 Hello, My name is Jim Byrne, and I have been in private practice as a counsellor/ psychotherapist for more than fourteen years;
at ABC Coaching and Counselling Services, in Hebden Bridge and Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK; and
worldwide over the internet and the telephone system. As at 5th January 2013, I am in my fifteenth year of continuous private
practice. During that time I have had the privilege of helping more than 720 individuals, including many couples, to learn
how to cope more effectively with their practical, emotional, thinking and relationship problems. As a result, they gained
significant personal improvements. To see what some of them said about working with me, check out the Client Testimonials
page.
I was originally trained as a Rational Emotive
Behaviour Therapist by Dr Al Raitt, who was himself trained by Dr Albert Ellis, in New York City. Up to the time of his
death, Al ran the Institute for REBT in Bristol. I successfully completed a one-year training programme there as a Rational
Emotive Behaviour Therapist, or REBT therapist: (December 1998 - November 1999), which accords me Qualified Therapist
Status. I also completed a three year Diploma course, as described below, in Humanistic, Existential, Psychoanalytic,
Behavioural, Cognitive, Cognitive-Behavioural, Eclectic and Integrative Theory and Procedure. And, more recently, I have undergone
updating and refresher training in REBT at the new Centre for REBT at the University of Birmingham. Lately my interests
have turned towards the integration of Rational/Cognitive therapy with Narrative and Psychodynamic therapies, plus Object
Relations, Attachment theory, moral philosophy and Zen Buddhism.
Contact details: Dr
Jim Byrne
Doctor of Counselling
ABC Coaching and Counselling Services
27 Wood End, Keighley Road,
HEBDEN BRIDGE
West Yorkshire
HX7 8HJ -
UK Telephone: 01422
843 629 (from inside the UK) or 44 1422 843 629 (from outside the UK) Email: Dr Jim Byrne at ABC Coaching ~~~ I
have an MA in Education, which included a significant amount of psychology (Open University, 1994: 01908 653003); a Diploma
(with Distinction) in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy (Rusland College, Bath, 2004: 01225 313184); a Professional
Certificate in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (from the Institute for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, Bristol, 1999);
plus a Primary Certificate in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy from the Albert Ellis Institute, New York. (Confirm with
the Registrar of the International Society of Professional Counsellors, at ISPC Website.). Here are my
three main accreditations/registrations: ♣
Licensed Fellow of the International Society of Professional Counsellors - (Confirmable at ISPC Website); ♣
CCC-Registered Counsellor - (Confirmable at Counselling CCC Website); ♣ Charter Member
of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) - Clinical Division - (Confirmable at www.ippanetwork.org). I also am a Senior Associate Member of the Royal Society of Medicine - (confirmable
by contacting Membership Administrator, hannah.cole@rsm.ac.uk) My
Doctorate in Counselling is from the University of Manchester. (Confirm by email to: Dr William West or Dr
Clare Lennie at the Education Faculty). This
involved studying: (a) Approaches to mental and emotional health and psychopathology; (b) Counselling, psychotherapy and society;
(c) Counselling in various contexts. In addition: (d) I studied current approaches to the teaching and learning of research
ethics in counselling and social care contexts; (e) I wrote my thesis on the subject in item (d); and in parallel (f) I began
a study of how to model (or represent) the mind of the counselling client.
Unlike
the situation in the USA, British counsellors/psychotherapists agree to be subject to lifelong supervision of
the quality of their work, and the nature of their relationships with their clients. I currently receive regular supervision
(or consultative support) from a senior colleague: Dr David Wallin, the author of 'Attachment in Psychotherapy'. Prior to David, my work was
supervised by Professor Ed Jacobs PhD, the creator of Impact Therapy, which is a much earlier form of integration
of REBT and TA than my own Cognitive Emotive Narrative Therapy (CENT). See: Ed Jacob's CV; and the Impact Therapy Associates website.
I am also subject
to both the ISPC and CCC Complaints Procedures. (See the *Accreditation and Ethics* page on this website.; and the ISPC Website; and also the Counselling CCC Website).
My
style of working is more like a "friendly philosopher" and "wise guide", combined with a "warm parent
figure" progressing to "companion", rather than a "cold and clinical doctor". I use an integrated
range of thinking and narrative frameworks to conceptualize client problems, as described on the 'What is CENT?' page. Some of these frameworks and techniques are original creations of CENT, and some come from Rational Emotive Behaviour
Therapy (REBT/CBT), supported by elements of Transactional Analysis (TA), Zen Philosophy, and other modern narrative therapies,
including neo-Freudian conceptualizations, like the British Object Relations school (e.g. Klein and Fairbairn); and
the Attachment Theorists: Bowlby, Main, etc.
My aim is to help you to to resolve your current, adult problems, and/or old, historic problems from
your childhood. I provide an environment in which you can learn and grow, briefly, or longer term. Ideally I would
like to help you to "become your
own coach/counsellor" in the shortest possible amount of time, so you can manage your own life better; resolve your own
problems; and pursue your own goals. However, this sometimes takes more than a few sessions. An integral aspect
of the journey is the development of a secure attachment capability in you.
What
I do best is to help you to reframe and resolve your problems, to become more secure and Adult, and to tenaciously pursue
your goals in every area of your life, in a surprisingly brief period of time; weeks rather than months in most cases; but
sometimes it takes longer. To discuss possibilities, or to get an information pack, please email Jim Byrne, Doctor of Counselling,
at ABC Coaching and Counselling Services. Or you could read and download the Information Pack on
the Information Pack page.
If you wish to telephone me, then please call me on 01422 843 629 (from inside the UK) or 44 1422 843 629 (from outside
the UK).
~~~ If
you are still wondering why you should use my services, rather than those of many dozens of others in this business, then
please take a look at the Client Testimonials page.
I have been steeped in the world of counseling,
psychology and psychotherapy since 1968, when I had a partial Freudian analysis for problems to do with my relationships with
my parents. See my Story of Origins in which I outline the problems I had with my early family and schooling history. In the 1970s, I explored the person-centred philosophy of Carl
Rogers; and in 1980 began to study and use Fritz Perles' Gestalt Therapy to promote my own personal development, and to resolve
some of my own problems of daily living. Also from 1980, I began to study Zen philosophy, and to practice daily meditation;
and in recent years I have completed a couple of years of Zen Koan training. Also around 1980, I began to study Positive
Thinking and to do daily autogenic training, to change my consciousness from negative to positive. In 1984, Renata and
I went through marriage guidance using Transactional Analysis (TA), and I then went on to take further training in Relationship
Skills, Communications Skills, and various other personal and professional development systems. Then in 1992 I began to study
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), and subsequently added in up to twelve other therapies. My major problem in life was my insecure attachment to my mother,
which spoiled many years of my life by making it difficult for me to relate to others in a productive and constructive manner.
See my Story of Relationship for an insight into how I resolved this major problem, and became an individual capable of secure attachment to
others.
My principal goals in life
are to be happy and healthy, and to teach other people how to be happy and healthy. In this
sense I am primarily a 'happiness coach', rather than than a 'deviner of psychological sickness'!
There is now
also some research evidence that counselling clients get better results when they work with a psychotherapist who practices
Zen meditation. According to a recent report: "Patients Do Better With Psychotherapist Who Practice Zen Meditation..." This ScienceDaily (Nov. 18, 2007) article
reports that: "An investigation by German researchers headed by Professor Nickel indicates that practicing Zen meditation
by psychotherapists matters (to the outcomes achieved by their clients). All therapists direct their attention in some manner
during psychotherapy. A special form of directing attention, 'mindfulness', is recommended". "This study indicates that promoting mindfulness in psychotherapists
in training could positively influence the therapeutic course and treatment results in their patients (or clients)".
(Journal reference: Grepmair, L. ; Mitterlehner,
F. ; Loew, T. ; Bachler, E. ; Rother, W. ; Nickel, M. Promoting Mindfulness in Psychotherapists in Training Influences the
Treatment Results of Their Patients: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Study. Psychother Psychosom 2007;76:332-338) I have been practicing Zen meditation (mindfulness) since 1980, and Zen mind training (Koan training)
for several years. ~~~ Give me a call, or email me, and we can discuss working together.
Jim Byrne
Doctor of Counselling
ABC Coaching and Counselling Services
Email: Jim Byrne at ABC Coaching.
Telephone: 01422
843 629 (inside UK); or 44 1422 843 629
(outside UK).
~~~ |