Anna Batey
Member Status: Accredited Professional
Member No: NCS17-05217
Location: Plymouth
I practice from a therapy room just off Mutely Plain in Plymouth, supporting individuals who are experiencing difficulties in their lives and want to make positive changes and improvements.
My work uses an integrative approach, which combines Person Centred Therapy, with techniques from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Gestalt Therapy and Mindfulness. This means I can draw from different approaches to offer you the counselling that will be best suited to you, and your needs, as a unique individual.
I am also trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) therapy.
I have worked with a wide range of clients with a broad diversity of issues, including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, stress, grief and loss.
I have particular experience of working with women who have endured pregnancy related issues including infertility, pregnancy anxiety, traumatic birth, PTSD, miscarriage, still birth and abortion. This also includes working with couples, if appropriate.
WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY...
I couldn’t have found a better counsellor than Anna. Working with someone so versatile, engaged, professional and genuinely interested in her clients has made me re-evaluate what therapy is all about, and what can be possible with the right balance of human insight and practical guidance.
Everyday was emotionally painful - I felt grief and guilt 24/7, I constantly blamed myself, felt like I didn’t deserve to be happy. Depression completely took over me and I felt nobody understood, which made me feel trapped. Anna listened, showed compassion, empathy and never once judged me. Anna guided me through my healing process with advice and techniques that helped me be kinder to my mind, have patience and take my time.With Anna’s counselling, I was able to see that how I was grieving was normal and it was ok to not always be ok.
I would strongly recommend Anna for counselling, not just because of the outcome, but for the journey we took together as I worked through both bereavement and ill health issues, which were causing distress in my life. Her process is transparent, kind and compassionate and it felt like she 'got me' and held my hand throughout my difficult time. She allows space to develop and explore thoughts and feelings and somehow, with utter gentleness, I found myself working through where I had been stuck. With her loving guidance I was able to emerge happier, more content and resilient which is the best outcome from counselling! Thankyou Anna.
I found my sessions with Anna just what I needed to help me deal with my fertility journey so far... she provides a safe, empathetic and professional space to facilitate processing of events and emotions.
Anna is very approachable, I was able to be completely honest with her and she is also very person centred and able to grasp the salient themes that come up, and ask the right questions, whilst allowing you lots of time to talk. I would highly recommend her. She is also really flexible on sessions in terms of availability and number you want.
Thank you once again for your patience and re assurance Anna, you made a huge difference to my outlook on the situation and made me assess it from another angle. I'm so grateful for the time you invested in me. Many thanks and take care.
Having never approached a counsellor before I did not know what to expect from our sessions. Originally thinking it would be hard to share my issues with someone I had never met I felt very comfortable with Anna’s approach, feeling no pressure to rush into the things I wasn’t ready to talk about.
I have been able to look at events in my life in a different way following our discussions, and having the opportunity to clear my head without judgement or criticism has been invaluable. Thank you.
I never believed counselling would ‘work for me’ but after going through a really low time and finally accepting I needed help, I went to Anna in a pretty bad way. Anna made feel so welcome and comfortable. I feel like a different person to when I first came to her for help and I know that no matter what life throws at me I can go to her and gain the non judgmental support I need to get through it, rather than crumble under it. I am eternally grateful for her time, compassion and counselling skills and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone that needs short or longer term help, no matter the issue. Thank you.
Anna has helped me tremendously over the last year in both exploring my past and present. I approached her after moving countries and trying to cope best with the consequences of my decision. Having undergone therapy previously in my home country, I was concerned whether possible language barriers could affect such a personal, yet important work. To my surprise, expressing myself in a non-native language came with perks such as being more objective when describing particular situations. Anna is an excellent communicator and her approach brought a lot of clarity to our sessions. She provided a safe space for me to open up and re-explore my traumatic childhood with acceptance for myself and those involved.
Anna understood the sensitivity of some very painful events and acted as a guide to help me reveal the answers I needed in order to change the stories I used to tell myself. I remember feeling incredibly inspired in between sessions and wrote down the insights in my journal. By doing this, I could track the progress of our sessions and how empowered I often felt after them.
Thanks to Anna’s commitment to helping me, I was finally able to make peace with my past, release blame, guilt and fear in a safe environment, assess and take pride in my self-development, and focus on creating a life that feels entirely mine. I’m forever grateful for our sessions and recommend her with all my heart to anyone daring to explore their lives”
