About me

I am an Accredited Professional member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) who has worked as a counsellor for a number of years. Previously I worked as a volunteer counsellor at Ashford Counselling Service (ACS), a charity which offers low cost affordable counselling to the community in the Ashford area. Making counselling more accessible is important to me and I now serve on the board of trustees at ACS, helping to shape the decisions made to ensure the service has a bright and sustainable future.

In addition to my core training I have undertaken additional training in Neurodivergence (particularly autism), trauma-informed approaches to therapy, GSRD (gender, sex and relationship diversity), online counselling, EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) and sand tray therapy. I am currently researching the impact of AI, social media and technology on our relationships. Whilst I have many years experience working with a wide variety of people, I have found a particular specialism working with men in therapy and how ideas of 'traditional' masculinity have held us back from being the best partners, fathers and friends we can be.

Therapists on the whole can be a mysterious bunch of people, who don't usually reveal much about themselves. This isn't because we like keeping things from you, but more that when we are working together, it's important that the focus remains on you. I saw a counsellor for 2 years as part of my training and within that time he only told me a handful of things about himself. Importantly though, I felt I knew him the counselling room and this closeness helped me progress in the therapeutic work I was doing with him. Everyone who works in this profession will have a story about what led them here and I am no different, but what's most important to me is your story and where it goes next.

Neil Bedwell (PNCPS Acc.)