Sarah Worley

My counselling is based on a Humanistic-Existential approach, recognising that each client needs to find their own meaning and path in life.  I focus on helping you develop your self-awareness, to understand how you relate to yourself and the world around you.  I work flexibly with the needs of the individual client, integrating appropriately from other approaches, principally, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Psychodynamic and Motivational Interviewing.  In this way I work with you to identify your strengths, challenge unhelpful thinking cycles, and utilise your inner resources as I assist you to develop new coping strategies and make positive changes. 

I appreciate each client’s uniqueness, acknowledging and working with the diversity within our relationship and working to create a safe, trusting therapeutic space.  I aim to create a non-judgemental, empathic and collaborative environment in which you are able to express yourself fully, as you reflect on and explore your issues.  I never cease to admire the resilience, courage and strength individuals find to address and overcome their problems.

When I joined Cardiff University’s counselling team at the beginning of 2009, I took over co-ordinating the workshop programme, revising it and developing new workshops on a range of topics including stress management, general anxiety, exam anxiety, insomnia and anger management. 

In the spring of 2011 I undertook additional training in online counselling and set up an online counselling service at the University to provide email, instant messaging and webcam counselling to those students and staff on placement abroad, and outside of Cardiff, or who have difficulty attending face to face counselling due to physical or mental health issues. 

I have worked fulltime as a counsellor since gaining my Diploma in Counselling in 1999.  I went on to gain my Masters in 2006, focusing my research on how counsellors’ individual perceptions of the CORE Outcome Measure evaluation tool might influence how they utilise it within counselling sessions.  I am a BACP accredited Counsellor, with experience in the substance misuse field, and within an employee counselling service, both counselling and writing and delivering workshops and courses.  These experiences led me to develop particular interests in working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and issues around anxiety, depression, stress, and anger management.  I also taught for seven years on the BACP accredited Counselling Diploma at Barry College.