Counsellor & Clinical Hypnotherapist

Michael Gooby

Michael Gooby offers face-to-face and online appointments from Essex Therapy Barn in Ford End, with daytime, evening and Saturday-morning availability in a quiet, discreet semi-rural setting on the outskirts of Chelmsford.

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About me

Michael is a pluralistic counsellor and hypnotherapist, offering counselling and hypnotherapy from a professional practice designed for therapy, with easy parking in a quiet and discreet area.

If something goes wrong or breaks, as all too often in life it does, people generally call someone to put it right. They tend not to question the fact they need it working or put right — they just know it does, and that it will not fix itself. So why, too often, don't we apply this to ourselves? We tend to bury our heads in anything else hoping it will go away; it doesn't, it is just packed away with all the other unaddressed thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Michael says this because for many years he worked in the construction industry and watched many people around him — workers and customers — suffer with problems they kept brushed under the carpet. He felt he could help them: just by listening and hearing what they needed to express was usually enough to lighten the load of what was going on for them at the time. Many years ago he decided to train as a counsellor and make it his job to help people suffering with day-to-day or historical problematic thoughts, emotions or behaviours that they really needed to address but had no-one to turn to.

What you may be experiencing

Stress
Anxiety
Depression
Bereavement
Early life scripting impacting on behaviours, thoughts and moods

This can seem scary or daunting to address — it really doesn't have to be. You have probably realised you may need help with something that is going on for you, and now is the time to look at it properly.

Michael's approach

It is just as important to look after ourselves as much as it is anyone else. Without our own mindful balance we can't function as we should, or give the best of ourselves to those around us. It is ok not to be ok, and it is ok to look at what is going on for us and optimise ourselves for a better and more fulfilled life.

As a rule, human beings have the ability to heal themselves — yes, this is true to a point, but how? Somewhere within us is the ability and the answers that we need; the problem is accessing them, finding what is already deep inside. This is where Michael can help. The road ahead can be a lonely one and hard to navigate alone. Walking beside you — and the key word here is 'together' — you can find a way forward that helps you move on from whatever is holding you back. He likens it to carrying a bag of many different pebbles: it gets heavier the more you collect, and after a while we need to look at which ones are worth keeping and which ones we need to release to lighten the load.

Michael is a pluralistic counsellor and hypnotherapist, which means he incorporates CBT, psychodynamic and person-centred counselling, along with hypnotherapy and psycho-education where appropriate. He is committed not to leave clients spinning in silent circles of distress, but to work collaboratively in a solution-focused way to pave a way forward.

Trauma, change and lived experience

Michael experienced a sudden traumatic bereavement in his youth, and has a deeper awareness of how trauma impacts on the person and the whole family. He also has experience of the chaos and pain addiction can cause to the individual and to family and friends. There are some things that, he believes, can't be taught out of a book.

Maybe you have experienced a recent or historical traumatic event? Remember that traumatic is the event that happened, and trauma is what we carry within us after the event, because it can become a deep-rooted memory that affects us not only cognitively but physically, both consciously and unconsciously.

Another problematic area can be change itself — environmental, social or employment change, change coming from within, or a change you need to challenge or accept.

Michael is really easy to talk to and he does understand just how hard it is to make that first step. Please reach out by telephone or email if you would like help.

Experience

Michael has worked for a number of years in a charity organisation offering adult counselling and therapeutic support for grief, loss and trauma, alongside private practice offering individual and couples therapy.

He works with young adults (18–24), adults, older adults, couples and organisations. Sessions are available in person and online, including via Zoom and WhatsApp.

Issues Michael works with

Michael works with a wide range of issues, including:

Abuse, including domestic, emotional, narcissistic, physical and sexual abuse, and sexual assault
Addiction, alcoholism, drug addiction and internet addiction
ADHD and behaviour problems
Affairs and betrayals, jealousy, relationship problems, sex problems, separation and divorce
Anger management
Anxiety, generalised anxiety (GAD), health anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, phobias and climate and eco-anxiety
Bereavement, childhood bereavement, miscarriage and feeling sad
Blended family, family issues, boarding school syndrome and carer support
Bullying and childhood bullying
Burnout, career counselling, redundancy and work-related stress
Cancer, chronic illness, HIV/AIDS and older people's counselling
Depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Discrimination
Loneliness, low self-confidence and low self-esteem
Mental health, paranoia and self-harm
Money worries
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma
Spirituality
Stress