Steph Jones Psychotherapist / Neuro-developmental Diagnostician/ Author
MNCPS (Accred) PGDip BSc (Hons)
Unfortunately, I am not taking on any new clients at this time and do not keep a waiting list 🤍
Hi, I’m Steph! A very warm welcome to my site! 🙂
Starting therapy (also known as counselling or psychotherapy) is often quite a scary prospect. You may already feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of therapists available – what do the different qualifications and approaches mean? Who is most experienced? Who will be able to help me the best?!
Although there are many different types of counselling to choose from, research tells us that the most important factor in determining a successful client outcome is the quality of the therapeutic relationship (Norcross, 2002; Elkins, 2016; Martin et al, 2002). In a nutshell:
I am a warm, professional, down-to-earth, experienced and highly qualified Psychotherapist who loves what she does.
Perhaps….?
☑️ You are struggling with feelings of stress, anxiety, depression or trauma.
☑️ You are, or suspect you might be, neurodivergent (autistic and/or ADHD) and would like a safe place to explore yourself and the world around you.
☑️ Your relationship isn’t going well and you don’t know how to repair things.
☑️ You find it a challenge to assert your needs (or maybe don’t even know what they are).
☑️ You’re doing your absolute best but can’t unlock your true potential.
☑️ You know your problems inside out but can’t resolve them and feel stuck.
☑️ You get easily overwhelmed and can’t seem to control your feelings.
I feel privileged to have worked with thousands of individuals and couples helping them to take important steps in improving their lives and relationships. Read some of their feedback here.
By seeing something in a new way or simply trying something different, it makes sense that the outcome will also be different. Therapy is about helping you broaden your current awareness and find the answers just outside your reach.
We all need a helping hand from time to time so let’s get started. I am trained to help you solve your problems.
To book your free consultation click here
☑️ Psychotherapist (MNCPS Accred) supporting individuals and couples in private practice (UK and Internationally online) ☑️ Neuro-developmental Diagnostician ☑️ Accredited Member of the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) ☑️ Registered Member of the National Autistic Society ☑️ Experienced and qualified Postgraduate ☑️ Listed on the Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register ☑️ Registered at Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ☑️ Enhanced DBS Certificate ☑️ Professional liability insured ☑️ LGBTQIA+ 🏳️🌈 ☑️ Trauma-informed practice ☑️ Author of ‘The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy’ (Jessica Kingsley Publishing) and feature writer for magazines, journals, newspapers and blogs
Referrals accepted: self-referral, GP/ clinical settings, Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), private health insurance.
UK and International, Alderley Edge, Altrincham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Bollington, Bolton, Bowdon, Bramhall, Bredbury, Bury, Carrington, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme, Delph, Denton, Didsbury, Disley, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Eccles, Edgeley, Failsworth, Farnworth, Hale, Hazel Grove, Heaton Chapel, Heaton Norris, Heywood, Horwich, Hyde, Irlam, Knutsford, Leigh, Littleborough, Macclesfield, Manchester, Marple, Mellor, Middleton, Milnrow, Mossley, Mottram St. Andrew, Oldham, Orrell, Prestbury, Prestwich, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom, Reddish, Rochdale, Romiley, Royton, Sale, Salford, Stockport, Stretford, Strines, Swinton, Timperley, Tyldesley, Urmston, Walkden, Wardle, Westhoughton, Whitefield, Wigan, Woodley, Worsley
In the Media…
I am a regular media contributor (as seen in The Guardian, Metro), author (Jessica Kingsley Publishing, WILEY), brand collaborator, and researcher. For all media and corporate enquiries please click here.
References
Norcross, J. (2002). Psychotherapy relationships that work. New York: Oxford University Press.
Elkins D.N. (2016) The Human Elements of Psychotherapy: A Nonmedical Model of Emotional Healing. American Psychological Association Press.
Martin, D. J., Garske, J. P., & Davis, M. K. (2000). Relation of the therapeutic alliance with outcome and other variables: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(3), 438-450. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.68.3.43
Steph Jones Counselling & Psychotherapy 
I have just read with joy and delight your article in Therapy Today, so much so that I then read your website. Very good indeed. I would certainly recommend you to people in your area, though as I live and work in Dorset, that doesn’t happen too often. I just wanted to tell you I agree with all you say, love your approach, and wish you all the best with your work and life (ok I know they are the same I’m just being lazy in putting it that way). Love and best wishes Mary. By the way I have never responded in this way to an article in a therapy journal before!
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Hi Mary! Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback- I’ve just sent you a quick email (in case I loiter in your spam folder…!). Wishing you all the best and fantastic you enjoyed the article! Steph
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Hi Steph- I don’t normally do this but I really wanted to send a message and say how much I enjoyed your article in Therapy Today. I related completely to it and I thought it was beautifully written. Like Mary I’ve never responded to an article like this but it really touched me and ‘my stuff’. Thanks for making my day. Holly
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Hi Holly- thank you so much! It genuinely means so much to me that the article resonated with you- I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response I’ve received from practitioners. It moves me so much to know you connected with it. Thank YOU! x
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Your article inspired me too. Thank you Steph. I’ve been planning to arrange some more counselling for a while and your article spurred me on to make contact with a therapist. Got to keep those tools sharpened and care for ourselves!
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Amazing article in Therapy Today Steph thanks for that and all the best it sounds like you’re an excellent counsellor and have great integrity,
Julia
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Thank you! And glad to hear I’ve spurred you on too. If we’re not careful we end up practising the opposite of what we preach in terms of self care so good for you! I like to think of it as an MOT and full valet service.
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Julia, thank you so much. Really pleased you enjoyed it. That’s really kind of you to say- thank you 😊
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Hi Steph,
Like many of the other people here I’ve never felt inspired to do this either but wanted to contact you to say how much I enjoyed your article and the genuiness and authenticity you display. I loved the ending when you proclaim how ‘real’ you are but that despite warts and all you are still good enough! Reminds me of Yalom who always appeared ‘so real’ and he is one of my heroes!
I totally agree with how there is a heightened sensitivity and empathy when you have experienced trauma yourself that no amount of qualifications can match! Having had my world turned upside down in my 40s by a marriage break up I am conscious that my emotional spectrum was stretched to full capacity. One of the ways I found to utilize this pain was like many others to become a ‘wounded healer’.
I have been having my own therapy for 2 years now and it has been invaluable on my journey of discovery. It has taken me this long to face some of my demons. My counsellor also has personal therapy and I feel it is through her disclosure that we connect at a deeper level. I am so passionate about this work and am so thankful that despite my losses God has led me to this place of continual growth and knowledge about myself and others and I am able to use my experiences to be able to empathize more powerfully.
Best wishes
Nicki
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Hey Nicki, thank you so much for getting in touch and your experience says it all for me: ‘I totally agree with how there is a heightened sensitivity and empathy when you have experienced trauma yourself that no amount of qualifications can match!’ One of the key moments in one of my personal therapies was when my therapist said to me, “You think I’ve got it all figured out? Me and my perfect f— life?!” His vulnerability and authenticity made it all feel real, and after that point the connection really deepened, as you described in your experience. Thank you so much, wishing you all the best! Steph
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Hi Steph,this too is a first for me to email another fellow therapist after reading an article in Therapy Today! I really enjoying reading it. What struck me the most was just how honest and genuine you came across in words … I felt I could almost touch it! I too am always myself in the therapy room, bringing in humour, honesty and empathy. It’s who I am and I truly believe this is the reason why my ‘books are always full’. Self-care is ‘up there’ and non-negotiable and I am in need of it today, so I have engaged in some lovely activities for myself this morning including writing this email, in time for client work this afternoon!!
Good luck in all that you do.
Warmest wishes.
Nicole Gibbs
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Hi Nicole,
Thank you for your kind words, I’m so glad you connected so strongly with it! It really feels incredible for me that we as practitioners are all here saying- yeah, me too! Wishing you all the very best, thank you so much for getting in touch and sharing your experience! Steph 😊
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Hi Steph. Wow! What an amazing & positive response from your piece in therapy today. I don’t know you. But after reading ‘experts by experience ‘ I feel I do! Well done for your honesty. I am in my 2nd year of a PC counselling degree & thanks to you, have found a fantastic article to share in my presentation on mental health at the end of this month. Thanks! Caroline
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Hi Caroline, thank you so much! I am really excited to hear you’ll be sharing the article in your presentation- if there’s anything you need from me feel free to get in touch. I am absolutely blown away by the response I’ve received, and thrilled you enjoyed it! Very best wishes and hope your studies goes well! Steph 😊
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Hello Steph, your article in TT is excellent. I’m a huge fan of the wounded healer legend. I’ve just been reading Yalom’s 2016 autobiography which could have easily been entitled “My paradise life where everything I touched turned to gold”. Anyway, I am looking to arrange counselling sessions for myself with you and am attracted thus because I’m also a musician. Please let me know. Kind regards. Anthony
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Hi Steph – I felt compelled to write to you having read your article in Therapy Today this month. It would seem that I am not alone! What a refreshing, honest and enjoyable read! At times I wanted to punch the air with joy (though would have been a bit weird since I was reading it in bed with a flu ridden husband!), as it seemed you have been able to capture in words that intuitive skill (magical power or Woo Woo!) to describe what I have always known – that my personal experiences and subsequent counselling for severe anxiety and panic attacks has brought something special to my own counselling practice, and (dare I say it) I strongly believe that those of us who have ‘walked the walk’ in some way have a significant edge to the empathy and understanding we offer our clients.
I salute you for taking the plunge and writing such from such an honest place. You have also inspired me to put a little more of myself and my own experiences into an article I am currently writing for BACP Workplace regarding Anxiety and Panic Attacks in the Workplace. Let’s keep this rolling – shall we hastag #MetooWooWoo?!
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Hi Sue, what fantastic feedback and I’m glad you didn’t accidentally smash your poorly husband! I’m deeply touched by your comments and so glad you’re going to put part of yourself into your forthcoming article. I am now on the receiving end of 50+ private emails, messages and tweets from practitioners – many calling for a need to keep this rolling so YES! Good call in the hashtag!! #MetooWooWoo 😂
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Hi Steph
Well, here is yet another reader of your Therapy Today article who also felt compelled to write – and I, too, have rarely done this in the past! As with all who have written before me, I thoroughly enjoyed your honesty and the reality of therapeutic work that was embedded throughout your article. I found myself nodding my head, smiling and agreeing wholeheartedly with so much of what you wrote. THIS is what therapy/counselling is about. From my own experiences as a therapist, I know that the moments when I have shared my darkest moments in life, (the wounded healer in action), have been the ones when I felt closest to my clients and when I have seen, and felt, in the room that sense of connection which is so vital to the therapeutic relationship. And I concur with the praise of Yalom in Nikki’s response – one of my heroes too, who is always so utterly human and owns up to, and shares of himself, warts and all! I wish you well with your work.
Warm wishes
Jane Dixey
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Hi Jane, Thank you for taking the time out to find me and share your experience here- I am blown away by the positive shared philosophy we all have here! When you wrote: THIS is what therapy/counselling is all about- I found myself doing a YES! I’ll have to go back to reading Yalom from all your suggestions- I briefly studied him whilst training – but course reading is definitely different to pleasure reading! Thank you so much, Jane. Wishing you all the best too.
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Dear Steph
I’m unsurprised to see that I’m not the only one inspired to contact you after reading your article in Therapy Today. I really appreciated not only the message but also the way in which you’ve conveyed it, both articulate and down to earth and REAL. It reminded me of when I took my first steps in counselling training, when – having had only a few episodes of short-term counselling – I decided I needed to see a counsellor just to help me understand my responses to the training itself. During that period I remember saying to the trainer “But I can’t become a counsellor until I’m totally normal myself.” Now I smile to remember that, as I no longer know quite what I meant by it. I feel fortunate that I undertook my training in a field that demanded that trainees had therapy during training; for me now I can’t separate what I learned in training from what I learned in therapy. From when I first started seeing clients I was passionate about a desire to equalise the power relationship, and yet I’m still aware of a cautiousness – perhaps shame? – about acknowledging I might need help myself. Your article has encouraged me to be less afraid to show my own humanity for the benefit of my clients.
Thank you!
Lucy
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Hi Lucy, thank you so much too! Your comments about “But I can’t become a counsellor…” really echo with me! I would often sob hysterically with my supervisor during training, wishing I were ‘normal.’ She really helped me see there is NO SUCH THING!! I’m so glad my article has encouraged you to keep it real, I’m so grateful for your contact. Best wishes! Steph 😊
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Hi Steph like many of the comments above I, too absolutely loved your article in ‘therapy today’ and never before have I responded to an author but feel I had to after reading what you wrote. Well done! Lucy walker (MBACP)
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Hi Lucy, thank you ever so much. I promise that no matter how many comments I receive, every time I am struck with a sense of gratitude and respect for someone taking the time out to get in touch. So thank you, Lucy! Really appreciate your kind words 😊
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Hello Steph
I loved your article in Therapy Today – your honesty, wisdom and humility. Helping clients to find meaning and to learn about self acceptance describes the core of my practice – having gladly used my own personal therapy from which I experienced first hand that ‘feeling felt” something, as described by Dan Siegal – that trust and connection which then allows the clients own innate wisdom to flow. I too “self care the shit out of the low days” in aiming to practice what I preach! Warmest regards Marie
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Hi Marie, thank you for your feedback. I love what you said about allow the clients’ inner wisdom to flow. So often I hear clients tell me they haven’t got an inner voice/ guidance. When we untangle the cobwebs which gather in the mind, they can hear it loud and clear! Thanks so much and wishing you all the best 😊x
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I have just read your article in March ,Therapy Today,having just come back from a month in Kenya attempting to help out in Schools in the slums which are supported by a UK charity ‘Porridge & Rice’
Like the person at the commencement of your article I only trained as a Counsellor following retirement after 41 years in practice as a Chartered Accountant but unlike him I did engage in personal therapy for 2 yrs. approx.
I was married for 30 yrs.(which was initially triggered by a pregnancy) but in my 50’s suffered a breakdown involving 3 months abscence from work. In this period I resolved to end my marriage.
Your article coincides entirely with my thinking ( I think it should be a compulsory requirement for people on BACP accredited courses to engage in counselling)
In my school counselling work I answer questions truthfully with appropriate self disclosure.
I regard the peer comment ‘what if a client read it’ as irrelevant.
In regard to research the work in my field appears to be confined to comparisons between the waiting list clients & those engaged in counselling.Anything may have happened outside the counselling to effect a change in someone’s life.I therefore regard the comparisons as meaningless & not capable of scientific replication which I understand is the criteria for meaningful scientific research.
I have recently attempted to work with traumatised adults where I think their is relevance that I am a ‘wounded healer’
Finally I am not sure what you mean by an ’empathic badass’
Geoff
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Hi Geoff, thank you so much for your response and honesty regarding your own journey to be a practitioner. It’s wonderful to hear you also support the need to do the inner-work before helping others, this comes across so strongly in your message and your experience. Glad to hear you also recognise yourself as a wounded healer – I guess for me the following might help your understanding of empathic badass! I, along with all those who provided comments here, also regarded the peer comment as irrelevant. Really appreciate your comments! Best wishes, Steph
Taken from ‘Urban Dictionary’-
A badass stays true to themselves, always. This means being themselves for themselves, and not being fake to impress others.
A badass does not give up. Badasses will always push themselves for the better, no matter how hard it gets.
A badass is not a jerk. A badass does not prey on the weak, and shows kindness in return to those who are kind.
A badass knows his/her limits. Don’t be stupid, you’re not Superman, you’ll die if you jump off a building.
A badass does not make enemies or go looking for fights. They do not fights that aren’t worth fighting either.
😊
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Hello Steph,
I was inspired to write to you regarding your article, ‘Experts by Experience’ in March’s edition of Therapy Today magazine. (Please forgive the intrusion… I don’t normally write to someone I don’t know…).
Your article gave me ‘food for thought’…. I’ve lost count of the number of times, my reasons for not wanting to ‘stick with it…..’ the essays, the loss of my personal life and why I wanted to be a counsellor in the first place?
I have just completed a two year Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling and now I know why!
Thank you Steph! Your article was a joy to read.
Kind regards.
Angela 🙂
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Hey Angela, thank you for your feedback and I’m really glad it connected with you! I’m in the process of writing a book actually which will incorporate some of the things I discuss in the article – predominantly around burnout and stress in the life of a busy working therapist. I’m not sure it gets any easier to be honest BUT the reward IS the job! Just make sure you have a good dollop of self-care in your back pocket for the journey!! Congratz on the diploma – good work! Steph xx
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Hello Steph,
Thank you. It was lovely to contact with you too! Congratulations on the book. I’m sure it will be amazing! Your genuineness is so inspirational and I felt it ‘touched’ something in me. I look forward to reading your new book. Very best wishes. Angela xxx
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