Catherine Watson PGDipCouns, MBACP (Accred), MPsych, CertCoach, EMDR qualified

Hello, I'm Catherine and I'm in your corner. Whatever the current issues and goals may be that you'd like to work on, I'll be glad to accompany you in this part of your life journey. Take a seat in Catherine's Corner, a space where you can be yourself and where I will be myself, where you can bring what is concerning you and we can decide on a personalised plan for psychotherapeutic life coaching, counselling or EMDR to move you forward and help you become the version of yourself you want to be.

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Originally trained in Carl Rogers' Person-Centred Counselling (University of East Anglia PGDip) and with 11 years experience of working as a counsellor/psychotherapist, I hold the core conditions of empathy, acceptance and genuineness in the therapeutic relationship as key to unlocking your breakthroughs and personal growth. I have a broad background in Psychology, having completed the MSc in Experimental Psychology at the University of Sussex. I am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. I have an additional specialism in trauma, offering EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) which is a specialised treatment for traumatic memories. I am certified in Life Coaching, informed by the cognitive behavioural approach. (Training organisation: Centre for Coaching).

My psychotherapeutic life coaching sessions are a service where I blend together my counselling skills with my other training and methodologies for an approach which focuses not only on relieving distress in the present but also on proactively helping the process of creating the life you desire going forward. If this means you need some trauma/EMDR work or CBT based therapeutic work before we can look to the future, that can all be incorporated in these sessions as well. Whether you require trauma-focused work to heal from your past, an accompanying presence alongside your journey in the here and now or a way past limiting beliefs towards your dreams and goals, Catherine's Corner can assist.

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I look forward to accompanying you on your journey of understanding, healing and becoming you.

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Therapeutic Life Coaching

Do you need to take a moment to figure things out and find your way past any obstacles so you can continue to fly and flourish?

​Therapeutic life coaching is ideal for those who wish to work in a goal-oriented way and may be more focussed on the future than therapy alone would be. I use methods from various coaching models including GROW, SPACE and Cognitive Behavioural coaching but I tailor coaching sessions to individual needs so no two coaching journeys will look the same. Coaching can facilitate you finding your answers and seeing the steps you need to take towards specific goals, finding a clearer sense of your sense of identity and purpose, navigating transitional times in your life or career development, improvement to your relationships or working out your spiritual journey. Challenge is offered alongside gentle encouragement to help you find confidence and be empowered. Please see my video explaining some of the areas I can work with in this way.

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EMDR

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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a specialised psychotherapeutic treatment for trauma (Training organisation: EMDR Works). EMDR can be used for one-off incidents or longer term, chronic trauma and helps to reprocess memories so you no longer feel the extent of the negative emotions originally associated with them. Trauma does not have to be something dramatic like a car accident, it is your response to any experience where you felt unsafe, humiliated, shameful, abandoned, afraid etc., and the experience still affects you today. It can also be used for adverse life events which may not be typically defined as traumatic by the medical definitions of trauma - you do not need to have a diagnosis of PTSD to benefit from this treatment. If you choose to try EMDR therapy, I will tailor this to your individual needs and can incorporate other relevant trauma informed treatments where appropriate. If we meet online, we would use the 'butterfly hug' method or tapping rather than eye movements. If we meet face to face, eye movement work can be carried out with the use of a custom light bar, or alternatively we can use headphones with alternating sounds in each ear or buzzers in each hand. If you prefer not to use equipment, the butterfly hug or tapping are also effective in person.​​​ Please see my video explanation.

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Counselling

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When we explore our concerns with a person who is trained and skilled in listening, we can see a clearer picture of ourselves and what is going on in our lives as if we are looking in a mirror. We can also take time to think and reflect out loud, which can make our thought processes become clearer. Originally known as Clear Reflection Counselling, my person-centred counselling service is centred on these ideas and centred on you as a person being the expert on your own experience. For those who simply would like a space to explore without a structured approach to the sessions, this can be ideal. I am experienced with working with mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression and other diagnosed mood and anxiety disorders, whether you choose to embrace a diagnosis you've been given or see your experience in a different way.  Relationships, work stress, bereavement, decision making, climate anxiety, neurodivergence and spirituality are topics I often work with. Whatever your concerns, I aim to see you as a whole person in the context of your life and experiences, rather than simply treating a 'problem'.

Couples therapy is also available;  please see my video for more information. My couples counselling always tends to involve elements of solution-focussed coaching in terms of identifying and working towards goals.

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Other Work

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I can offer Clinical Supervision for your own counselling or therapeutic work or work in another helping profession; feel free to contact me for more information. I am happy to work with person-centred or integrative counsellors in a supervision capacity.

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I am an Associate Lecturer with The Open University in the School of Psychology & Counselling and have been part of a neurodiversity research team. I run a non-profit group for peer support and activism/awareness for dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder) called Dyspraxia Dialogues. I have also taught on the Counselling Certificate course at The Norwich Centre for Personal, Professional and Spiritual Development.​

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Publications contributed to:

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Stenner, P., Pearson, A., Kapp, S., Watson, C., Pressler, R., Williams, G., Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, H., Hultman, L., Semmens-Wheeler, R., & Botha, M. (2025). Using Q Methodology, a Group of Neurodivergent Neurodiversity Researchers Ask: What is the Neurodiversity Movement and what should it do? Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330251329625 (Original work published 2025)

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Pearson, A., Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H., Kapp, S. K., Hultman, L., Watson, C., Williams, G. L., Wiklund, S. Ö., Stenner, P., Botha, M., & O’Dell, L. (2024). Strangers and friends: navigating neurodiverse research collaboration. In H. Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, & D. Jackson-Perry (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Research Methods and Ethics in Neurodiversity Studies (1st ed., pp. 103-122). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66127-3_7​
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