Welcome to Breakthrough2Change Counselling
INDIVIDUAL THERAPY: Emotion-Focused Counselling for adults to help with emotional difficulties such as anxiety, depression, PTSD and more
COUPLE THERAPY: Emotionally-Focused Couple Therapy to help to restore connection & overcome conflict & distress in couple relationships
About Me
Russell is a accredited professional Counsellor / Psychotherapist with a MSc degree in Person-Centred Experiential (PCE) Psychotherapy. He also has a diploma in CBT. Currently working in private practice, from his home near Boston in Lincolnshire, he offers counselling/psychotherapy for adult clients including individuals, couples and family members. Sessions can take place online or in-person.
Previously, Russell was a registered nurse for almost 20 years and gained a wealth of experience helping and supporting others through their mental health difficulties and emotional distress. Following his nursing career, Russell joined the NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service and was employed as a Counsellor. Here he was a Counsellor for patients who suffered with depression.
Russell was then trained in Couple Therapy for depression and went on to study and pursue further trainings in Emotion Focused Therapy, Dynamic Emotion Focused therapy, Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy and Emotionally Focused Family Therapy.
Russell believes that the bedrock for all 'good therapy' is the therapist's ability and capacity to offer a genuine, caring, empathic and accepting therapeutic relationship for each and every client. This is the core ethos of the Person-Centred Approach and is the solid foundation for all Emotionally Focused Therapy. The main models of therapy which inform Russell's practice in psychotherapy and counselling are humanistic, experiential and emotion focused.
- MSc degree in Person-Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy (2018)
- Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (2014)
- Certificate in Counselling (1996)
- Qualified practitioner in Person-Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression in (2021)
- Qualified practitioner in Couple Therapy for Depression (2022)
- Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy: (EFIT) Level 1 training in 2021 (Sue Johnson’s model)
- Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy: (EFIT) Level 2 training in 2021 (Sue Johnson’s model)
- Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) Level 1 in 2017 (Les Greenberg's model)
- Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) Level 2 in 2018 (Les Greenberg's model)
- Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) Level 3 in 2020-2021 (Les Greenberg's model)
- Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) Externship in 2021 (Sue Johnson’s model)
- Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (Core Skills) in 2021 an Advanced Training Program (Sue Johnson's model)
- Schema Therapy Foundations: Theory and Core Skills (2022)
- Advanced Schema Therapy for Complex Cases (2023)
- Dynamic Emotion Focused therapy (DEFT) Certificate in 2024 (Susan Warren Warshow’s model)
- AEDP - Immersion (2025)
- Emotionally-Focused Family Therapy - Level 1 and 2 (2025)
Counselling in Lincolnshire
As a counsellor/psychotherapist my main aim is to provide a healing relationship for all those who seek my help. I combine what I consider to be the best of 'person-centred approach' with 'emotion focused therapies'. My intention is to offer all clients my caring attention which is both compassionate, empathic and non-judgemental. This way of being creates 'safety' in the relationship between client and therapist. Safety supports clients to focus their attention inwards and to explore what is troubling them and to share with the therapist how they are being emotionally impacted.
The therapist will 'walk alongside' the client as they explore their inner world by sensing into their feelings and responding to what the client experiences in the here-and-now. The therapist endeavours to be a therapeutic partner and a trust-worthy companion as clients encounter what John Bowlby refers to as their "...frightening, alien and unacceptable emotion". It is only with the client's permission that the therapist can do this. Clients who go deeper into their emotional selves below 'surface level' are often rewarded with rich discoveries and resources they never knew they had.
In this therapy the therapist is not taking an 'expert role' as if they know what is best for the client but they are an 'expert' in helping clients to process their feelings and to move through them and toward new ways of being and experiencing. The therapist is an 'advocate' for those feelings which are often more subtle, hidden or silenced behind various blocks, defences or shame. With the therapist's help these feelings are accessed in therapy, making change and growth possible.
So as your therapist it would be an honour to work with you and be trusted with your story. I will pay attention to the the problems you bring to work on in therapy and will join with you as we work together to help you find your best way forward. I will not 'push' you in any way or try to convince you what direction to take, but I will be your therapeutic partner, taking this journey with you, sometimes 'following' you as you share with me your difficulties and distress, but also being your 'guide' at specific moments to help you work through your pain and find relief from your emotional distress and suffering.
If you are grappling with anxiety, struggling with depression, suffering the effects of past trauma, or experiencing couple or family relational distress I am here for you. Emotion Focused therapy is a researched-informed psychological therapy for individuals, couples and families. It is becoming more and more widely known and is one of the main alternatives to CBT therapy. Please feel free to contact me to learn more or to book your first session.
Contact Me
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how counselling works, or to arrange an initial assessment appointment. This enables us to discuss the reasons you are thinking of coming to counselling, whether it could be helpful for you and whether I am the right therapist to help.
You can also call me on 07756 814388 or 01205 871144 if you would prefer to leave a message or speak to me first. I am happy to discuss any queries or questions you may have prior to arranging an initial appointment.
All enquires are usually answered within 24 hours, and all contact is strictly confidential and uses secure phone and email services.
MY LOCATION
Online sessions are via Zoom. In-person sessions take place in a designated therapy room at the Old Coach and Horses in Wrangle which is easily accessible from areas such as Lincolnshire, Skegness, Spilsby and Woodhall Spa.
FEES
Individual therapy sessions are for 1 hour and £40
Couple therapy sessions are for 1 hour and £50
Family therapy sessions are for 1 hour and £50
Sessions can be in-person or online or a mixture of both.
Payment can be made in cash or by completing a bank transfer. Please ensure payment is made on the day the therapy session.
The therapist can be contacted by email or if you prefer please feel free to call on the number provided to book your first appointment.
PAYMENT & CANCELLATION
Payment can be made in cash or by bank transfer. Please ensure payment is made promptly on the day the therapy is provided.
Cancellations which are made less than 24 hours before the booked session will still be charged.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the first session, I will need to take a few personal details from you such as your name and address and a contact number. We will then look at why you are coming to therapy and the problems which bring you here. I will need to have some idea about your goals and how you hope to feel or think differently, as a result of completing a course of therapy.
No you won't, but I sometimes do use a questionnaires such as CORE-OM, PHQ-9 and GAD-7. These forms can be helpful to highlight problematic mental health symptoms such as anxiety or depression, as well as identifying actual/potential risks to self or others such as self-harm or suicidality. Moreover these forms often help to track/monitor mental health and.well-being throughout the course of therapy.
Emotions can be adaptive and healthy. Emotions help us to navigate our way through life, alert us to danger to keep us safe, enable us to make important decisions and help us to recognize our needs and communicate them to others. Generally speaking, they serve us well. However emotions can go awry and when they do, we tend to suffer more within ourselves and our relationships. Emotion-focused therapy works with emotion. Change in this therapy is about accessing problematic emotions which often keep us feeling 'stuck' in our distress. The change process in therapy is about transforming these unhealthy, unproductive emotions, into more healthy, productive and adaptive emotions.
Therapy which is 'time-limited' tends to have a predetermined amount of sessions available for clients to attend and is usually a brief course of therapy, between 6-10 sessions. In 'open-ended' therapy no such limits are imposed. I offer 'open-ended' therapy for clients but I do like to discuss with clients how many sessions they feel they might need at the outset of therapy.
No. I am a qualified psychotherapist. I do not have any medical qualifications. This means I can not diagnose mental health disorders or offer medical advice about medications for mental health disorders or medical issues. If you are seeking a mental health diagnosis it is best to consult with a medical doctor such as your GP, Psychiatrist or Clinical Psychologist.
If you have a current active addiction the therapist may still work with you but you must be receiving treatment from Addiction Services. Preferably such treatment should already be in place before you make contact with me.
No. It would not be possible to create enough 'safety' in-sessions to provide 'emotionally focused couple therapy'. You may wish to contact a domestic abuse service for help such as the East Lindsey Domestic Abuse Service on 01507 609830.
Payment for therapy sessions may be paid in cash or by bank transfer. The therapist requests payment to be made on the day the therapy session is provided or just before. Failure to pay may result in your sessions being 'paused' until payment is received. Please notify the therapist at least 24 hours before the session start time if you need to cancel. Less than 24 hours notice will incur a charge at the full price of the missed therapy session.
Yes. All sessions are confidential. However there are limits to the degree of confidentiality provided when issues such as 'risk' (actual or potential) of harm to self, to others, to children or vulnerable adults is presented by clients. Moreover clients need to be aware that the therapist has regular consultation about his client work with his clinical supervisor and may discuss them and their case. Any records pertaining to client information/data is kept secure and is inaccessible to others.
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