michael cleary

I am well suited for counseling work because I am passionate about helping others, committed to my goals and have a strong sense of empathy. Since my initial decision to pursue a career in counselling I have accumulated a wealth of experience in providing a person-centred approach to therapy over the phone, online and in person. With this journey Beginning in 2014 and with hands-on experience starting in 2018, I have accumulated over 200 hours of one-to-one therapy with clients. 

As a recent graduate, most of my experience came from voluntary positions or within placements, these positions required a level of autonomy where I was responsible for managing my own client load between more than one organisation as well as sourcing my own supervision in accordance with the BACP guidelines. My primary placement also meant becoming part of a tight, multidisciplinary team where I was able to learn from the different modalities of my colleagues whilst also bringing my own skill and knowledge to the organisation. This experience within a multidisciplinary team allowed me to develop my practice further and become a lot more varied in my approach, keeping to the PCT and EFT methods I was trained in whilst incorporating some philosophical aspects of existential therapy, logotherapy and taking on some exercises and directivity found in CBT. This experience allowed me to develop my own personalised pluralistic approach to therapy based on personal experience and scientifically validated methods. 

I have achieved a 2:1 degree in the social sciences from Edinburgh Napier University. This achievement further motivated my lifelong drive to support others by volunteering with organisations whose goal was to support individuals with a wide range of issues. My voluntary experience prepared me for my journey towards becoming a registered therapist. Beginning at a COSCA accredited course, then enrolling for the University of Strathclyde's MSc degree in counselling and psychotherapy. My development at Strathclyde University taught me an enormous amount both academically and through hands-on experience. By the time of my graduation, I had accumulated almost half of the necessary hours for my BACP accreditation.