The primary task of the Diocesan Counselling Service is to enable people to become more effective in their lives. Counselling can be valuable if you are feeling that your professional or personal life, has become out of balance in some way.
Janet Bates is Diocesan Consultant in Pastoral Care and Counselling (for clergy and their families). She leads a team of trained counsellors, experienced in working with people in Christian ministry. They have insight into the particular pressures faced by clergy and their families and can offer help in a wide range of difficulties. The service offered is independent support, outside of and completely removed from diocesan structures - confidentiality is of paramount importance.
Who is the Counselling service for?
- Clergy and ordinands in Canterbury Diocese
- Clergy family members (partners and dependent children)
- Lay Readers in Canterbury Diocese
- Lay staff employed by the diocese
Examples of issues brought to Counselling include:
- the demands of parish life
- difficulties in managing change
- conflicts in working or personal relationships
- bereavement
- stress or burn out
- low self esteem or self confidence
- unresolved issues in your life
- anxiety or depression
- sexual or relationship difficulties
- a recent crisis
How much will it cost?
The Diocese gives assistance with the financing of counselling sessions. Your counsellor will discuss this further with you during your first counselling session, but you can also contact Janet Bates (see below) to find out more.
What will happen in my first session?
In your first session with a counsellor, a ‘contract’ is agreed between counsellor and client. This will address details such as length of sessions, boundaries, the therapeutic relationship, availability of the counsellor and the confidentiality you will be offered. You may find this information sheet helpful.
The Counselling Team
All the counsellors abide by the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice and are receiving regular independent supervision for their client work.The team of counsellors are located across the diocese.
Christine Barker
A professionally qualified counsellor for over twenty years, Christine works with an Integrative Approach. Her aim is to help individuals extend their choices to live more happily with themselves and others.
Christine is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, adhere to their codes and ethics of practice and receive regular supervision. She is married, has a grown up family and lives in Thanet.
Claire Roberts
Claire is an integrated humanistic counsellor working with Person Centred, Gestalt and Transactional Analysis as my main modalities.
Before becoming a counsellor she had experience in various settings within the NHS including nursing, midwifery, governance, senior management and regulation. She has worked as a counsellor in a variety of settings, predominantly within hospices providing support for patients, carers and those bereaved; substance misuse; children and young people. She has been with the Diocesan Pastoral Care and Counselling Team for more than four years.
Claire works with people with many different areas of concern from anxiety, grief, loss, low self-esteem, relationship challenges to the impact of boarding school. In providing a safe space, exploring what is going on for you, identifying learned behaviours and how you, yourself can find the best way forward to address your concerns.
Heather Lewis
Heather has been part of the Canterbury Diocesan Counselling Team for more than seven years, and has formally been a Churchwarden within the Diocese, so has a good understanding of the pressures of parish life on clergy and their families. During this time, she has worked closely with those who support and manage various aspect of the Diocese, so has an understanding of the responsive and demanding nature of these roles.
Heather is an accredited member of British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). She holds a BA (Hons) in counselling, an MSc in psychotherapy and has more than 10 years’ experience of working with adults and couples.
Janet Bates
Janet Bates is the Canterbury Diocese Consultant for Pastoral Care and Counselling and has been in this role since 2001. She leads a small team of counsellors who provide counselling to clergy and their families, as well as Diocesan staff.
Janet is a BACP Senior accredited counsellor; having initially trained as a nurse and midwife she then retrained and has worked as a counsellor for over 23 years. She worked as a university counsellor for many years and then as Head of Counselling at Burrswood, a Christian hospital, before leaving to work as a counsellor for a large police service. She then returned to her health care roots and worked as a counsellor in palliative care and oncology. In her current work as a Macmillan Specialist Counsellor in a large NHS hospital she has also supported critical care staff during the COVID pandemic.
Lesley Brookes
An experienced counsellor, Lesley is an accredited member of the National Counselling Society and a registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists.
In addition to her work with the Diocesan service, she works for the NHS, sees employer-funded clients and has a private practice.
Lesley's approach is multi-faceted, but you will usually look at your presenting problems in the context of your early experiences. Thus it becomes possible for you to gain a better understanding of your reactions and beliefs and move forward more positively
Richard Farrant
Richard Farrant is a BACP accredited counsellor and senior accredited counsellor with the NCS. He has been part of Diocesan counselling team for over nine years. He has been working in private practice for 10 years, during this period he has worked in several different contexts including facilitating training and support groups for parents and carers of children and young people with life limiting illnesses, worked as a counsellor with looked after young people in residential care. He works with adults and couples. As well as his counselling experienced, he has worked in pastoral ministry for over 30 years supporting and providing pastoral care to both members of church congregations as well as supporting those in leadership roles.
Graham Arnold
Graham is a qualified and experienced counsellor and psychotherapist, holding a Masters Degree in Counselling, but also draws upon life experiences and a varied career which includes years’ spent as an Anglican minister, both in stipendiary and non-stipendiary roles, as well as having been a funeral director, a community development worker, a charity worker for older people, and an insurance underwriter. In addition to working in private practice, Graham otherwise provides counselling in a hospice setting, working with people living with life threatening illness, and their carers.
Graham aims to help you work through whatever may be troubling you, but especially Bereavement & Loss, Depression, Anxiety, Sexuality & Identity issues, Men’s issues, Mid-life crisis, Personal development, Issues in later life, Self-esteem, Work related issues, Stress, Trauma and End of life.
Graham is a registered member (No. 377390) of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), works in accordance with the BACP’s ethical framework and standards, and is committed to Continuing Professional Development. See www.bacp.co.uk for more information.
The Next Step
If you would like to make use of this counselling service or have any further questions you would like answered, please contact Janet Bates (07872 986505) or Richard Farrant (07554 024776).