ABOUT PERSONAL MEANING COUNSELLING

WHO AM I?

Hi. I’m Pamela.

I’ve been in Nairn for a long time now, and the Highlands for even longer. Over thirty years of living here, and I still feel lucky. The mountains, the sea, the particular quality of light on a good day. It’s the kind of place that gets under your skin.

I came to counselling the way a lot of people do, through my own experience of life being harder than expected. In 2013 I had an accident that changed things significantly. Suddenly I was living with reduced mobility and chronic pain, and figuring out how to find meaning in a life that looked very different to the one I’d had before. Mindfulness helped. Talking helped more. And somewhere in that process, becoming a counsellor stopped being an idea and started being something I needed to do.

That was not a small decision. But it turned out to be exactly the right one.

  • My approach is person-centred, which means the sessions are led by you. There is no agenda, no fixed structure, no list of things we have to get through. You bring what’s alive for you. I listen. Really listen. And together we try to make sense of it.

    I believe that the relationship between a client and their counsellor is at the heart of any real change. Not the techniques, not the theory, though I have plenty of that too. The relationship. The experience of being genuinely heard by another human being, without judgement, without an agenda, without being told what to do.

    Talking can be transformative. Not because I have the answers, but because the answers are often already in you, waiting for the right kind of space to emerge.

    I also find that there is room for warmth, humour, and the occasional existential tangent in the therapy room. If that sounds like your kind of counsellor, we might be a good fit.

  • I love literature, music, art, theatre, and deep conversations. I find the big existential questions genuinely fascinating rather than frightening. I believe there is meaning to be found even in the most difficult experiences, and that idea, which comes largely from Viktor Frankl’s work, runs through everything I do.

    Personal Meaning Counselling is not a random name. It’s a nod to Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, and to the belief that every life, no matter how shaped by suffering or circumstance, has the capacity for meaning. Finding yours is not my job. Helping you find it yourself is.

    I have a strong commitment to equality and diversity. I am genuinely curious about people’s experiences, sensitive to cultural difference, and committed to working with clients in a way that respects who they are, not who I think they should be. I am certified to work with Diversity Within Contemporary Relationships, which includes LGBTQ+ clients and those in non-traditional relationship structures.

    I am also a Board member for a local social enterprise yoga collective, and I volunteer for a national bereavement charity. Making a positive difference in my community matters to me, not just in the therapy room.

  • I trained at the University of the Highlands and Islands, where I gained a DipHE Distinction in Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy. I am a registered member of COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland) and BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy).

    I have specialised in grief and loss since beginning my practice, and I have provided counselling within the NHS as well as in private practice since 2022.

    In 2024 I qualified as a Breathwork facilitator, completing my training in Conscious Connected Breathwork with Breathing Journeys. Breathwork has been part of my own daily practice for years, and being able to offer it to clients alongside counselling feels like a natural extension of everything I believe about how we heal.

    Qualifications displayed on page:

    • DipHE Distinction, Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy, University of the Highlands and Islands

    • Registered Member, COSCA

    • Registered Member, BACP

    • Certified, Diversity Within Contemporary Relationships

    • Qualified Breathwork Facilitator, Breathing Journeys

    • Previously provided counselling within the NHS

    • Volunteer, national bereavement charity

WHERE WE MEET

The counselling bothy.

Face to face sessions take place at my counselling bothy at Moyness House, just outside Auldearn, near Nairn. It’s a cosy, welcoming, private space. The kind of place where it feels easier to say the things that are hard to say.

If you’re coming in person, you’ll find a what3words link on the contact page to help you find us. We’re in the middle of the Highlands, so it’s worth having.

If travelling doesn’t work for you, sessions are also available online via video call or by telephone. I work with clients across Scotland and the whole of the UK.

FEES AND AVAILABILITY

What it costs and when I’m available.

Sessions are 50 minutes and cost £40 to £55 on a sliding scale. I ask that you pay what feels fair and appropriate for your circumstances. If cost is a genuine barrier, please get in touch and we can talk through what might be possible.

I work Monday to Friday, 10am-7.30pm.

The first step is a free 20-minute consultation. No commitment, no pressure. Just a conversation to see if working together feels like a good fit.

Ready to talk?

The first step is a free 20-minute consultation. No commitment, no pressure.

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