Counsellor & Supervisor in Romsey
I changed my career over 10 years ago now, at a time when my family were of age, and I was able to throw myself back in education. I then completed a foundation degree and various counselling placements, while juggling family commitments and managing my existing business, which as I look back now, was a lot and I am very proud of myself!
I have always been a 'people person' with a big social conscience and involved in community life. Prior to my career change, in addition to running a small business, I held various supportive volunteering roles, and trained as a Parent Support worker for my local authority, supporting parents who found themselves in challenging situations, accompanying them to meetings with schools, local authorities, etc. I also volunteered as classroom support in early years for 10 years. In that time, I also held the position of Chairperson for my local Parent Teacher Association. Involvement in early years and school life was how my interest in early years child development began and I understood how our experiences when we are very young builds the foundational brain structure, emotional regulation, and social skills that shape us and inform our adult behaviour and our relationships.
Therapy bridging early years and adulthood explores how childhood experiences, attachment styles and environmental factors shape current behaviours, emotional regulation and relational patterns..
Domestic Abuse – Volunteering within the Community
Volunteering within my community developed a sense of meaning and purpose in my own life which led me to working in a Women’s Service, supporting survivors and women currently experiencing domestic abuse, coercive control, sexual violence, and childhood sexual abuse.
Working with these courageous women taught me the importance of human connection and how much we rely on support from others such as professional services and the support of friends and family. This can hugely impact how our early life experiences go on to influence our own life story, and how we then go on to parent our own children. As the saying goes, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. Early intervention is crucial and if we support the primary care giver, we ultimately support the child.
Some people have not had the support that they should have, for many different reasons. Therapy can have a huge reparative impact, by working through this with a therapist that you trust.
During my Foundation Degree, I obtained a placement counselling within a Women’s Service, and after graduating became employed there gaining extensive experience in the field of Domestic Abuse. Eventually I became the charities’ head of Women’s Services and Head of Counselling.
Working with Domestic Abuse is an area of my work that I am very passionate about, supporting survivors and families of those currently impacted by it. In 2019 I was very proud to receive the Mayors award for services to Domestic Abuse for the city of Winchester.
Qualifications and Professional Certifications
- Accredited & Registered Member of BACP
- Enhanced DBS
- Fully Insured
- Certificate in Data Protection (GDPR)
- Foundation Degree In Humanistic Counselling based on Transactional Analysis (Middlesex University)
- Certificate in Counselling Young People (BACP accredited) (CACAP)
- Accredited (NCIP) Advanced Diploma in Counselling Supervision: Level 7
- Extensive training in working with Trauma
- Certificates in Safeguarding (Level 5 safeguarding lead)
Get in touch
Please contact me If you would like any further information or have any questions, or to arrange an appointment.
All enquires are usually answered within 24 hours, and all contact is strictly confidential.
©Maria Welsh Counselling & Supervision
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