Heidi Mercer
“I want to equip people with the tools to cope with and manage the triumphs and adversities that life throws at us.”
Heidi Mercer BA(Hons), CPCAB L4, MBACP
Counsellor
Life can be tough.
Uncertainties can leave us overwhelmed, anxious, confused, out of control.
We can struggle on our own to make sense of our world.
Perhaps difficult past experiences are affecting the here and now.
Perhaps a traumatic life event has knocked you off balance.
Perhaps you feel stuck in unhelpful patterns of behaving, thinking, or feeling.
The pace of life can feel relentless.
No time to pause and think.
A counselling session aims to offer a safe and confidential environment for you to talk about and to untangle whatever it is you are struggling with. It provides an opportunity to stop, think and speak without distraction. It is a space where you can be heard without judgement or criticism and be listened to with compassion. The relationship between counsellor and client is key to the therapeutic process; and Heidi works hard to build strong connections with people to encourage trust, safety, and a feeling of being understood.
Heidi is a BACP Registered Integrative Counsellor, and trained in the modalities of Gestalt, Person-Centred and Transactional Analysis, meaning that she uses whichever approach best suits an individual client. The therapeutic process is therefore tailored for each person. She can provide short-term or longer term work, and face-to-face or online sessions depending on client needs.
Heidi is passionate about mental health intervention and works as a secondary school counsellor as well as here at Summertown Clinic in private practice with young people and adults. She particularly enjoys working with young people; the fast-paced way their lives evolve, their flexibility and capacity to learn, and their innate playfulness and curiosity. She wants to empower young people to build and develop resilience, self-confidence, and self-awareness, and to offer compassion to themselves and to others as they embark on adulthood.
If you have any questions and would like to know more about counselling, please email heidimercer@summertownclinic.co.uk
Practitioner Summary
– Mental Health First Aider July 2022 – MHFA England
– CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling – 2022 Banbury Counselling Academy
– CPCAB Level 3 Award: Counselling Skills for Working with Children – June 2020
– Place2Be, London
– CPCAB Level 2 Award: Counselling Skills for Working with Children – Dec 2019
– Place2Be, London
– Teaching Assistant Training – 2007 Oxfordshire County Council
– Early Years First Aid Course – 2006 St John Ambulance
– Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy NVQ Level 4 – 2005 London School of Sports Massage
– Advanced Instructor Level 3– 2003 Register of Exercise Professionals
– Personal Training and Therapy Diploma – March 2003 Premier Training
– BA(Hons) French Contemporary Studies with Music 2:1 – 1996–2000 Oxford Brookes University
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- 200+ hours of experience with teenagers gained at Cherwell and Wallingford Secondary Schools – working with anxiety, OCD, gender identity, self-esteem issues, academic pressure, teen pregnancy, relationship struggles, friendship difficulties, family dynamics, depression, bereavement.
- Experience of working with adults affected by cancer, grief, loss, and death gained at the Hummingbird Centre in Bicester.
A counselling session aims to offer a safe and confidential environment for you to talk about and to untangle whatever it is you are struggling with. It provides an opportunity to stop, think and speak without distraction. It is a space where you can be heard without judgement or criticism and be listened to with compassion.
The first appointment offers a chance to get a feel for each other and to figure out whether you feel comfortable to work with each other going forwards During an initial consultation session, Heidi will listen to your story, and learn more about you and your hopes and goals for coming to counselling. She will explain how counselling works, and how she as an individual counsellor likes to work. After this, together you will discuss further sessions and a review process to ensure you are getting what you want and need from counselling.
Everyone has their own unique pathway which sometimes proves difficult to navigate and manage alone. A counsellor can accompany you on your journey for a while, and help you gain a better understanding of yourself- your thoughts and feelings and behaviours. Counselling offers useful tools that you can use to help yourself throughout life.
Let us know if you’ve got a question, so we can add it here. Email us here: hello@summertownclinic.co.uk or click on the message button.
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