Freshwater Counselling

Welcome, I'm so glad you've found me! I'm Maxine Freshwater, a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Accredited Counsellor.

I know that embarking on a course of online counselling might seem a daunting prospect, but I will do my best to ensure we create a space where you are accepted non-judgmentally, where you can grow and learn about yourself. Somewhere you'll feel safe to talk about anything at all in complete confidence.

We can all have times when we feel things aren't going as we'd like. Anxiety, depression, stress, low mood, lack of confidence, anger issues, or just having a generally unfulfilled feeling - these are all things that counselling can help with.

I believe we all have the ability to reach our potential and to live a more meaningful and contented life. You might feel there are barriers or obstacles in your way, or things from your past holding you back, but together we can find a path through to reach whatever goals you may have. Yes, this definitely requires hard work, but if it's worth having, it's worth working for.

You can access therapy with me via telephone or Zoom. Many clients love the convenience of being able to have counselling wherever they are, and I know from experience that therapy can work just as well remotely as face to face - it's perhaps a different way of working from the traditional view of therapy, but it's no less effective.

Let me tell you a little about myself: I'm based in the East of England, I have plenty of experience in remote therapy - having been a telephone counsellor while working with an EAP (Employee Assistance Programme), and working as an approved counsellor for Anxiety UK - providing video counselling.

I have experience in:

• Private practice, helping clients with many issues including anxiety, stress, depression, loss, life stages, and change management. 
• NHS and charity organisations. 
• Volunteering with the Samaritans and CRUSE. 
• Working for an EAP providing counselling for clients from blue light organisations, government organisations, and the NHS.
• Both long-term and short-term therapy.
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
• EMDR Therapy.

I have a Diploma in Integrative Counselling from a BACP Accredited course, and a Diploma in CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).

I have completed the full EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) training with EMDR Masterclass, and am a member of EMDR UK.

I'm a BACP Accredited counsellor. Here's what the BACP say about accreditation:

'A quality standard for experienced practitioners.'

'The BACP accreditation schemes aim to recognise the achievement of high standards of knowledge, experience, and development in counselling and psychotherapy ... [and the] ... capacity for independent, ethical, and competent practice.'

I also have a Diploma in Hypnotherapy - while I'm not seeing hypnotherapy clients remotely, you can still have a look some articles to find out how hypnotherapy can help - or head on over to Uncommon Knowledge (affiliate links included) where you'll find a wealth of hypnotherapy downloads to help you through any issue, including anxiety, stress, depression, sleep issues, relationship problems, low confidence - and more.

Why not have a look around my site and if you'd like to talk, drop me a message, or send me an email.



'I tried counselling in my early 20s, but I found it hard to open up and express my feelings so I just bottled things up and got on with life as best as I could.

I was feeling a bit unsure after my previous experience ... but during my first telephone session with Maxine I was pleasantly surprised to find that after only about 20 minutes of talking, I found I could open up and discuss things that I've not talked about with anyone ever before ... I wish I'd done it years ago!' - Neil