Find your peace within
Welcome to Garden Room Counselling in Bude – A safe and calm environment
The Garden room was built specifically for my counselling practice. Every aspect from the lighting furnishing and colours has been carefully considered to provide a calm and secure space for me to work along side my clients.
At Garden Room Counselling I can offer you a non judgemental space allowing you the time to talk in confidence and be heard. Acknowledging the need to reach out is the first and hardest step. You may be struggling with unravelling difficult emotions, low self-esteem, stress or trauma. We can work together to enable you to understand different aspects of yourself, life events, relationships and other influences that are affecting you. If you choose to book with me we will have an initial session where you can get a feel for how I work, what I can offer you and how we fit.

Hello I’m Sarah…
I’ve lived in the beautiful surroundings of Bude for just over 5 years, enjoying the many coastal walks and stunning countryside with my family and dogs. I have a large family and our children span a wide range of ages giving me a good foundation in many diverse situations.
I have been a children’s nurse for over 30 years and have a wide range of experience with all age groups. For the past 15 years I have worked as a school nurse with a particular interest in teenagers and young adults with complex mental health problems.
I am so lucky to live in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this provides the perfect opportunity to enable me to share this with clients during my walk and talk sessions. Many people find it easier to open up and talk in this environment.

How can Counselling help you?
Counselling aims to enable you to improve communication and interpersonal skills and manage difficult emotions. It can help you achieve greater self acceptance and self esteem whist finding the ability to change self-defeating behaviours and habits. This will in time allow better self expressions and power to manage emotions including anger.
Humanistic Integrative Counselling?
I practice within the Humanistic approach which emphasises looking at the whole person and the uniqueness or each individual. It works from the assumption that people are free and are motivated to achieve their potential.
Integrative Counselling, unlike other approaches, allows me to draw on different techniques as I feel they are needed. The aim is to improve the effectiveness of the therapy and adapt it to your specific needs.
Session types
Counselling can be a roller coaster and each week may feel different, I offer a variety of session types to suit your individual needs.
Initial free introduction session
This session allows you to explain your current issues. You can get a feel for how I work and what I can offer. Your needs may change from week to week as we progress through the sessions or depending on what challenges you’ve faced, so it is possible to interchange locations.
Face to face counselling
You may choose the warm comfort of my Garden Room, the calming colours, comfy sofa and lighting that can be adjusted to suit your mood.
Online counselling
You may prefer online sessions in the comfort of your own surroundings; I do ask that you choose a quiet location away from interruptions.
Walk and talk
I also offer walk and talk sessions, bringing the elements of the outdoors and the sounds of nature. I am blessed to be located in an area where we can take in the sounds of the sea or woodlands or enjoy a lovely canal walk amongst the sound of the birds.
Fee Structure
Please note I have a 24 hour cancellation policy. If you cancel without giving 24 hours notice you will be charged the full price of the session.
Anxiety
Anxiety can present as a mismatch of how you see yourself and how you want to be, this can effect self esteem and self awareness . Counselling can help you reconnect with your inner self in order to overcome and rise up above any limitations. The sessions can offer coping strategies and ways of living life in the present mindfully.
Depression
Depression can effect people in a variety of ways. It’s not just about feeling sad, it can have an impact on your body, mood, behaviour and thoughts. There’s not one single cause of depression. It can derive from a culmination or variety of life events making the load feel too heavy. Counselling can provide a safe space to talk without feeling judged. I can help you explore, acknowledge and accept your feelings whilst encouraging you to develop strategies to cope with your emotions.
Bereavement
Grief is something everyone will experience in life at some point. It will effect each of us in different ways. Counselling can help you to understand your feelings. It can guide you through and help you begin to adapt your life without the person who died and come to a place of acceptance. We can work together to develop coping strategies to deal with sadness and move on in a meaningful way.
LGBTQ+
Anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+, or is supporting someone with these issues, may find they are dealing with high levels of emotional and mental distress. Having worked for an LGBT+ charity for over a year and helped many clients from this community I am able to offer a full range of therapeutic support with no bias or agenda.
Teenagers and Young adults
Many teenagers and young adults struggle with mental health for all sorts of reasons. Combining my many years as a school nurse and my counselling qualifications, I can offer them a safe space to better understand their feelings and learn how to cope with emotions without getting overwhelmed by them.
Trauma
We all react to trauma in different ways. As individuals, how we process our emotions and how well we recover depends on many different factors. Counselling can help you make sense of these feelings. One of the most important aspects of trauma is recognising that life has changed and you may need to adapt and rethink what is important to you. Working with a counsellor can give you the opportunity to do this safely.
The Garden Room
The Garden room was built specifically for my counselling practice. Every aspect from the lighting, furnishing and colours has been carefully considered to provide a calm and secure space for me to work alongside my clients.