Amanda Cozens Counselling | counselling and psychotherapy

As a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, I am trained under a number of therapeutic models and consider myself primarily a humanistic therapist due to its highly personalised nature, each person being one-of-a-kind, and wanting specific approaches, in a way that speaks to you directly.

Our sessions can support you finding ways to explore deeper thoughts and feelings in order for you to better make sense of them. This in turn can help you see situations, relationships and yourself more clearly. Becoming more conscious and able to tolerate feelings, will provide you with the opportunity to make different choices and the changes you want.

For further information on how your sessions can look please go to the therapies below. I work in person from Cardiff and also provide online sessions if preferred. My fee is £55 an hour and I am open to concession rates for anyone on low incomes.

AboutMe

About Me

Qualifications and Training

BA (Hons) in Counselling
Level 4 Diploma in Counselling
Experiential Psychodynamic Bridging Certificate
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Level 1 Practitioner
National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioural Medicine
- Neurobiology of Trauma
- Neurobiology of Attachment
Autism, Dyslexia & ADHD Awareness
Working with Eating Disorders
Safeguarding Adults
Advanced Safeguarding CYP

At 53 years of age, I have over 10 years of experience working with children, young people and adults, both on a short term and long term basis.

Previously to this I've worked within progressive and state education settings as well as having run my own business and spent a number of years living, working and travelling abroad. These experiences have led me to believe that our relationships are paramount to everything that troubles and sustains us.

As well as a diploma in person centred counselling my practice is also informed by my BA (Hons) in counselling where for three years I studied psychodynamic, cognitive behavioural, as well as gestalt therapy. I believe there is an art to good therapy but also that it must align with science and therefore have completed numerous trauma and somatic trainings.

Latest research seems to be pointing more and more toward how our physical health is directly impacted by our state of emotional and mental health. So with over 20 years experience of yoga, meditation and naturopathic nutrition, this knowledge can also be incorporated into our work together, especially around coping strategies.

For schools and children's services I also offer in-depth assessments to help establish attachment; trauma or risk issues and plan sessions accordingly or signpost when relevant to CAMHS or local GP’s.

Therapies

Young Women

Being truly heard and seen by the people around us, feeling that we are held in someone else’s mind and heart is foundation to a secure attachment. I specialise in working with young women who may have faced difficulties in naturally forming a sense of self, often resulting in low self esteem. Within long term work I can help you develop and draw from your own voice.

Trauma

Dr. Stephen Porges, originator of Polyvagal Theory, identified a biological order of human response that is active in all human experience. The autonomic nervous system is our personal surveillance system, always on guard, asking the question “Is this safe?”

Without the tools to identify and address the nervous systems defense responses, we remain stuck in a trauma response and disconnected in our relationships.

The challenge of recovery means feeling free to know what you know and to feel what you feel without becoming overwhelmed, enraged, ashamed, or collapsed.

I can offer Polyvagal mapping of your nervous system’s adaptive coping strategies, and we can explore triggers as well as coping strategies including somatic exercises.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a long term and more directed therapy and explores your experiences in early life, particularly within families. Even if we are not aware of them, the logic and goals we develop as children still govern our behaviour when we are adults.

It is very attentive to the dynamics in the therapy room, especially of the relationship between therapist and client. It attends to how the client and the psychotherapist interact with each other, as well as how they feel about each other, consciously and subconsciously.

This in time can help you to understand why you behave in the way you do so you can find ways to act more effectively.

Person Centred / Relational Depth

There are so many variables that can affect our lives: our upbringing, relationships, life experiences, loss, identity, the wider world, work, school, culture and society. Some of these elements and stages of life can prove to be difficult and ‘incomplete,’ so just feeling like a trusting person actually ‘get’s it’ is half the battle and the first step is always to humanise the problem, and understand it in broader context.

Person or client-centred therapy is based on the view that everyone has the capacity and desire for personal growth and change, given the right conditions. It works implicity with feelings, where acceptance and understanding provide freedom over difficult feelings.

The belief is that the therapist's role is not to tell you what to do, but to provide you with opportunities to experience fully your own process, and in your own unique way. You'll feel listened to without judgment. I may offer information, but I won’t tell you what you should think or do.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) 5 or 10 sessions

CBT aims to help you change the way you think (cognitive) and what you do (behaviour). Rather than looking at past causes, it focuses on current problems and practical solutions to help you feel better now.

The way we think about situations affects the way we feel and behave. If we view a situation negatively, we may experience negative emotions and feelings which lead us to behave in an unhelpful way.

I can help you identify and challenge any negative thinking so you can deal with situations better and behave in a more positive way.

Children & Young People

Children and young people

often require creative therapy techniques to help them find a way of expressing themselves beyond words or traditional talking therapies. This can include visual arts, writing, and play.