Support Us
Wellspring is a non-profit making organisation. We depend on donations, charitable grants and client fees to continue our service at a price people can afford. A large proportion of clients who come to Wellspring benefit from access to this subsidised counselling service.
With your help, we can:
- Continue to provide therapy at a price people can afford
- Support local groups requiring specific therapy
- Provide quality therapy to help people to thrive
Types of therapy we offer
We offer help in person, or if preferred sometimes by phone or online. The therapy is individually tailored and can take many forms. To start simply talk to us.
Or, if you wish to read about the more technical names and types of therapy and counselling we offer here’s a summary:
Art therapy can help you to express and understand yourself and your experiences through both talking and creative activities. You don’t need to have any previous art experience or be good at art to benefit from it.
In an art therapy session, you're encouraged to use creative media – such as painting or clay - while being supported by a trained art therapist. Your therapist will help you explore how your creative process is linked to your feelings and perceptions, giving you a greater understanding of yourself. They'll also support you in using this understanding to make positive changes in your life.
Core Process psychotherapy has its roots in the psychology, philosophy and contemplative practices developed during two thousand years of Buddhist enquiry. This knowledge base is integrated with western psychotherapy skills and developmental theories.
Core Process is a contemplative approach to exploring how we are in our present experience and the way that one’s past conditioning and relationships act to shape new life events.
The psychotherapeutic relationship is the context within which this exploration is undertaken. Through this mutual enquiry, there is the potential for suffering to be transformed, thus allowing greater and more conscious choice in our daily lives. Becoming more fully present in each moment brings us into direct contact with those places where we are fragmented, split and disconnected. Through bringing more of these processes into awareness, we can work with spiritual, physical, psychological and energetic layers of experience, as they emerge in embodiment and come more deeply into contact with the illimitable qualities of compassion, loving kindness, sympathetic joy and equanimity which arise naturally from the core state.
Gestalt therapy is a type of humanistic and person-centred therapy that focuses on the immediate here and now and how that can be explored to help you. It looks at how your past affects and influences how you’re feeling in this moment rather than how you felt back then. Gestalt is based on the principle that everyone is a whole – made up of mind, body and soul – and draws on the philosophical idea that the whole is other than the sum of its parts. It emphasises that to fully understand people you have to look at their current situation as they experience it.
Group therapy is where several individuals come together to explore personal and interpersonal issues with one or more therapists as a facilitator.
A therapy group offers an opportunity to embark on a shared journey, enhance awareness, learn more about how you relate to others and a way to experiment with being and behaving differently.
The feeling of being heard and recognised in therapy can be liberating, empowering and lead to feeling less isolated. The group experience enables this to take place in a different context to individual therapy. A therapy group can sit alongside individual therapy and offer a complementary experience. It may be that you have experienced individual therapy for a while and want to explore sharing and connecting with others. A group may also be your first choice for trying out therapy.
Groups tend to develop a set of guidelines that each member agrees to respect. Generally, confidentiality is held by agreeing not to share any personal or identifying information about the other members, though they can share experiences about themselves.
Prior to the first session, the therapist will offer an individual counselling session to become familiar with the person and see if group therapy is appropriate. During group sessions, members may be asked to track or take note of their feelings, thoughts and reactions to what is happening within the group, or towards other members.
Group leaders seldom introduce topics but help the members form trust and to share openly with others.
Humanistic therapy, also known as the humanistic approach, is an umbrella term that covers several types of therapy, including person-centred therapy, Gestalt, existential therapy, solution-focused therapy and transactional analysis.
The humanistic approach is about free will, self-discovery and achieving your full potential as a human being, rather than concentrating on individual problems or symptoms. It looks at everything that makes you who you are and focuses on you as a unique individual and your relationship with the world around you.
Integrative counselling draws on techniques from different types of therapy to tailor an approach specifically for you.
An integrative counsellor uses several different therapeutic approaches to support the client in all situations, taking into account you as an individual and your circumstances, and using elements of different approaches to help you explore and cope with your problems.
Several music-based therapies are available at Wellspring.
Music Breathing is a therapy which focuses on the breath, with the support of recorded music. It can be helpful for people who struggle with anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed, and for those who have experienced trauma. Music Breathing is a safe method that can help with emotional regulation. It is time-limited, usually between six and ten sessions, and it provides techniques that can also be used at home.
Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) is a therapeutic method which involves listening to recorded music while in a relaxed state. It encourages the exploration of deeper levels of emotional life and personal symbolic meaning. GIM offers a supportive and creative approach to personal development, and it can help to strengthen inner resources and increase emotional wellbeing. GIM sessions are normally one and a half hours long.
For more information about these therapies or go to: musicandimagery.org
Person-centred counselling is one of the humanistic modalities or approaches. It was founded on the premise given the right conditions, a person can reach their full potential and become their true self. Your therapist will help you to realise what resources and support are available to you that you can use to work through your own issues, build your self-confidence and appreciate that you always have options. They will treat you as the expert on yourself, as no one else knows exactly what it’s like to be you.
They will not judge you, no matter what you bring to the session. This helps build a trustworthy relationship in which you can feel free and supported to disclose whatever is troubling you. Eventually, it will lead you to discover your own abilities and autonomy, so that you can cope with current and future problems.
Psychodrama is a creative action group therapy that can help individuals and groups explore the complexity of thoughts and emotions present within any life situation.
Central to the approach is creativity and spontaneity of action, which can reveal aspects of ourselves we have been unaware of, to help us to express ourselves more clearly and re-assess the focus and direction of our life.
The role of the psychodrama group and its facilitator is to create a safe environment in which feelings can be acknowledged, expressed and contained. The work is done at whatever level of self-disclosure or depth each individual is comfortable with. An important aspect of the culture of the group is freedom of choice and the support to say no or stop at any time.
Psychodynamic therapy helps you understand how your current feelings and behaviour are shaped by your past experiences and your unconscious mind and impulses.
The relationship with your therapist is key to this therapeutic approach. Having an accepting and trusting relationship with them encourages you to talk freely and openly about topics like your childhood and your relationship with your parents.
This can help you understand what you’re feeling now, why you behave in a certain way and how this affects your relationships.
A Transpersonal approach to psychotherapy and counselling considers the whole person, honouring the innate capacity of a person to find a way forward in life. It acknowledges that a person may have lost sight of this capacity and/or may never have consciously known it. It is an approach which focuses both on the here-and-now and on the there-and-then, is interested in potential and possibility, and in how an individual creates a meaningful and purposeful life. The approach recognises the importance of a spiritual dimension to life however the individual chooses to define this.
Somatic psychotherapy is a holistic therapeutic approach and interdisciplinary modality of applied somatic psychology that bridges the mind-body dualism and sees mind, body and spirit as being intimately connected.
The therapy safely and effectively releases trauma, shock and stress disorders. It calms and regulates the nervous system by tailoring different talking and practical methods for your particular needs. These will help you become more body aware so you can identify and calm early signs of stress/activation rather than finding yourself overwhelmed.
Make an appointment
To get the right help for you, the first thing to do is speak to our trained Clinical Advisor who’ll point you to the right therapist for your needs.