Zana Parker | Accredited Counsellor | nr Totton | NCPS

Zana Parker

Member Status: Accredited

Member No: NCS17-04599

Location: nr Totton

It can be hard to choose a counsellor; there are many of us, so how do you know who's right for you? I offer a low-cost initial session that’s long enough (approx 90 mins) to help you decide if you’d feel able to trust and work with me.

I know, I remember, how daunting it can feel to meet a counsellor for the first time. I will make the process as easy as possible for you with my warm, approachable, down-to-earth nature. I will treat you as an equal, as another human. I aim to really hear you, to help you feel safe, validated and respected so you can grow, thrive and embrace your life with greater joy and confidence.

I work with adults of all ages who bring many different life-stories and challenges they’d like to explore. You might be feeling low, sad, stuck, anxious, overwhelmed, unsure, or perhaps you want to gain clarity about something. You might want to unlock aspects of your personality that have been hidden for too long. Perhaps you want to examine your role in relationship with others. There could be many things that lead you to seek counselling. Some people want to bring closure to something that happened in the past. Whatever brings you to meet me, your sense of emotional safety is of utmost importance. This might mean spending time ensuring that you’re able to ‘apply the brakes’ so you can share your story calmly, without feeling overwhelmed.

In addition to being a counsellor, I’m also a professionally qualified antenatal educator and a hypnobirthing practitioner. This is why I also specialise in pregnancy, birth and parenthood. Please get in touch if you’re suffering from the effects of postnatal depression, fear of birth (tokophobia), problems during pregnancy, difficulties bonding with your baby, miscarriage, termination, difficult or traumatic birth experience, struggling with adjusting to life as a parent (or grandparent), or anything related. If appropriate, I can also help you plan for a next birth and/or blend counselling with antenatal education.

In regular, weekly counselling sessions, it’s likely that we’ll mostly talk, although sometimes we might take a more holistic approach. Mind, body and beliefs are completely interconnected, so it makes sense, if appropriate, to extend our work into these areas. Breathing, relaxation, or perhaps more creative approaches can help to highlight things that might otherwise remain out-of-awareness. Don’t worry – I’ll never insist on introducing a way of working that you are really resistant to. We’ll work with a blend of ‘going at your pace’ alongside gentle challenge so that change is possible.

If you have any questions, concerns, or if you’d like to meet me for an initial, 90 mins, low-cost session, please do get in touch. I look forward to hearing from you.

  • Qualifications & Experience
    DipHE Counselling (Level 5) with Distinction, University of Winchester, 2010
    Certificate in Rewind Technique (for helping process trauma) 2018
    Certificate in Applied EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) 2022

    Hypnotherapy for Childbirth 2012 (Course accredited by Royal College of Midwives)
    Dip HE Antenatal Education (Level 5), University of Bedfordshire 2010
    NCT Advanced Antenatal Teacher ("Excellent Practitioner") 2005
    NCT Antenatal Teacher Licensed Practitioner 1998-2021

    Prior to private practice, I spent two years working at a local University counselling students and staff and several months counselling within the NHS.

    I can provide the following professional workshops/CPD opportunities for counsellors and students:

    Breathing & Relaxation: an Experiential & Restorative Workshop
    Creative Approaches for Counselling and Personal Development

    I have also previously provided study days/workshops on:

    Normalising High Risk Care (for student midwives)
    Physiology of Birth (for student hypnobirthing practitioners)
    Providing Antenatal Classes (for student midwives)
  • What I can help with
    • Abortion
    • Adoption
    • Ageing and related issues
    • Anger Management
    • Anxiety
    • Assertiveness / Self-confidence / Self-esteem
    • Bereavement / Loss
    • Bullying
    • Carers
    • Childbirth: fertility
    • Childbirth: labour
    • Childbirth: pregnancy
    • Chronic fatigue syndrome / M.E.
    • Depression
    • Divorce & Separation
    • Emotional issues
    • Generally unhappy with your life
    • IBS / Digestive Issues
    • Illness and dying
    • Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
    • Panic attacks
    • Parenting skills
    • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder / PTSD
    • Pregnancy related issues
    • Relationships
    • Relaxation
    • Self-defeating behaviours
    • Self-esteem
    • Self-harm
    • Sexuality Identity
    • Shyness / Social Phobia
    • Sleep
    • Spirituality
    • Stress
    • Trauma
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