Counselling and Reiki in Market Lavington – Devizes – Wiltshire

~ claire ballardie

I offer psycho-therapeutic counselling in a private setting, in the village of Market Lavington, near Devizes, Wiltshire.

 My work is founded on my own life experience, which led me understand the value of having someone to talk to when life gets too much to cope with alone.

As an Integrative therapist,  I use a holistic approach, to improve your physical and mental health, taking into account how traumatic events impact on our whole being.  When we feel emotionally stressed, anxious, depressed, this has an impact on the body. Bodily symptoms and feelings are invaluable in exploring the causes of distress. Once sense can be made of how we feel in the present, progress can be made into looking forwards with more positivity and joy..

 

I offer Psychotherapy and Reiki, as required, which can have a positive effect on the body’s energy, releasing tension and stress. My particular interests are:

  • Grief
  • Trauma
  • Weight loss issues
  • Disordered eating
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Pet bereavement

 

I have both indoor and outdoor facilities, with options for outdoor therapy, with the healing qualities of being in nature and around animals.

  • FREE introductory phone call (20 minutes)
  •  On-line  sessions on Zoom 
  • Face-to-face counselling

 

Prices

 

 

 

 

 

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Endings in Therapy

~ claire ballardie

Endings

In my work as a counsellor and supervisor, ‘endings’ feature as an important aspect of the therapeutic process, It could be the end of therapy, or supervision.

When something comes to and end, or and end is in sight, it can seem final, but then is that what an ending is?

‘All good things come to an end’, as they say, but so do bad things.

You can chose to end something, or maybe have to cope with an ending that has come about through circumstances beyond your control.  Endings can be planned, or unplanned.

Examples of endings could be a relationship, a job, bereavement.

‘When one door closes, another opens’.

Being able to let go of life patterns that are not doing you any good, creates an opportunity for change, for something new, more fulfilling, more suited to your needs.

An ending could be sad, but also freeing.

Maybe substituting another word for ‘ending’ gives another perspective?

How about ‘closure’, or ‘completion’? Emotional closure leads the way to a sense of well-being, of self awareness, self-worth. Feeling safe in your own world.

A happy ending , which we like in a film, or book gives us a sense of joy, of relief, maybe, that the hero/heroine rides off into the sunset, or meets the love of their life. Maybe its about taking this sense of fulfilment into our own lives.

The end of the day can be celebrated. Accept what did not go to plan, but acknowledge what went well for you, your achievements, however insignificant they may seem. This all tops up your ‘happy pot’ to help you to look forwards to the beginning of a new day.

A healthy ending to therapy

Ending, in a therapeutic sense, can be a learning curve in coping with endings in your life.

You might experience feelings of loss, or abandonment, or rejection. On the other hand, you may feel a sense of achievement, of success, of personal growth.

Unplanned endings can lead to feelings of rejection, self-doubt, confusion.

When past experiences of endings has been stressful, hurtful, this can affect the way you react to endings now. You may want to avoid the awkwardness of an ending. But being supported through an ending in therapy can be reparative, a way of moving forwards.

A ‘good ending’ validates your progress, leaves you feeling OK with yourself and your decision. Having self-respect creates self-worth. A healthy ending leaves you free to celebrate and explore what your future could be, looking forwards to new opportunities.

References

Rabinowitz, Y. L. et al. (2026) ‘Therapy endings or new beginnings: understanding the patient experience of termination in a time-limited relational therapy’, Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 39(2), pp. 318–337. doi: 10.1080/09515070.2025.2549272.

Slochower, J. (2025) ‘Ending, Not Quite Ending, and Not Ending At All’, The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 94(3), pp. 411–434. doi: 10.1080/00332828.2025.2522115.

Tarot and Psychotherapy

~ claire ballardie

What are Tarot cards?

Tarot cards come in different decks. I use a popular set of cards by Rider Waite. Interpretation of the images can be useful in psychotherapy as a way  to explore unconscious thoughts. Interpretation of the cards helps you to understand how and why you react to situations in a certain way,  developing a sense of intuition, and self-awareness.

Carl Jung, was a pioneer in psychotherapy. He worked with myths and symbols, and the relevance of dreams as being a window into the unconscious mind.

How Tarot cards are used in therapy

 

The images on Tarot cards are symbolic, and their meaning can be interpreted in many ways.

As a psychotherapist, I work with you to see what the images and archetypes represent to you, how they make you feel.

 

For example, when looking at a tarot card closely, notice what you are first drawn to in the image- how does it make you feel? What does it bring to mind for you? There are more than one interpretation of the cards, with the ‘shadow side’ as relevant as the initial response to the image. The cards can be used individually, or interpreted as a spread, or small group. In therapy, we focus on making sense of what the cards mean to you.

Looking more closely at the chosen card, what does each thing represent, either in the past or present? Reading tarot cards is not about predicting the future, but to recognise elements about yourself, your thoughts and feelings around the images, and what they symbolise and mean to you at the moment.

What is an Archetype?

An archetype is a symbolic image that is derived from the past collective experience of humanity and is present in the unconscious mind of the individual, such as Gods or Goddesses, the image of a hermit, or a fool. An archetype may remind you of someone in your life, or an aspect of yourself. Exploring this archetype can help to see yourself, or other people, from a different perspective. Seeing both ‘sides’ of an image (shadow side), highlights both positive and negative straights, wither in ourselves, or as we see others..

Your personal development can get ‘stuck’ at any stage in your life. Using tarot cards in therapy can tap into unconscious processes, and help you to see things from a different perspective. This can help you to develop a sense of peace and control over aspects of your life, planning  a brighter future.

For more information about using Tarot cards in individual psychotherapy sessions or in small development groups, please contact me.

 

 

Psycho-Spiritual Development Group

~ claire ballardie

Psycho-spiritual awareness has both psychological and energietic qualities. We are often aware of our physical wellbeing and our mental capacity, but our energetic self needs care and development too. This course is to help you to develop as a sentient being- one who has a heightened sense of awareness, both of yourself and the world around you.

This development group is aimed at helping you to develop your intuition, to listen to your ‘gut feeling’, to help you to fine-tune the use of your senses. A useful course for CPD for practitioners/therapists, or for self-development.

This 4-week course of 2-hour sessions costs £20 per session and includes:

  • Grounding techniques
  • The body’s energy: chakras and the nervous system
  • Psychology of the senses (clairaudience, clairvoyance, clairsentience, claircognisance)
  • Psychometry
  • Visualisation
  • Intuitive Interpretation of Tarot cards
  • Dream analysis
  • Meditation

What is the Psyche?

The psyche, according to Carl Jung, consists of your conscious mind (ego), your unconscious mind, and the collective unconscious: shared experience with others.

The conscious mind (Ego) is about your sense of self, being aware of what you are thinking, remembering and feeling in the present.

The unconscious mind is about forgotten memories, experiences and emotions that impact on your responses to the world around you. However, you have no awareness of their effect on your reactions, mood, behaviour.

The collective unconscious is a shared experience with others, such as religion, symbolism, rituals.

Please be aware that being present in both mind and body is essential before exploring the body’s energy and sensitivity. 

If you are interested in this course, please contact me. Dates to be arranged once there is sufficient interest. This will be a small group, limited to 4-6 participants.

It’s OK to Forget

~ claire ballardie

We put a lot of focus on being able to remember things, beating ourselves up when we are forgetful. But your brain is wired to filter out unneccessary information, to declutter your mind, so that remembering what is important becomes easier. The ability to forget takes practice,  but this gives your brain space to organise memories more easily.

How we forget

If you imagine your mind as a cupboard, with over-flowing drawers, piles of stuff shoved to the back, it is difficult to find anything.

Similarly, your brain can be overloaded with memories, past experiences, or with worries, ‘what if’s’ about the future. These memories get in the way of being able to forget what is not useful or helpful.

what we forget

You forget where you put the car keys if your mind is on something else at the time. If you can actively forget information you do not need, and just concentrate on where your are putting your keys, you will remember where you our them.

Mindfulness is about being able to forget what is not important right now.

 

when we forget

The mind is clever at filtering out experiences which are frightening, overwhelming, traumatising, in an effort to regulate our nervous system, to keep us calm.

If we cannot forget, scary experiences, living in a permanent state of fear, we become anxious. If our mind is cluttered and unable to filter this can leading to psychological issues such as post traumatic stress. Counselling can help you rebalance the fear/safety process in your mind and body.

why we forget

We forget to protect ourselves from sadness, fear, distress. Sometimes it’s harde to forget what someone did or said to us we found hurtful. being able to forget, these feelings can help to restore a sense peace with unpleasant experiences.

Having new pleasant experiences can replace negative thoughts, memories, so we forget negativity, and see things in a more positive light.

Learning to forget

So, going back to our ‘mental wardrobe’, we need to have space in our ‘mental wardrobe for memories to be safely stored. `Some we will need easy access to, such as remembering tasks, locations, where we have been, what we have done. Storing it on you phone does’t count!

Memories are made, the filtered, and filed for easy retrieval. We forget by letting irrelevant information go, not keeping it in our active memory, so we don’t keep it ‘just in case’. Memories can be happy or sad.  We might like to hang on to happy memories, but want to forget feeling sad.

 

For example, you might imagine waves on a beach, washing away the sadness with each roll of the  surf. This sad memory would gradually fade away, leaving space for more making new happier memories.

 

References

Fawcett, J. M., & Taylor, T. L. (2010). Directed forgetting shares mechanisms with attentional withdrawal but not with stop-signal inhibition. Memory & cognition, 38(6), 797–808. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.38.6.797

Fawcett, J. M., & Taylor, T. L. (2008). Forgetting is effortful: evidence from reaction time probes in an item-method directed forgetting task. Memory & cognition, 36(6), 1168–1181. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.36.6.1168

Couples Therapy

~ claire ballardie

Couples Therapy

Relationships are hard work! Meeting someone, falling in love, building a life together- Phew!

Cats

 

Then the work begins. Being able to negotiate what is best for both of you, to meet each other’s needs, as well coping with the practicalities of daily life can take its toll on the most loving of couples.

 

How does couples therapy work?

Therapy can help to open conversations about your relationship. Whether you feel your relationship will survive with professional help, or if it is coming to an end,  counselling can help you to discuss options to renegotiate a fractured partnership, or to ease a break up. Plans can be made for a new future for you both.

Newly married?

Getting to know each other can be exciting, and loving, but tackling those niggles and disagreements early on. Couples Coaching can help you both to learn how to communicate with each other, and ease you into the future as a new couple. Reaching out for therapy before things get too difficult can help you both to take care of your marriage, to maintain harmony rather than wait until emotions bubble over.

Prices

Contact me for further details, and to book your first session together.