beyond

COUNSELLING IN STROUD, CHELTENHAM AND ON-LINE

CALL 07557 911551
Contact by my email

About Counselling

How can talking to someone make a difference?

It might be the first time you feel truly listened to and heard.

Helping you to look at things from a different perspective.

Being heard without judgement can provide the space to process life stories that haven't made sense before.


I have worked in the field of bereavement for many years and have realised that there are often many layers of emotions and questions that surface. This means I have also become experienced in many other areas.


Bereavement, depression, suicidal feelings, gender or identity crisis, panic attacks, accident, financial pressures, work stress, loss of confidence, bullying, divorce, domestic violence, cancer, amputation, terminal illness, miscarriage and loss of a child.


Any of these could leave you with a feeling that the future looks bleak.


Maybe the loss was so painful you self medicated to cope. Perhaps you are now in recovery and are reflecting on those painful past memories.


Some people want to tell their story at the start and others take months to build trust, It takes as long as it takes and I will stand alongside you as it unfolds. Together we will explore your thoughts and feelings in a safe, contained and manageable way so you are not overwhelmed.

What my clients have said

K said "Jean was pivotal in supporting me after the death of my baby. She helped me grieve when I was too shocked to do so, and supported me through all the stages of grief with skill and compassion. I felt able to confide in her which was crucial as I was struggling to let myself confide in family and friends. There was no judgement, just care and support. It was liberating to be able to say my worries in a safe environment, and with Jean's kindness.

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When I needed to revisit difficult feelings I really felt that she understood my perspective.

I looked forward to my sessions as a regular outlet for my grief, a lifeline in the darkness of days. I always felt like a weight had been lifted after the sessions.

I couldn't have got through the last 20 months without her. She is exceptionally skilled in bereavement and I am forever grateful for the help that she gave me.

I know I can reconnect with her in the future and that is a great comfort."

Ai said "I just want to thank you once again for such brilliant counselling sessions, they did me so much good and I honestly feel so much stronger and capable"

T said "Working with Jean changed my life for the better. We were able to move at a pace that was comfortable for me that helped me work through everything I need to. I feel so much more capable now than I was before and I appreciate everything we achieved working together. I’m so grateful for the help she was able to give me"

E said "Since starting this work with you, I've left behind all the people I was attempting to be and all the people and thoughts I couldn't disentangle myself from. I've remembered how to be me. I have my own energy, my own thoughts, I'm free and I'm happy."

M said "Without my counselling I fear I may have tried to take my own life...I will be forever grateful"

P said " Something has shifted for me and I feel more able to get on with my life"

D said "“This is the only place where I feel safe to say what I feel and know you won't judge me"

R said "Sometimes you meet people in life you don't forget. You are one of those"

A said "I decided to seek therapy after the breakup of an 8 year relationship followed by a tumultuous and toxic 2 year on/off relationship that was very damaging to my self-esteem and mental well-being. I’d also left my home, started freelancing and moving around the UK for work reasons, feeling lost, unanchored, sometimes depressed and extremely anxious.

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Before I met Jean I had spoken to two other therapists that I did not connect with at all. I reached out in desperation after landing in a new city yet again, and Jean responded with kindness and empathy, and she skillfully held the space for me while I worked through my issues and feelings of loss and grief around my last relationship, and my ongoing work and life struggles. I found her incredibly easy to talk to about all sorts of deeply personal subjects, mostly about romantic relationships and sometimes about strained work relationships and early family stuff. I found it possible to cry without feeling ashamed and managed to shift a lot of things. Jean reflected back to me some of her observations about me (or about things I was saying about myself) and asked insightful questions, gave useful analogies and helped to normalise some of the things that I’d felt ashamed about or was still struggling with. A few times we also did a grounding guided meditation in the room, which was extremely helpful. I learned about concepts such as “sharing impact” and I shared my thoughts and feelings about attachment theory and things I was trying to understand about my own behaviour, which we discussed together very constructively. I learned how to catch my thoughts and stop myself from spiralling as frequently as I had been doing, and through the course of talking to Jean, I was able to better manage my anxiety and my feelings of self-judgement. We also sometimes discussed the relationship with each other as a mode of learning how to listen or reflect back or process how one person affects the other.


I am especially grateful for the flexibility Jean offered to me in order to continue our work together (when I left the city, we continued via FaceTime; also, we did not have a regular meeting time because of my irregular hours, and Jean was very helpful with accommodating this).


I have a job that requires strong Leadership skills and I believe I did a much better job (in guiding my team through what was a career breakthrough project for me), thanks to Jean’s skills as a therapist. I am very grateful and would recommend Jean very highly."

© Jean Thirkettle

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