Chris Horton

I am an accredited, registered psychotherapeutic counsellor with a prior background in learning and development, from where I progressed from a business coaching role to developing my knowledge and skills to support others through deeper psychotherapeutic approaches.

I completed my formal training at the Wealden Psychology Institute and have developed my practice in a range of settings, working with clients experiencing issues of addictive behaviours, loss, anxiety, depression, relationship ruptures and life crises. I have had extensive experience of working with grief and bereavement in palliative care settings and before establishing my private practice I was Head of Wellbeing at a St Peter & St James Hospice, where I oversaw and developed the psychosocial services offered to the local community.

My approach

My psychotherapeutic work is influenced by my lifelong interest in literature and the arts and how we all make sense of our experiences through stories that we shape about our lives. My own experience of therapy over many years has helped me to understand the ways in which purposeful growth can come from changing the way we view our own personal stories.

Many of our difficulties in life stem from unexamined aspects of ourselves. Whatever my client’s presenting issue, I listen carefully to their story so that we can identify and better understand any thoughts, feelings and behaviours that no longer serve their wellbeing. I believe that progress in therapy is bound up with the integrity and immediacy of the therapeutic relationship within which my clients can safely explore, discover, gain insights and identify new options for change and growth.

The process

Psychotherapy is a serious collaborative undertaking and I believe that effective therapy is based on mutually agreed goals between practitioner and client. For that reason I work contractually with each of my clients from session one, where we agree on an initial focus of the work, its regularity (minimum once per week) and the likely duration (from 6 weeks to long term). Productive therapy is supported by the structure and regularity of meeting at the same times each week with appropriate space in between for reflection.

My qualifications, memberships, training and professional practice

I have a Diploma in Transactional Analysis recognised by the BACP with whom I am a registered member. As well as in my private practice I have worked as a counsellor in four different community based charities.

I am an experienced trainer and facilitator and regularly conduct training and group learning activities in diverse organisations. I follow an annual programme of structured professional development in order to deepen and extend my existing knowledge in key aspects of therapeutic work, such as working with trauma, depression, anxiety and bereavement.

 I am a member and former trustee of the United Kingdom Association for Transactional Analysis (UKATA) and the TA European body EATA.

I engage in regular supervision for all my client work and abide by the code of ethics set out by the BACP and UKATA.