Claire Black
COUNSELLING, PSYCHOTHERAPY AND SUPERVISION
Welcome to Claire Black Counselling
A safe and confidential space in which to explore the challenges in your life and find meaningful support
Welcome and thank you for visiting my website. My name is Claire Black and I am an experienced Gestalt Therapist providing both short and long-term therapy, training and supervision in Edinburgh and online.
Counselling and therapy in a non-judgmental, respectful and safe environment
It could be that you are feeling feeling anxious or overwhelmed. Or it might be that you're feeling depressed or stuck in your life, at work or in your relationship. Or perhaps you’re contemplating making some changes to how you live. Giving yourself a dedicated space and support to work through what you're experiencing can be life-changing. Day to day living can be tough for all of us and speaking about what you're experiencing with someone who is trained to listen and support can really help.
I have been working as a Gestalt Therapist in the city of Edinburgh since 2013. I provide counselling, therapy and supervision in central Edinburgh, offering both short term solution-focused work and open-ended counselling and therapy in central Edinburgh. I have experience of supporting people with a wide range of issues (anxiety, depression, life changes including becoming a parent and bereavement) and a particular expertise in working with those who are gender, sexual and relationship diverse (GSRD) and those who are neurodiverse. I have been working with LGBTQ+ people and those exploring sexual and gender identity issues for more than a decade.
I can offer support for your emotional health and well-being when your life is stressful or when you're experiencing difficulties or navigating change.
Trust, commitment, support
For me, the foundation of good therapy is a trusting relationship in which the client and counsellor, you are me, are active partners. If you come to see me, we will work together to explore what's going on for you and to understand your experience. My commitment is to work to create a relationship with you which allows you to be curious about yourself and your life and to be interested in what happens for you with me. I will meet you with warmth, honesty and care and in that way together we can create a space in which you can feel safe and accepted, in which you will get to know yourself better and discover what works for you and supports you, what you really want from life and how you might best achieve this. Therapy is about building a trusting and open relationship that allows you to feel safe enough to explore who you are and what you want.
Awareness, growth, change
My task is to be alongside you as you explore, to be supportive of you and interested in your experience. I will bring my experience and my commitment as I support you to uncover all that you know about being you, how you understand the world around you and what you want from your life, even if it's a struggle to feel connected to that right now.
What I offer as your therapist is to be with you in a respectful, mutual, non-judgmental relationship, which will enable you to understand more about who you are and how you are in the world. By working together our aim will be to increase your awareness of how you experience life and through this we can find ways for you to both accept who you are and learn more about how you might like to grow and change.
What issues can counselling help with?
Deciding to begin therapy or counselling is, for most people, a big decision and you will very likely have questions about the process. You may feel unsure as to what happens when you sit down with a counsellor. What are you expected to do? What might they do? I am an experienced therapist trained to work with trauma and complex issues and my aim is to be open and honest, to work with you respectfully and collaboratively to achieve what you want to achieve. There are no rules about what you need to do or what stage you need to be at to make contact - if you feel like you could do with some support, that's enough to make a start.
Anxiety
Depression
Difficulties in relationships
Understanding and accepting sexuality
Exploring gender identity
Transitioning
Exploring being LGBTQ+
Coping with trauma
Struggling with self-acceptance
Managing stress
Exploring neurodiversity
Bereavement and grief
Unresolved childhood issues
Feeling dissatisfied and discontented
Counselling, training, consultancy
You will find useful information about the process of starting to see a counsellor on this site as well as plenty of information about me. I offer training for organisations on working with LGBTQ+ people and offer supervision for other counsellors and therapists. I have written reviews for The Scotsman of books which deal with mental health or more general health issues, which are posted on the Blog page if you're interested in reading those. If you have questions which aren't addressed on this website, I'm always happy to have a chat by phone or email prior to us meeting.
Supervision
Support - learning what it is and how to make use of it - is at the heart of psychotherapy. Good supervision is what underpins that work. If you are a therapist, qualified or in training, and you're looking to work with someone who is committed to ethical, informed practice then I'm keen to hear from you to discuss how we might work together. I am an experienced practitioner with 10 years of clinical practice across the private and third sectors. I regularly deliver training at a number of therapy teaching institutions including Relationship Scotland and Physis Scotland. My specialist interests are diversity and inclusion and the clinical processes around these for both therapists and clients.
My location
My practice is located close to The Shore in Leith, which is easily reached from central Edinburgh by bus and tram and has on street parking. My consulting room is fully accessible within purpose-designed premises. It’s a comfortable and safe space.
I mainly offer sessions during the day - please click on Getting Started for more information.
Get in touch
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 07470 022 850 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.
©Claire Black
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