Sarah Mitchell
Biography
I am a qualified Psychotherapist having completed a BACP accredited Post-Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapy at Leeds Beckett University, from which I graduated in 2018.
I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
My placement hours were completed in an educational setting so I have a lot of experience of working with young people from all sorts of backgrounds, who have brought a huge variety of issues to therapy.
I also have some experience of volunteering for a bereavement support service after qualifying and before setting up private practice.
I have worked with a charity, supporting people living with cancer, those going through diagnosis, and survivors, as well as their friends and family. This was in an emotional support capacity, providing ad hoc support to people who need to feel a connection, and that they are not alone, in a desperate time of need.
More recently I have been working with young homeless people, with a variety of really complex needs. I offer them support, and a way for them to move on in their lives after facing some often really traumatic experiences.
I have experience of a wide demographic of clients, from young people to the elderly, from many different economic and cultural backgrounds who all have different needs and goals. I have experience with clients with a wide range of presenting issues, such as anxiety, depression, controlling relationships, divorce, loss, people who are at a crossroads in their lives, and people who have decided that now is the time to face their unhelpful patterns and learn how to not be defined or controlled by them. These are to name just a few!
My Approach
Taking the first step to seek therapy is often a scary experience, but is quite often one of the best and most rewarding things you can do for yourself. My practice is always led by what my client needs and at their pace. As an integrative relational therapist my focus is on relationships - between myself and my client, and their relationships throughout their life, as a means of understanding their patterns and working towards their future. I have worked with people from all sorts of backgrounds, working through all sorts of issues, keeping the relationship at the forefront of everything we do together.
My focus is on helping people to identify the patterns that have developed throughout their lives based on their relationships and experiences, that are now no longer useful to them and are holding them back. Once we know what we do and why we do it, that helps us to be able to make choices for ourselves. I believe that people are the experts of themselves.
The best part of being a therapist is helping people discover themselves and figure out what they want. Sometimes this can be very challenging, but ultimately rewarding and worthwhile.
More information about how I work I can be found on Psychology Today (https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling/sarah-mitchell-leeds-eng/908182) and Counselling Directory (https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/sarah-mitchell)