Welcome to the personal website of Noel Bell.

I am currently retraining in counselling and psychotherapy at CCPE which is proving an amazing experience. When I am not reading my books and attending lectures  I am available for freelance project management projects.

My project management experience involves working on the full project life cycle. Key areas include: transformational agenda, business analysis, change management, identifying efficiency savings, Value for Money (VFM) reviews, collaborative procurement and outsourcing.

I am also a web content writer and can provide unique, persuasive and engaging web content for your site.

What I am good at:


 

Are you thinking of studying in psychotherapy? Deciding to retrain or merely looking to explore your own self development? Perhaps you are already in training but looking for placements?  Not sure about experiential learning? The training path can be a long one but can also be a very fruitful experience.

Here you will find resources, news in the world of counselling and psychotherapy, links and blog posts about training in psychotherapy. Check out the section on free guides for counselling and psychotherapy.

The theoretical approach and orientation of the course is integrative, including transpersonal.  As a trainee counsellor under supervision  I have the skills and qualities to build a solid containing space for the client to explore their particular issues. I am flexible in my theoretical approach and assess the particular needs of the client. I am open-minded and am a good listener.  I am emphatic and can remain objective when listening to the client’s narrative. I can be sympathetic whilst acknowledging the risks of collusion.

My approach is to engage in active listening and to reflect back and summarise where appropriate.  I can also work with the transference depending on the robust nature of the client’s ego defences. I like the idea of carrying a counselling toolbox when seeing clients.  With some clients I will get nowhere unless I work cognitively, with others who have a healthy ego and have good insight into their own problems I might explore more creative ways of working.  This, for me, is what it means to be an integrative counsellor.

I undertook my psychiatric observational placement at South West London and St. George’s NHS Mental Health Trust. The Trust works in partnership with primary care, social care and voluntary organisations to provide high-quality mental health services in south west London and nationally.

Are you looking to find a counsellor or therapist?  My section on finding counsellors and therapists can help you find the appropriate service.

Read my blog posts about training in Psychotherapy here.

Disclaimer: I am a psychotherapist in training. I, therefore, do not provide psychotherapeutic services via this blog.  If you are experiencing a crisis, call your personal therapist, go to your local hospital accident and emergency room or dial 999. I wish you all the best.

Psychotherapy is just one part of my life. What else I do:

Freelance Project and programme management

I have previously been a security cleared (SC level) project manager with extensive experience of working with senior civil servants and senior managers in local and central Government within a Prince2 framework. I am fully familiar with project controls including stage boundaries, highlight reports, authorisation, exception reports, risks and issues logs, quality criteria and reviews. I have well developed skills in faciliating groups and securing buy-in.

Mentoring, coaching and personal development

I am trained in active listening. Tailored one to one mentoring and coaching for you or your employees can be one way of improving productivity by identifying areas for improvement and better ways of working.  I am used to working within a confidential framework and to promoting the needs of service users.

Broadcasting and freelance writing

Click here for a list of my podcasts.  Click here for my interview with Kevin Duncan, the author of Revolution – Tame Technology get your life back: former ad man Kevin tells me that 10% of young people think it is okay to text whilst they are having sex. As Kevin says “Technology can be a wonderful thing. It can also be a curse when it overwhelms us. If your phone, computer or other devices are beginning to rule your life, then you may be addicted to technology, or edicted. If so, you may need a Revolution”. In the interview we chat about internet addiction and the future of electronic communication.

Click here to listen to my interview  with Dr Michael Katz psychologist, former Yantra Yoga instructor, author, photographer, and long time student of contemporary masters of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. He is best known as having authored the introduction and edited the popular book Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. Katz is also the author of a book of poetry “The Crossing” (out of print), a fictional novel “The White Dolphin” and a non fiction book about lucid dream experience “Memories, Lucid Dreams, and Clarity”.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the personal views of the writer and should not be taken to represent the views of any organisation or institution.

Spotted out of date info/broken links on this site? Please email: noel@noelbell.net