Amber Redish

What is counselling?

Counselling involves talking at an agreed time and place, or via Skype, usually once a week though it may be often depending on your needs. Sessions last for 50 minutes and you decide what issues you would like to talk about.

Confidentiality

Amber will not repeat to anyone else anything that you say during the sessions. However, there may be some specific situations where she would have to talk to someone else, and you can talk about the rules of confidentiality during an initial half hour session.

Your first session

Amber offers an initial half hour session. This would usually be in person but can be via Skype. This will provide the opportunity to meet, to ask any questions and for you to be asked some questions; including what you would like to get from counselling.

Towards the end of the first session you can decide if you do not want counselling or if you would like to go ahead and book another session. Further sessions would last for 50 minutes.

Amber charges £15.00 for an initial half hour and £55 for 50 minute sessions thereafter.

About Amber

Amber initially graduated with an HND in Person centred counselling in 2005 and is a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). She adheres to their ethical framework and attends regular clinical supervision and ongoing professional development. She has an enhanced DBS check. Amber is also trained to carry out EDMR therapy.

Since graduating Amber has worked in voluntarily and paid roles; counselling adults affected by sight loss, HIV and for a short-term counselling service for women on low incomes. She has counselled secondary school aged children (11-19), family groups and worked for 4 years within a trauma informed service for adult male survivors of sexual abuse.

Amber is experienced in supporting clients to manage anxiety and trauma symptoms. She can recommend client sessions be at a regular time and place; to create a sense of safety and stabilisation.

As well as close empathic listening, Amber works using psycho-educational resources to reassure and help clients better understand how anxiety can affect the brain and everyday functioning. She supports clients to learn techniques to calm and regulate themselves, to enable them to free up the higher functions of the brain, allowing capacity for insight, planning and problem solving. When clients feel more stable they can begin to build up resources and resilience.

Clients do not exist in isolation, so Amber may provide information or recommend other services outside the realm of counselling; if that would be supportive and appropriate.

As well as her counselling practice, Amber has been working with families since 2008; including mediation work with couples, parents and teens and working with families with complex support needs; including pre and post Autism diagnosis. She offers positive parenting guidance appropriate for ‘typical’, Autism and Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) children and young people. She co-facilitates 2 social skills groups for 8-12 year olds and 13-19 year olds with Autism/Asperger’s.

Amber is a parent of an adult son with a diagnosis of Asperger’s and has a personal interest of how Autism presents differently in women and girls. She has relevant personal and professional experience of the strengths and difficulties associated with Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome and is available to offer counselling sessions to individuals including parents, siblings and family members from 16+.

Amber comes from a strengths based position with regards to Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome. From observations and experience, she notices client’s difficulties are often in response to systems and environments that provoke anxiety; this can lead to poor mental health. The purpose of the counselling space is to offer an environment that allows for calm personal reflection; this can include learning new skills to manage symptoms that can be practiced outside of the session. She has no agenda to ‘fix’ people or seek to ‘resolve’ Autism.

It is important to Amber that therapy evolves at a pace and direction that feels comfortable to the client; allowing time to build rapport and with the opportunity to review value and progress.

Amber works Mondays-Thursdays (in person sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays only), including some early evenings, via Zoom or from a central Brighton therapy room.

Amber’s Testimonials

‘Amber provides a gentle, warm approach to counseling with a special focus on those who are neurodivergent/neurodiverse. She is trauma informed, autism/ADHD supportive, and LGBTQI affirmative. She provides a safe space where her client's comfort is the main concern. Although I live overseas, Amber was willing to work with me remotely via Skype for several years. These virtual sessions included a variety of techniques, ranging from talk therapy to EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) to family constellation work and meditation. During our time together, we addressed my prior trauma, grief, family and coparenting dynamics, feelings of being ostracized from social circles, and some difficulties I was having at work. She also provided self-care tools, such as journaling and yoga nidra, for me to practice in between sessions. I would definitely recommend working with Amber, whether virtually or in-person, short-term or long-term’.

‘I found my way to Amber when I was awaiting a formal autism assessment and was aware that I had lost all sense of who I was beneath all the camouflaging I had done to survive. To be honest, I was in a right mess. I felt I needed support in case the result came out that I was NOT autistic. (I am, by the way). It really helped that she made sure to tell me I could bring anything I needed to the session to feel comfortable, and she was very supportive of my need to take off my shoes and curl up in the chair with my blanket and my own mug of tea. I felt very safe to be me. Amber helped me enormously in the run-up to the assessment and highlighted some of the things it would be helpful to tell my assessor that she recognised would be important. Amber is warm, kind, insightful, empathetic and non-judgmental. She offered me many helpful tips as I slowly regained my sense of self. She never pushed me to talk about things that were traumatic, and, in fact, there was a lot of laughter in our sessions together. I have ended our regular sessions together with a clear sense of who I am and am more in tune with my “feelings” whereas I was very much in my head before we started to work together. I shall be forever grateful for her help and support during a difficult period.’

‘I worked with Amber for several months to help process an adult autism diagnosis in my 40s and work backwards through a number of areas of past and present traumas and anxieties to help understand this 'new me' and learn to be kinder towards him than I or others perhaps had been before having a knowledge of neurodivergence. She's by far the best therapist I've ever worked with: kind, understanding, funny and human. It really felt like we were a team working together unravelling a mystery to get to the bottom of what had been making me feel so stuck and worthless for so long. The true underlying issues are rarely what you initially think they are and Amber was a wonderful guide in helping me work out how to get myself unstuck and move from the past towards a happier future. Thank you again for everything!’

‘My time working with Amber has been life changing. I was hesitant to begin EMDR as I’m autistic and wasn’t sure whether it would work with my brain, but it’s safe to say our work has made the world of difference. I’ve gone from being in a state of constant heightened anxiety, triggered by so many things, to feeling far more at ease. I was able to do something I never dreamed I’d be able to again. I recognise the EMDR process as a very natural one, where benefits crop up without being pushed, it felt as though my body was working in harmony with EMDR. Amber is a kind, considerate, thoughtful person to work with who listened to my needs and did what she could to make me feel comfortable, as well as tweaked sessions to focus more on the parts that needed work. I really can’t recommend EMDR with Amber enough, thanks to her I have more of my life back’.

‘I have been working with Amber for over a year now. She has helped me through my autism diagnosis and everything that this has subsequently brought up emotionally for me. I very quickly felt I could completely trust her, and was therefore able to share and work through feelings and emotions that I have struggled with. I love how intuitively she works, but always within the safe confines of the therapist/client relationship. She used her insight, wisdom and knowledge to encourage and gently guide. Although I am now having a break from therapy and carrying on my journey alone, I know that I will be happy to have more sessions with her if and when I feel the need for some more guidance and sharing. The diagnosis has been completely life changing for me (at the age of 66) and I feel eternally grateful to her for all her help and support. I would highly recommend her’.

‘I came to Amber to deal with trauma. I found a safe and compassionate space that validated me as an autistic person and allowed me to do so much more healing, growth and change than I'd thought possible.’

‘Working with Amber on resolving trauma I believed to be engrained in me has changed my life. When we first started out, I had no hope that we could unravel the string and help me find my feet, especially since I had the added stress of only recently discovering I was autistic. Yet even when I was at my most hopeless, with Amber’s gentle guidance and EMDR-supported sessions, I was slowly able to understand why I felt the way I did, and how to move on. She helped me unlock something that previous therapists have failed to do, and I believe that it has been her multifaceted approach that has helped me reach this point. She is often dropping little gems in our session, stories from other people, ideas from other psychology’s avenues. The little things make big differences, and I am finally in a place where I feel like I can accept who I am, and become the person I was meant to be. I could not recommend Amber enough to anyone who knows the feeling of holding onto years of childhood pain and confusion that they do not deserve to keep carrying. And as weird as it sounds, I will miss our sessions. But there will be someone else who needs as much help as I did all those months ago, and won’t realise their lives are about to change when they come across this comment and decide to drop an email’.

‘I came to Amber feeling confused, frightened, existentially bereft and totally burnt out. She helped me uncover and reconnect to aspects of myself that I had lost contact with. Amber has an amazing instinct for working at a pace and emotional level that feels comfortable. For the first time in my life I felt able to express thoughts and emotions that I had previously felt were too embarrassing, unfamiliar, ‘wrong’ or overwhelming. It is only because of Amber’s skill and compassion that I felt able to visit difficult places and treat myself more kindly’.

‘I really enjoyed our sessions and found them very helpful in giving me the tools I need to help manage my anxiety and navigate the world with a greater understanding of the challenges I face as an autistic person. I appreciated your support and reassurance to ensure that I was physically comfortable. I found your understanding of the connection between the mind and body especially helpful, as well as concepts and frameworks that helped me understand my reactions to my environments and relationships - such as the window of tolerance and the drama triangle. I found you understanding and empathetic, and easy to talk to. I wouldn't hesitate to reach out in future if I need further support.Thank you for everything’.

‘When I came to Amber I had already been in therapy for 6 years and I had trauma that I thought was unshiftable. Due to trust issues I was skeptical of EMDR, but as Amber is so easy to trust, I was able to give it a go, feeling safely held in a warm and non-judgemental environment. Her experience with Autism and dissociation made 'complex concepts' simple to get to grips with. She tailored the therapy to my needs, while recognising when I was stuck to unstick me. Her experience in 'vagal theory' and 'internal family structures' helped answer my questions and made me more comfortable with the quirks of my brain, so I could stop judging myself for "problems" that were just the normal way my autistic brain works and reach acceptance and allow my mind to relax.’

‘I came to Amber knowing that she has experience of working with adults with autism, which was a large draw for me. My initial ask was wanting to talk through ways in which I might be able to better recognise my feelings and emotions - anger and stress primarily - in relation to parenting, work and family. Over time we talked through these areas which was hugely helpful. Amber was able to support me to draw lines and links between these that I hadn't made, bringing her observations to my attention that have been really useful. As a result, I've made some small changes to my life and behaviour that are definitely helping me feel far more conscious and aware of those aforementioned feelings.'

‘Amber was really easy to talk to. I feel like she understood me well and provided thoughtful reflections that helped me to better understand myself. I appreciated her considerate and insightful support’.

‘Amber has helped me to restore a sense of home and safety, and has helped me with self-acceptance and confidence building. We explored how to prioritise different needs and how to cope with day-to-day challenges. Having an autism specialist was really helpful as I could unmask and feel seen in a supportive environment’.

‘I started sessions with Amber soon after my autism assessment. At that time I felt that I had lost any sense of who I was after a lifetimes of masking and trying to constantly fit in. I was so happy to find Amber and I don’t know how else to describe it: she just got it! After having met other therapists in the past and not having felt completely at ease, Amber’s relaxed and open approach meant that I felt in control of sessions and didn’t feel that I had to perform in any way. Each session was different, we sometimes discussed topics, could laugh, and I didn’t feel any hierarchy. This is what made the EMDR and later IFS sessions so successful, Amber created an atmosphere (even online) where I felt completely comfortable. I felt safe to explore memories and emotions in my own way. Amber also supported me throughout my pregnancy, helping me navigate the ambivalence, and to continue to strengthen my sense of self as I enter a new chapter. I’m really thankful to Amber for offering a space where I could freely express my fears and have honest chats’.

‘As a late diagnosed autistic woman I have sampled years of varying therapies for a multitude of difficulties, but never EMDR, I’d read many positive things amongst the autistic community about EMDR and the impactful effects it has on people, but especially those on the spectrum. This is how I came to find Amber. From initial consultation to working through the EMDR sessions, I found Amber a pleasure to work with. She has a calm and safe aura about her, which made working on difficult issues much easier, and sometimes enjoyable! I can truly say, hand on heart, that some deep rooted issues I’ve been carrying around with me like a lead balloon and been severed at the core. I feel lighter, less reactive, freer and more put together than I believe Ive ever felt. Working with Amber has been life changing. I’ll remember my experience fondly and wouldn’t hesitate to work with her again if I needed. 5 stars! Highly recommend’