WELCOME TO
OLIVE TREE
COUNSELLING
SWINDON
Olive Tree Counselling offers therapy for 4 - 18 year old's in-person in Swindon Old Town & Highworth.
It specialises in helping children and young people to re- connect with their feelings and find ways of managing them.
They may be experiencing depression, disassociation, anxiety, gender dysphoria, panic-attacks or low self-esteem.
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Creative-arts counselling can tap into the unconscious parts of us that words alone can’t always reach. Child counselling provides a space for the child or young person to self-discover, process difficult feelings and develop in their well-being.
Why the name Olive Tree?
At the heart of the Olive Tree sits a thick and unique looking trunk.
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We can see its hard work and the journey it's been on in order to build a resilience to any kind of rot or sickness.
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If a young person is given the space to process stress and be supported therapeutically to recover from trauma, then great, thick resilience can grow.
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We now know that there are links between emotional trauma in child and adolescent years and long-term mental health issues.
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Children and teenagers' brains are still developing which makes them much easier to heal and rewire than adult brains.
The Olive Branch is a symbol from ancient Greek mythology of peace.
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Olive Tree Counselling provides a therapeutic relationship.
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Your child or young person can practice their vulnerable self and learn new ways of being that can help set them up for healthier relationships in the future.
About Me
Unlike regular counsellors I am a solely qualified in Child & Adolescent Counselling and gained my training at the Institute of Art, Therapy and Education in London for three years.
I have twenty years of experience working with children and young people.
I am employed as the School Counsellor of a large primary and secondary school in Swindon and alongside that run a private practice.
With children I base what I do on Theraplay principles and offer attachment based work for children and their care givers.
For young people I offer psychotherapeutic counselling.
I have undergone training with the organisation Mermaids supporting trans children.
I offer parenting sessions to support the parent-child relationship.
I am a registered counsellor with BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and undertake weekly supervision.
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I regularly partake in a wide range of CPD courses to develop in my professional practice.
I am fully insured and carry an enhanced DBS check.
My therapeutic model is integrative, which means that I can call upon a variety of modalities that would best suit the needs of the individual client.
The work is child-lead and creative-arts based with the application from a variety of theories and neurosciences.
Before working in schools and in private practice, I acted as a volunteer counsellor for a charity in Croydon working with young people. I was a volunteer creative-arts therapist in a primary and secondary school in south west London.
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I have volunteered with child-refugees and female victims of human trafficking in central London as a therapeutic support worker.
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I spent three years volunteering with a charity in the Philippines as an outreach and residential worker, supporting street children, teenage victims of sexual abuse, substance misuse, family/sibling separation and loss.
I spent five years as an international private nanny, working with play, attachment, child-observations, promoting the message of 'The Good Enough Parent', supporting children through loss and creating my own children's stories.
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Qualifications:
Theraplay Level One (Adoption Plus) (In-Process of completion)
Certified Online & Telephone Counsellor (Counselling Tutor)
Post Graduate Diploma in Child Counselling (I.A.T.E)
Foundation Course in the Therapeutic and Educational Application of the Arts (I.A.T.E)
Certificate in Counselling Skills Continued (I.A.T.E)
Certificate in Therapeutic Mentoring (Trauma Recovery Centre, Bath)
Child Counselling
SPACE TO TALK
I offer a space to talk for children and young people, a place to offload, to process their feelings through words, to explore parts of themselves that may feel too vulnerable to elsewhere and may need the safety of confidentiality.
WRITTEN WORD
A young person can bring their own written word to a session to help construct and verbalise their feelings to the therapist.
Or writing a poem together.
Lyrics from a song or words written by a figure on social media can be a way for young people to find validation and understanding.
PLAY THERAPY
Play allows the child or young person to explore parts of themselves that may be hidden or stuck. Experimenting with different personalities and feelings can be an important part of their healing journey. Role playing as another character can be fun and activates the same chemicals in the brain that play does.
THERAPEUTIC BOOKS/STORYTELLING
By using therapeutic books and creating stories a child or young person can feel truly heard and understood.
This can allow them to carry on with struggles in life with an added element of ease and acceptance.
THE ONLINE WORLD
Exploring an avatar/character that a young person is playing online gives an opportunity to explore the young person's fantasy and parts of self.
It can help young people work things out from the past and/or imagine what another world/life could be like. It also provides a space to discuss their online safety awareness.
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IN-PERSON SAND TRAY
Your child or young person can explore what is going on in their subconscious by placing chosen objects in the sand tray.
Objects in the sand become a very powerful tool for processing as their role takes place, alongside the help of the therapist.
Next Steps
I offer a free 20 minute consultation over Google Meet. This would be a chance for you and your young person to see what working with me would look like.
It would also be a time for me to find out more about why your young person wishes to receive counselling at this time and if I would be the right counsellor for them.
Please get in contact to find out about fees. I offer concession rates due to the increase in the cost of living.
If you would like to find out about current availability, please contact Natalie by phone, email or in the Contact Me box below.
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Sessions are weekly, at the same time, 50 minutes in duration, can be short-term or long-term and are open ended depending on what is best for the adolescent.
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If you are an adolescent and interested in getting counselling for yourself please contact Natalie by either email, Facebook or Instagram links at the top of the page.
You will need to have a parent/carer that agrees for you to have counselling with Natalie in order to go ahead.
I look forward to hearing from you.
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Created by child that had online counselling using Minecraft (2022)
Testimonials
‘As a parent of a young person in need of help, it felt like a big responsibility to find the right counsellor. Natalie’s calm and gentle approach was just what was needed. My teenager found her manner reassuring and trustworthy. My own dealings with Natalie were always prompt, professional and supportive and I would not hesitate to recommend her.'
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Parent of 14 year old, online counselling (2024)
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'Natalie helped my son understand his emotions and develop his confidence and self esteem. She was kind, engaging and they developed a great relationship. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Natalie to any parent.’
Parent who's child had online counselling (2022)
