Candice ONeilCounselling Psychologist

Hello, I am Dr Candice O'Neil. I am a Counselling Psychologist and have completed a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. During this course I conducted a Doctoral thesis on relational experiencing for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. I have a broad range of experience and have provided therapy for men, women, adults and young people from a diverse range of personal and professional circumstances and experiences. I have completed specialist training in supporting individuals who have experienced acute childhood trauma and have supported many individuals who subsequently navigate PTSD. However, I am also skilled and experienced in supporting everything from everyday challenges to more complex and enduring difficulties. In addition to working in my private practice, I have over 10 years of experience working in the NHS, experience of working in private forensic mental health settings and two years of experience volunteering in the charity sector. I feel strongly that at the heart of our therapeutic dynamic will be trust, safety, care, compassion and transparency. I hope to offer you a warm, confidential, safe and supportive environment to allow deep exploration of your lived experiences. I hope this can increase your overall sense of agency in your life, relationships and work. I believe therapy is a collaborative process and I am able to confidently offer you skilled evidenced based therapeutic interventions grounded in theoretical knowledge while we will work towards your uniquely defined goals and desired outcomes. I have experience of disseminating my professional knowledge in UK media and television and have contributed to national campaigns relating to safeguarding the emotional health of vulnerable groups in the UK. My personal ethos matches my professional one; I have a firm belief that kindness and compassion, warmth and openness are fundamental to any relationship and I believe in the strength of the human potential. While your therapy will typically be tailored to your presenting challenges utilising an Existential Approach and/or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, it will be rooted in the foundational principles of increasing your sense of personal agency, autonomy, and the ability to harness growth in your life moving forward. My focus in therapy sessions centre around deep exploration of your narrative accounts can be tailored to meet time specific therapeutic goals and desires or be open ended to create more meaning and purposef