WELCOME

Welcome to Tanja Baker Counselling

About T Baker Counselling

People come from all walks of life to me.

This could be because they are experiencing difficult emotions such as anxiety and panic, grief whether it be of humans or pets, sadness and depression, or suffering low self-esteem or stress. I may be able to help and support you on your journey; to better understand your feelings or something you like to understand and make sense of from the past, or perhaps gain a greater sense of wellbeing. Counselling gives you the time and space to be listened to in such a way that it feels safe to explore, and gain understanding about, your feelings and helps you to find meaning. I have a personal interest in spirituality and in nature and eco-therapeutic approaches, which offer great benefits for both physical and emotional health.

More information

I also have a special interest in supporting individuals whose child/young person has had a SEN diagnosis and is not able to attend school. If you are supporting a neurodivergent child/ young person at home, you might experience different feelings, such as anger, sadness and isolation. It helps to talk about it to somebody that is listening to you and really understands what you are going through.

Perhaps you have been diagnosed with ADHA or Autism later in life, this can be a very difficult time for you.

My approach

I work as an integrative counsellor. I work in a creative way with a strong person-centered approach at heart. This means all my clients are listened to and are at the center of the sessions, I see each client as a unique individual. I will walk with you by your side and hold space for you, while you are in charge of your own therapeutic journey. I will give you professional support in finding clarity and self-understanding, sometimes using help through painting, storytelling, clay work, just to name some, I adapt my therapy to suit you, offering different ways of working, but I always take your lead to guide our work.

I work in Private practice; I offer short-term therapy and long-term open-ended therapy. I welcome you into a warm and welcoming Log Cabin in my back garden, but I equally love to offer sessions in nature, walk and talk or talking in nature without walking. I also use a room at Nine Springs Natural Health Centre in Yeovil.

What I offer

Integrative Counsellor with a Pearson Centred approch at heart

An integrative counsellor believes there isn’t just one therapeutic approach that can help a client in all situations. Instead, they take into account you as an individual and your circumstances, and use elements of different approaches to help you explore and cope with your problems.

Creative Art Therapy

An art therapy is one that utilises an art medium. This may include:

visual arts, like painting, sculpture or mixed media
movement, like dance
acting and drama
music

Sometimes referred to as expressive therapies, these are approaches that help people express their feelings. Tapping into our human nature to be creative, arts therapies offer us a different way to make sense of and process what's happening in our inner world. If communicating verbally is a struggle for you, expressive therapies may be worth exploring.

Sand Tray

I offer sand tray therapy; this is one of the more creative approaches. Sand tray therapy allows a person to construct their own microcosm using miniature toys and objects. One example of a Sand tray is, the scene created acts as a reflection of the person’s own life and allows them the opportunity to resolve conflicts, remove obstacles, and gain acceptance of self.

Walk anf Talk Therapy

It is talking therapy conducted outside whilst walking. It offers clients the opportunity to express themselves in the natural changing outdoors environment. My usual working agreement applies and the relationship is contracted in the same way. There are a few additional points that need to be considered which are covered below. The focus is still on exploring relationships and issues together, to hopefully discover a resolution or an opportunity to develop and change.

My Background

I have taught in many different educational settings for over 20 years, with my specialism being, working with SEN students for more than 15 years. I have been tutoring students at home from many different backgrounds, ages and problems that stopped them from attending school. I have helped students to integrate back into mainstream education or into a specialist setting if this is what they wanted. Moving from Germany to England 26 years ago, travelling a lot throughout my childhood and younger years, has given me a healthy curiosity about different cultures and people, I can easily relate to people.

What to expect from our first session

At our first introductory meeting, you will have a chance to get to know me, as well as voicing how you are at the moment and what it is you would like to explore. You might be able to express what it is you would like to talk about, or it might just be a feeling or a thought you would like to explore, whatever it is you would like to work on, I will give you the space to talk about it. The meeting will be very informal, but boundaries will have to be set in place to work safe and ethically for both of us. You will be able to ask me questions about how I work.

I hope that you will feel comfortable and deeply understood by me from the start of our first session.

Please note that there is no obligation if you decide you do not wish to go ahead.