
Phyllis Smith
Registered Member MÍø±¬ÃÅ (Accredited)
Contact information
- Phone number
- 07796953142
Therapist - Cambridge
Features
- Wheelchair accessible office
- Concessionary rates
Availability
Thur and Friday, hybrid
Not working on weekends or Bank Holidays
About me and my therapy practice
I am an accredited member of Íø±¬ÃÅ. I am specialised in counselling adults who are suffering from anxiety and depression and I am particularly interested in cross-cultural issues. Sometimes we have difficult relationship with our friends and families; or we are at a crossroad of our lives struggling to make good decisions; or we are struggling with the conflicts between where we are brought up and where we are now. Whatever the reason, people come to counselling to be listened to, to find practical ways to improve their lives and seek understanding of where they are at and what they want for their lives. I will be your counsellor to facilitate that.
As an integrative counsellor, I adopt counselling approaches that cater for clients' needs depending on their issues, personality traits, age, ethnic and cultural background and most important of all, their personal preferences in how they want counselling to work for them. I provide the space and freedom for my clients to share what they want to share, to be themselves and to become whom they aspire to be.
Counselling can be a daunting experience, especially if you haven't done it before. It is my job to reassure you at our initial assessment session that counselling is what you are seeking and if not I may be able to signpost you on to other agencies. The initial assessment session is also an opportunity for us to meet and understand a bit about each other, have a preliminary discussion of the issues you want to focus on and for you to decide whether we can work together in this collaborative partnership.
Practice description
New clients are encouraged to contact me by email or by phone to make initial enquiries. It would be useful if they can tell me a little bit of their background and the reasons for counselling. They are more than welcome to ask any questions that will help them to decide if counselling is for them.
As an integrative counsellor, I adopt different approaches in my counselling depending on the client's needs and preferences. It's not an 'one size fits all' approach. This also depends on whether the client is looking for short-term (6-12 weeks) or long-term (open-end) therapy and how the client likes to work with me, e.g. some prefer a more structured approach whereas others prefer 'free-style' talking therapy. My aim is to provide an environment to facilitate these needs and preferences in my practice so that my clients will find it safe and comfortable to engage in each session.
Each session is 50 minutes long. Sessions can be done on Zoom or in person.
My first session
The first session is an initial assessment session where I will try to understand:
- the reasons for your counselling
- your background, e.g. family, work, relationship
- your experience in counselling
- your medical history, especially mental health (if applicable)
- your queries about counselling
We'll discuss what you are looking for in counselling and whether counselling is the right thing for you. I'll try my best to answer some of the questions in your mind.
We'll agree on or discuss:
- number of sessions you will have initially
- the approaches we'll work in
- counselling time and fees
- confidentiality
- privacy policy
- cancellation policy
The initial assessment session will then be followed by normal counselling sessions, usually on a weekly basis.
What I can help with
Anger management, Anxiety, Bereavement, Cancer, Chronic fatigue syndrome / ME, Cultural issues, Depression, Eating disorders, Health related issues, Identity issues, Life coaching, Loss, Personal development, Pregnancy related issues, Redundancy, Relationships, Self esteem, Self-harm, Sexuality, Spirituality, Stress, Trauma, Women's issues, Work related issues
Types of therapy
CBT, Existential, Humanistic, Integrative, Person centred, Psychodynamic, Relational, Solution focused brief therapy
Clients I work with
Adults, EAP, Groups, Older adults, Organisations, Trainees, Young people
How I deliver therapy
Long term sessions, Long-term face-to-face work, Online therapy, Short term sessions, Short-term face-to-face work, Single session therapy (SST), Time-limited
Languages spoken
English, Chinese (Cantonese), Mandarin
Supervisor - Cambridge
Features
Availability
Thursday and Friday (Thur afternoon only during term time)
Hybrid
About me and my therapy practice
I am a qualified supervisor with a certificate in in-person and online supervision.
I am particularly interested in working with trainees and counsellors who are at their earlier stage of their careers. I am trained as an integrative counsellor and therefore am expected to provide supervision in a similar approach.
I work flexibly either in person or on Zoom with my supervisees. My goal as a supervisor is to make my supervisees feel comfortable to discuss their practice with me. This might include the clinical practice itself as well as the supervisees' personal circumstances revolving around their practice which, I believe, is relevant to how they practise. To achieve this goal, my first and foremost role is to build up a trustworthy relationship with my supervisees so that they are at ease to talk through issues they encounter, whether personal or professional, without feeling being judged or assessed.
I see supervision as a two-way channel between me and my supervisees. I like to think that they don't 'look up' to me as a supervisor but treat me as a vessel in the learning and development journey where we can both benefit as we sail through our discussions together.
Practice description
I see my role as a supervisor as someone who advise, suggest, brainstorm, co-learn, correct and coach. I like to think of myself as less of a teacher but more of a co-learner in the therapy journey.
Supervisees will find me quite down-to-earth, and encouraging because that is an essential environment for them to thrive, learn and improve themselves. I never feel that I am an expert in a certain area of work but usually present myself as more interested or experienced in some themes or client groups than others.
I see myself as a 'holding hand' to my supervisees who often are able to find their solutions with just a few prompts.
I enjoy working with supervisees especially when they feel able to be open and honest about their mistakes, and are ready to learn and improve, exactly like what all therapists are expected to do in order to develop themselves in the profession.
My first session
The first session is mostly about the contract between me and the supervisee. We will discuss how we would like to do for each supervision session, cancellation policy, out-of-hour contact ways and hours, payment, frequency and duration of supervision etc.
We will also spend some time understanding each other's career paths and expectations in the supervision.
We'll agreed on some arrangements for the future so that we have a good footing to start for this supervisory alliance.
What I can help with
ADD / ADHD, Anger management, Anxiety, Autism spectrum, Bereavement, Cancer, Child related issues, Chronic fatigue syndrome / ME, Cultural issues, Depression, Health related issues, Identity issues, Loss, Menopause, Neurodiversity, Redundancy, Relationships, Self esteem, Self-harm, Spirituality, Stress, Women's issues, Work related issues
Types of therapy
CBT, Humanistic, Integrative, Psychodynamic, Relational, Solution focused brief therapy
Clients I work with
Adults, Groups, Organisations, Trainees
How I deliver therapy
Long term sessions, Long-term face-to-face work, Online therapy, Short term sessions, Short-term face-to-face work, Single session therapy (SST), Time-limited
Languages spoken
English, Chinese (Cantonese), Mandarin