ANGELA SIMMONS

APPROACH
Angela is a warm and insightful counsellor, dedicated to finding ways of improving the lives of those of you who come to her seeking help.

She believes that counselling truly is your journey of a lifetime, your magical mystery tour. You may come to counselling feeling cornered, restricted and encumbered, trussed up in chicken wire, strapped into a strait jacket or tangled up in swaddling. Maybe you feel as if you are living inside a glass bubble; you can see the world outside it but seem unable to communicate in the way you or others want, and feel unable to feel what you would like, or others would like you, to feel about the people and things outside your bubble. You may feel your head is full of sticky black cobwebs, rendering your brain unable to move at the normal pace.

During her 18 years in France Angela has suffered much of the frustration, anxiety, loneliness and sadness experienced by many people living in a foreign country with a different culture, language, and way of doing things, away from children, family, friends and colleagues. She has undergone regular counselling in order to help maintain her energy and equilibrium.

CAREER
Angela’s original post child-rearing career was in Social Work in Sussex. She worked for three years with children and families before moving into adults’ and older people’s mental health, where she spent eight years based in a multi-disciplinary Community Mental Health team with other Mental Health professionals, both from Health and Social Services, where she gained invaluable experience in identifying problems other than those safely helped by counselling alone. She followed this by working as a hospital Social Worker and as a frontline Telephone Helpdesk Advisor for Social Services where she gained experience helping the elderly and those suffering from illness and loss in a compassionate way. She gained her diploma working parallel to her Social work career. On qualifying she moved to France where for 18 years she has practiced as a face to face and telephone counsellor for English-speaking clients from anywhere in the world. She also has some training and experience in On-line Counselling.

TRAINING
Angela’s initial training was person-centred counselling, but she subsequently trained and gained her Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling from Chichester Counselling Services - a Sussex BACP accredited course in a low-cost counselling organisation where practise is supervised during almost all of the three training years. She has undergone regular training during her years in Social Services and subsequently through Continuing Professional Development.

OTHER INFORMATION
Angela speaks English and French. She has been practising in private practice for the past 20 years. She is a Registered member of BACP. She only makes a small charge for the first session together.

Please contact me on angelasimmons2002@gmail.com