Nicky Ashby

I am a qualified, experienced Â鶹ԭ´´ Accredited integrative counsellor and psychotherapist (MA Distinction). I offer a genuinely warm, empathic, compassionate and non-judgmental therapeutic relationship, working with individual adults, students and young people. I provide a safe, accepting and confidential space for you to feel free to make sense of your life, your concerns and challenges. 

My approach is relational integrative and I adapt my particular approach to meet your specific counselling needs. I remain led by you as we explore what is troubling you - we may explore your current day concerns, and/or we may explore how difficulties in your past e.g. your childhood, impact you now. I further offer grounding and mindfulness techniques (these can be helpful for anxiety, relaxation and stabilisation), self-compassionate approaches and cognitive behavioural techniques if required. 

I have trauma training and experience of counselling women who have experienced child sexual abuse and/or domestic violence in a sexual violence charity . I am also experienced in counselling individuals who have experienced any form of abuse (emotional, mental, verbal, physical and/or sexual). My warm, gentle approach can help facilitate healing after trauma. 

You may want counselling to help you to process grief and losses, after the death of a family member or friend, baby loss, miscarriage, separation, divorce or infertility. My experiences of counselling in a hospice and a pregnancy crisis centre have shaped how I walk alongside clients, supporting them as they process extremely painful life experiences. 

I believe that therapy is a collaborative process, where we can explore your difficulties and find ways forward together, at your pace, in a way that best suits you. 

If you are unsure about the therapeutic process, hearing about others experiences can be helpful. Here are a few of my previous clients' feedback:

A (25) said "I feel incredibly grateful I had you as a therapist, you created a safe environment where I felt comfortable to be vulnerable and talk about what was on my mind. I felt confident that whatever I said would be met without judgement and you helped me to process things I hadn't told anyone else. I feel like in our time together I grew so much as a person and learnt a lot about myself. I feel like I understand myself and my behaviour better, which has improved my relationships with the people around ... I'm grateful for the way you were present with me throughout." 

T (67) wrote "I always felt that you really listened to me and made sure you understood what I was saying. You tailored our sessions to what I needed at any particular time, and I never felt like I was being subjected to ‘techniques’. You always seemed to genuinely care. If you asked me a question, you gave me time to think about my answer if I needed to. I never felt rushed, and I always felt I could be honest about what I was feeling or thinking. I didn’t feel I had to try to say the ‘right’ thing. You helped me to see positive things in myself and grow in confidence, and I believe that I am becoming a much more complete person, which has rather surprised me!"

F (52) reported "Nicky was particularly skilled at getting me to talk about events relating to my Fathers death. I found it very hard initially, however, without pushing me and with gentle, sympathetic questions, I was able to talk about something extremely traumatic. I was only able to do this because I trusted Nicky. She is excellent at relationship building and her gentle approach was just what I needed in order to open up to her. Nicky has helped me get my life back in order, I am far happier, more grounded and far more capable of dealing with things."

I offer a free 15 minutes telephone conversation, this is an opportunity for us to talk about your counselling needs and for you to ask any questions about my practice. If you then wished to book a first session, that is 50 minutes and charged at my standard/concessionary rate.