A place to think things through, at your own pace
I am Steve Pointon, a person-centred counsellor in Crewe, Cheshire. I work with people who are grieving, frightened, worn out, or stuck, in person and online across the UK.
What people bring
You do not need a diagnosis or a good reason. Most people arrive because something has become hard to carry on their own.
- Bereavement and loss
- Someone has died and the world has not adjusted itself accordingly. Also the losses nobody sends cards for: a marriage, a job, your health, the person you used to be.
- Cancer, yours or someone else's
- Diagnosis, treatment, the scan you are waiting on, and the strange flat stretch afterwards when everyone assumes you are fine now.
- Anxiety and stress
- The thinking that will not stop, the dread that arrives before the day does, the sense of running at something that never gets closer.
- Depression
- When everything has gone heavy and grey, and the things that used to matter do not seem to any more.
- Relationships
- Working out what you actually want, why the same pattern keeps arriving, and what you are going to do about it.
- Change you did not choose
- Redundancy, illness, separation, retirement. Anything that has moved the ground and left you standing somewhere you did not plan to be.
What actually happens
Not knowing how it works stops a lot of people getting in touch, so here it is, start to finish.
You get in touch
Email, phone, or the form on this site. You do not have to explain everything, a sentence is enough. If you would like a quick call before booking anything, say so, though plenty of people would rather go straight to a first session.
A first session
Fifty minutes, in Crewe or online. Mostly you talking and me listening. There is nothing you have to prepare and nothing you have to say.
We review as we go
After the first session we can talk about whether you want to continue, and if so, how often we meet. From there we review it regularly, to check you are still getting what you need from it.
£50
per session, 50 minutes
What it costs
Paid by bank transfer or cash before we meet. Nothing to sign, and no package of sessions to commit to up front.
If you would rather speak to me briefly before booking a first session, just ask when you get in touch. There is no charge for that.
Who you would be talking to
I spent years in management and security before any of this. Then I had cancer, twice, went through the treatment and the tribunal that followed, and came out the other side knowing what it is like to be the person in the chair.
I retrained in my forties and took a BSc degree in Person-Centred Counselling at the University of Derby. I am a registered member of the BACP, trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and I sit on the board of the International Kidney Cancer Coalition.
None of that is why people stay, though. They stay because I listen properly and I do not flinch.
Read more about Steve
Living with and Beyond Cancer
A podcast about what a cancer diagnosis does to the rest of your life, with new episodes released regularly. Honest conversations for patients, the people who love them, and the professionals looking after them.
All episodesWhat people have said
I lost my mum on top of several other recent bereavements and Steve helped me understand that it was ok to take longer than I thought was normal, to process what had happened. Steve made it possible for me to start that process as I knew he was right there with me.
I can’t thank Steve enough, I’m not sure where I would be right now if it wasn’t for his help and support. Steve listens without interrupting and really helped me understand what was going on for me.
Nothing has to be decided today
Send a message, or ring if that is easier. I answer everything myself, usually within a day or two.