Welcome to Patrick Fountain Counselling
Experienced Psychotherapeutic Counsellor
Qualified Counsellor & Psychotherapist in Bristol, Bath & online
Hello and welcome, I'm Patrick. From growing-up in a rural background, I strive to a bring a calming and open presence to all I do. My journey into this field emerged from my own challenging life experiences and very warm, accepting and freeing experience of the therapeutic relationship upon seeking support for myself. My experience led me to become curious about what had taken place between myself and the therapist beyond my words, inspiring me to learn more. I began studying Counselling in 2015 at Strode College, qualifying with a Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling.
I then completed a 3 year Master of Arts Degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice with Bath Spa University to enhance my core training. I have obtained substantial face to face and online client-work experience since 2018 within placement whilst studying and within private practice since 2021, working with a variety of life experiences highlighted below. I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, adhering to their professional framework for safe and ethical practice.
I'm passionate about taking care of my physical and emotional wellbeing so that I can make sure I'm completely here for you- including reaching-out for my own Counselling sessions when needed. I consider it a privilege to support others in navigating all that life has to throw at them and whether our time is brief or longer, I look forward to taking this first step with you.
My Psychotherapeutic Approach
I am a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor underpinned by the Person-Centred approach which allows me to offer short-term counselling or longer-term therapy to individual adults. It means that what you need is central to our work, content is led by you, exploration is gently conducted together and co-creating a down-to-earth relationship between us based on acceptance, empathy and genuineness is key to facilitating a meaningful experience.
Psychotherapeutic also means I work at depth, drawing from different approaches to best suit your needs, primarily through Person-Centred, Existential and Psychodynamic lenses. This allows room to explore your past and present life and how you might envision your future. Counselling & Therapy are a non-curative, non-fixing offering, emphasising meeting and accepting the individual fully as they are, within their true experiencing of their present circumstances.
A Space for Reflection and Understanding
Meeting in a neutral space regularly with a supportive and curious outsider can help in gaining relief, insight, self-understanding, self-acceptance, help to make changes if you so wish, identify choices, possibilities and envision a way forward. Counselling is a unique encounter between two souls and offers a freedom to bring yourself and your experiences in a way to another person, perhaps not possible within your day to day by exploring and processing your experiences safely.
Exploring Your Experiences
I do not view challenging feelings such as anxiety, uncertainty, loneliness and sadness as problems to be fixed or eliminated, rather as meaningful, human responses to living and together we can sink a little deeper into them and explore what they may be showing you. Counselling can help you to understand your subjective world, how you relate to yourself and others more deeply and develop resilience and self-curiosity, representing a special investment: your time to place yourself first.
What can therapy help with?
People reach out for many reasons. Here are some examples of experiences that can be explored through therapy:
Feelings of sadness &/or loneliness
Difficulty with confidence or self-esteem
Difficulty with anger
Difficulties relating to identity
Difficulties at work or in retirement
Difficulties in family life
Anxieties and uncertainties
Difficulty in carrying responsibilities
Receiving a diagnosis
Life transitions
Difficulty with life meaning and purpose
Difficulty with ageing
Relationship difficulty
Grief, loss or bereavement
Difficulty with addictive/problematic coping strategies
The impact of trauma on day-to-day living
Being authentic and living as the 'author' of your life
"Change is not about the discovery of new land, but by seeing the same land through new eyes"
- Marcel Proust
My location
I see clients in person from Bristol (BS1) and Bath (BA1)- location address's are listed at the bottom.
In addition to face-to-face therapy, I also offer online sessions via Zoom for clients in the wider area and beyond. Contact me to find out more about how online therapy works.
Fees & availability
Sessions last for 50 minutes, usually taking place weekly at the same time each week. Sessions are open-ended so you may wish to explore immediate here and now concerns within a shorter time frame or you may wish to explore life at greater depth which may require longer-term sessions. However long we work together, you have control over the beginning and ending of therapy.
Sessions cost £60, with a limited number of concessionary spaces available at £50 for those experiencing financial hardship: enquire for availability. I offer a free initial phone or video consultation to make an initial introduction, get a sense of what you need and help to establish whether we will be a good fit to work together. If you would like to contact me with any questions before booking this, feel-free to email or call.
When you feel ready to submit an initial enquiry, please do so via the website or email directly on pfcounselling@outlook.com
Get in touch
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how therapy works, or to arrange an initial consultation appointment. This enables us to discuss the reasons you are thinking of coming to therapy, whether it could be helpful for you and whether I am the right therapist to help.
You can also call me on +4407759206838 if you would prefer to leave a message or speak to me first. I am happy to discuss any queries or questions you may have prior to arranging an initial appointment.
All enquires are usually answered within 24 hours, and all contact is strictly confidential and uses secure phone and email services.