Gavin Beard - EMDR Trauma & Addictions Specialist - Counselling and Psychotherapy in Brighton, Hove and East Sussex
I offer Counselling and Psychotherapy predominantly in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. I also work in Central London and meet with individuals, couples and families as well as providing Clinical Supervision. Over the last 20 years I have worked in Line Management Supervision roles providing support and training on an individual and team basis.
I have specialised in the treatment of Addictions and Codependency and have managed a number of successful Inpatient & Outpatient treatment programmes in several of the UK's most renowned Addiction Treatment Centres. I work with those experiencing alcohol, drug, ChemSex, gambling, food and 'process' addictions such as work, gambling, compulsive spending and love and sex addiction. Through this experience I am able to offer reliable individually tailored Recovery Plans to support those along their journey of recovery.
Counselling and Psychotherapy provide a unique opportunity to address obstacles that are getting in the way of living our lives fully. Sometimes these obstacles or events may be related to external factors such as problems at work or in our relationships. At other times we may be struggling with our own sense of self, purpose or direction in life. It may be that we are beginning to see problems or patterns in our own behaviour that we need to address.
Whatever the situation may be, it takes courage to face up to these issues and this is where therapy can offer some real and lasting change in a non-judgemental and safe setting. Once the need for change has been identified, sometimes we struggle with knowing how to implement these changes and may even fear what life may be like should we commit to the process.
We often experience real feelings of vulnerability and rarely in my experience do we feel fully confident at the point of change. It takes time, patience, support and understanding to establish these new patterns in our lives and become comfortable with the person we aspire to be and are indeed becoming.
Central to the process of transformation is that we feel supported, our needs and feelings acknowledged including the challenges we invariably face with change and that empathy - the human bond that links us all - is present and clearly communicated.
As a trained Counsellor and Psychotherapist I am also fully trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), a therapy that helps those who have suffered from trauma, PTSD, phobias, panic attacks, depression and anxiety.
This practice also works well for individuals with a history of abuse, neglect, abandonment and addictions. Sometimes these issues coincide with the abuse of alcohol, drugs and other addictive behaviours whilst for others, they may find solace in acts of self harm and self deprivation or issues around food and eating disorders that often results in a breakdown in self esteem and a loss of control over their lives. You can find more information about this on my EMDR page.
I am able to offer online support via Skype or Zoom and telephone for those unable to attend locally.
In Counselling I am reminded that compassion sits as a constant touchstone and reminder of our humanity and we can learn this in therapy. Through this process we are guided in ways in which we can provide greater compassion for ourselves.
"At the moment of commitment the entire universe conspires to assist you" - Goethe
