Michaela Kendall
The mind-body Therapist
What is Therapy?
People come to therapy for a wide variety of reasons with the overarching theme that they need some help, support and perspective on their situation. Sometimes it can be difficult (impossible even), to see clearly what is happening around you and how you got there. I often find my clients have become either disconnected with themselves or hypervigilient, hyper aware and overwhelmed with their emotions. ​
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This can manifest as anxiety, depression, low mood, irritability and a lack of direction.
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It is not enough to know in a logical sense what has happened to you or why you may be struggling. You also need to work with your emotions, processing and dealing with how you feel in your body. This is where real change can occur
How I Work
I am a humanistic integrative therapist, meaning I draw upon different models of therapy to suite the individual needs of my clients. I work with the understanding that we both think and feel our emotions. That what affects the mind also affects the body and my way of collaberating is to both listen and guide my clients to their mental and physical stuck-ness.
This can look like
Relational
Building a strong therapeutic relationship
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The most important aspect of therapy is the therapeutic relationship. For you to make lasting change you need to feel safe enough with me to go to the deep and difficult places you may need to go to.
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Relational working is my first priority.
This looks like
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Taking the time to listen, really listen to your experience
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Valuing and accepting your experience, without conditions, without judgment.
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Being congruent with you by fostering a genuine connection. I am here to support you and to offer gentle challenge in an honest way.
Mind-Body
Working with the mind can look like:​
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Helping you to make sense of your life story
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uncovering and reconstructing old belief systems
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Understanding your inner relationship with yourself
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Working through core memories that may be traumatic and re processing them
Working with the body can look like:​
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Guiding you to connect and process your unresolved emotions in a physical experiential way
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Raising your body felt awareness
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Facilitating breathing exercises and gentle mindful movement where appropriate
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Using various therapy models such as Gestalt, Experiential and Emotion focused therapy
Resourcing
Resourcing can look like
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Practical tools and interventions you can use in and out of the therapy room such as:
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Breathing exercises
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EFT (Emotional freedom technique) tapping involving tapping on end meridian points on your face and body
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Guided visualisation's connecting you a safe place and inner child work
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facilitating written letters and/or Journal prompts to parts of you or loved ones with the aim to connect and process
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Therapeutic Journey
Therapy is not a quick fix. True and long lasting change takes time. I work with deep routed issues both mentally and physically. This requires a strong relational approach for you to feel safe enough to reach these core issues. I tend to work with clients on a long term basis reviewing every 10 - 15 weeks to regularly check in with your initial goals for therapy and experience.
Therapeutic framework
I complete an initial free telephone consultation lasting 15-20 minutes
Thereafter, therapeutic sessions last 50 minutes, leaving 10 minutes for a debrief and scheduling of next session at the end. I schedule clients to regular weekly or bi-weekly slots depending on your need and presenting issues. Therapy takes consistent commitment and regularity of sessions is important to continue to improve your progress
Therapeutic fees and Availability
My fee's vary between £55-£70 per therapeutic hour. This is dependant on a number of factors such as on/off peak times, nature of therapy (e.g trauma model or more general) and online or face to face sessions
I offer limited concessionary slots for students or low income households
Below are a list of my training history. I have a professional commitment that I eagerly uphold to continue to engage in. continuous professional development.
Aside from formal training I am always updating my knowledge and skills through reading materials. My most recent reads:
Trauma sensitive yoga in therapy - David Emmerson
Somatic Internal family systems Therapy - Susan McConnell
Qualifications time-line
Most Recent
Februar 2024
November 2022
September 2022
September 2019 - July 2021
November 2021
May 2021
September 2017-2018
September 2011 - July 2014
EFT Emotional Freedom Technique
Towards a Dialectic Self (TDS) Trauma informed therapy training
Level 7 Distinction MA counselling
Research topic: Mindfulness
York St John University
Level 6 Postgraduate Diploma in counselling BACP accred counselling and psychotherapy
York St John University
Level 1 Diadic Development Psychotherapy
Online Telephone Counselling
Counselling Tutor
Level 1,2,3 Counselling Skills
Undergraduate Degree Psychology 2:1
Leeds Beckett University
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