be grieving a loss, living with the impact of difficult experiences, questioning who you are or what you want, or simply have a sense that something has shifted. You don't need to arrive with a clearly defined problem. Sometimes knowing that you would like things to feel different is enough.
You don't need to have a diagnosis, a crisis or even a clear idea of what's wrong to come to counselling.
You might be:
feeling anxious, low, overwhelmed or stuck, unsure, confused or lost
experiencing grief, loss or a significant life change
navigating motherhood, pregnancy, matrescence, perimenopause, menopause or changes in identity
navigating a fertility journey or moving on from it, whether that is to pregnancy, other fertility options, or a reimagined life
living with the impact of trauma, abuse or violence, whether experienced as a child or an adult
struggling with relationships, caring responsibilities or the expectations placed on you
questioning who you are, what you want, or simply feeling that something has shifted.
You may be trying to understand something that happened recently, or experiences from many years ago that continue to affect how you feel about yourself, your relationships or the world around you. It may be that things re-emerge as you transition through phases of your life. You don't need to arrive knowing exactly what you want from counselling. We begin where you are.
I have a particular interest in women's lives and the transitions we move through. Our lives contain many beginnings and endings – some obvious and others barely acknowledged. These transitions can fundamentally change our relationship with ourselves. Perimenopause and menopause can bring physical and emotional changes alongside questions about ageing, identity, relationships and what we want from the next part of our lives.
Caring for others (children, parents or loved ones) can change us. Relationships may be beginning, shifting or ending, whether or not we have children, and indeed whether that was our choice, changes in our bodies, work, fertility, loss, grief and the gradual realisation that a version of ourselves – or of the life we imagined – may be in reach, out of reach, or not quite what we expected.
Some transitions are chosen. Others arrive unexpectedly. Even changes we welcome, or have longed for, can bring complicated feelings. There can be grief in change, even when that change is welcome.
Counselling can offer somewhere to slow down enough to notice what is happening, to mourn what needs mourning, and to become curious about what might be emerging, and an opportunity to step into the new you.
Fertility counselling is one of the few forms of counselling that is legislated for by the HEFA (Human Embryology and Fertility Authority). This means that some elements can feel different from other forms of counselling. As well as my own experience, I have completed the BICA Foundation Course for Fertility Counselling, giving me additional understanding of the legal frameworks for this work and the personal, social, emotional and practical impact of fertility challenges and treatment.
If you're having fertility treatment, you may already have been offered some counselling through your clinic. I offer a space to take that support further – somewhere you can return to throughout your fertility journey, rather than only at particular points in treatment.
Trying to conceive, fertility treatment and uncertainty about the future can begin to shape everyday life in ways other people may not always see. There can be multiple cycles of hope and disappointment, waiting, difficult decisions, changes in relationships, loss, and a growing sense that your body and your future are no longer within your control.
Counselling gives you somewhere you don't need to be positive, minimise how hard it is, or protect the people around you from how you really feel. There can be space for hope, grief, anger, envy, fear, exhaustion and conflicting feelings.
Whether you're beginning treatment, in the middle of it, making difficult decisions, making sense of what has happened or considering next steps, I can offer a consistent therapeutic space to support you along the way.