My name is DiLugh, I am a qualified and insured Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and Supervisor who has worked within private practice since 2014. I started my career in healthcare working in NHS and Social care settings within Physical health, Psychiatry/Mental Health and Learning Disabilities for many years prior to an accident in 2004.
I am a non-binary person and use they/them pronouns, I am disabled full time wheelchair user and deaf, having lost what hearing I had over time. My previous and present work experience, alongside my personal understanding of trauma, emotional distress and grief, gives me a lived experience of understanding the healing journey and the oppressions that minority communities experience within society. These elements have been crucial in shaping my belief of working collaboratively with the whole person as our mind, body, emotion and religious beliefs (or absence of belief) are intrinsically bound together for good overall health, wellbeing and success in living a balanced life.
I work online-only using zoom with closed captions for accessibility. I am Started learning BSL in 2021, and finished BSL Level 3 in 2023 with the goal to continue my learning up to level 6 in the future. As a deaf person I use BSL in my everyday life continuing to learn by experience. My aim is to be able to offer full BSL access alongside oral counselling.
I work with Hearing, Hard of hearing and Deaf clients using Speech English, SSE and BSL.
I work with emotional and mental distress looking at normal reactions to abnormal situations, in a non-pathologising, non-medicalised way. This means I align with ‘Drop the Disorder’ (A Disorder 4 Everyone) by working with the brain, body and soul in front of me, and looking at the emotional distress that has brought the client to seek support. I let the client guide their wishes through counselling to achieve an endpoint they are happy with.
I am passionate about dispelling the medicalising stigma of emotional distress being a chemical imbalance within the brain that will last a lifetime. I therefore practice counselling by looking at the emotional distress that has resulted in low mood, anxious thoughts, self-doubt, low self-worth or low self-esteem, the procrastination of starting a new thing, or the difficulties of changing routines or changes in life.
In terms of how I am different to many other counsellors: I work entirely with the brain, emotions, body, and beliefs of the person in front of me, and not by a strict ‘tick the box’ system. That means I am able to tailor counselling to your specific needs and the outcome you want to achieve. Together, we will explore the route cause of your distress, and treat the cause not the symptoms, so you can heal and move forward.
I am a GSRD affirming counsellor.