In addition to our one-to-one support and to underpin our ethos of helping to build happy lives, we have developed a range of bespoke packages for group work, workshops, CPD and training days.
Mindful Life is based in the West Midlands and our services are accessed either at the well-appointed, comfortable setting of the Elysia Therapy Centre in Stourbridge or at your premises.
Our team are qualified counsellors with a variety of specialisms. They are on the Accredited Voluntary Registers for the BACP and/or the National Counselling Society and work within ethical guidelines. They are also in receipt of current Enhanced DBS certificates (Disclosure and Barring Service).
With 14 years of experience as a qualified counsellor and psychotherapist, I established Mindful Life Counselling CIC in 2020. Drawing from my extensive background in education and private therapy, I have worked with children, young people, and adults, always aiming to help individuals overcome their challenges and reach their full potential.
Mindful Life Counselling was founded as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) in response to the significant impact of Covid-19 on the mental health of the community. Recognising the increased need for accessible counselling services in schools, organisations, and for individuals, we invest all profits back into supporting the community. Mindful Life has grown organically, adapting to the evolving needs of those we serve. My leadership blends practical skills with strategic insight, crucial for navigating complex projects while prioritising client well-being.
Our dedicated team of professional and student counsellors operate from our registered office at the Elysia Therapy Centre in Stourbridge and Haldon House in Brierley Hill. We also provide services in schools, colleges, businesses, and partner organisations throughout the Black Country and Birmingham. This expansion reflects my commitment to making counselling services accessible to all, regardless of background or financial situation.
My approach as a psychotherapist and counsellor is integrative, utilising techniques from major therapeutic models to best meet the needs of my clients. I offer a safe, confidential, and non-judgmental space for individuals to explore their thoughts and feelings. My extensive experience covers a wide range of issues and I specialise in working with children and young people, using age-appropriate methods to help them express themselves.
I invite you to meet the team below, who are integral to our mission and dedicated to providing compassionate care and support.
Tracey Barnes, who joined Mindful Life Counselling shortly after its inception, brings over twenty years of administrative project management expertise to her role as Counselling and Administrative Director. As a fully qualified Integrative Therapeutic Counsellor, Tracey combines her understanding of administrative processes with her passion for mental health and client care. She is known for her compassionate and empathetic approach, along with her natural ability to understand people’s emotional needs.
In her dual role, Tracey ensures the smooth operation of Mindful Life by overseeing all administrative coordination between team members and clients. Her extensive experience in communication and executive roles enhances our project monitoring and reporting capabilities, ensuring that all aspects of our services are delivered efficiently and effectively.
Tracey is dedicated to creating a welcoming and supportive environment for every client, ensuring they receive exceptional service throughout their journey with Mindful Life. Her unique blend of skills in both administration and counselling has significantly contributed to the growth of the organisation, helping us to expand our reach and impact. This reflects her dedication to both the operational excellence of the organisation but also the emotional wellbeing of our clients.
As a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), Tracey continues to engage in ongoing professional development.
Mel is an experienced HR and Wellbeing professional with a proven track record of delivering effective HR and inclusive wellbeing solutions with a common sense approach. Mel is a chartered member of the CIPD with over 20 years’ experience working in HR specialising in employee relations.
Naturally calm and understanding, Mel is a qualified mental health first aider and menopause advocate. Her passion for promoting positive health and wellbeing extends to being an active ED&I ally, ensuring that inclusivity is at the heart of all practices. With her background as a trained counsellor and designated safeguarding offer, Mel brings a unique perspective to HR, adding significant value and understanding to Mindful Life.
Michelle understands that every client is unique, holding the person at the centre of her practice, whilst as an integrative counsellor, using a variety of theoretical counselling modalities, including creative therapies, to adapt her support to your individual needs.
She supports adults and young people aged 5+, and is committed to creating a safe, confidential, calm space to give the client a place to be themselves, make their own choices, and articulate feelings, so they can make changes that will promote their health and wellbeing.
Jason is an integrative counsellor, dedicated to delivering client-centred support and empowering individuals to make autonomous decisions. Jason’s dedication to the welfare of his clients radiates in every aspect of his work.
He applies his sound knowledge of a vast range of counselling theories to support clients with real-world challenges, including expertise in debt and career counselling, couples therapy and counselling supervision.
Jess believes in finding creative and innovative ways of working with her clients and commits herself to continuous professional development, always bringing the most up to date therapeutic knowledge to her practice.
As a young person’s counsellor, Jess is passionate about helping individuals to build positive relationships, learn coping skills and engage in a happy, healthy life.
As a counsellor, building warm, supportive relationships is core to Shanna’s practice. She holds her client’s evolving needs at the centre of her counselling, intuitively adapting her approach.
Through her creative nature, Shanna strives to generate reflective and compassionate spaces that facilitate therapeutic growth, connection, and self-acceptance, in all those she supports
Bimla focuses on creating a safe space, supporting her clients to explore their inner landscape.
Within her counselling, Bimla draws from a toolbox of therapeutic skills including visualisation, creative narrative, and spirituality (where appropriate), to nurture the wellbeing of her clients. Bimla’s expertise in trauma, bereavement and loss also informs the ways she supports clients to grow.
Rebecca started her journey supporting children and young people as a camp counsellor in America in 2006, where she has had years of experience.
Rebecca mainly supports Mindful Life’s flagship ‘My Step’ School Programme. As senior mentor, Rebecca offers expert wellbeing to individuals and groups in the school setting, including managing anxiety and panic, self-esteem, low mood, emotional regulation, exam stress, and more.
She draws on her extensive experience and education to nurture an inclusive and supportive environment where individuals feel empowered to explore their challenges and develop effective coping strategies.
The core conditions of therapy; empathy, openness, and non-judgmental acceptance are central to Tamika’s work as a children’s counsellor.
She integrates a variety of therapeutic approaches to create nurturing, child-attuned relationships. Tamika aims to increase emotional intelligence through working flexibly and creatively to explore her clients’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
Rachel works with young people and adults in a safe and empathetic space where clients can explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. As an integrative counsellor, she uses a range of theoretical models to suit each client’s unique needs.
Rachel is committed to providing a non-judgmental environment, ensuring clients feel supported and encouraged. Her personalised approach to therapy is tailored to the specific needs of each individual, whether they are navigating adolescence, coping with trauma, or managing neurodivergence.
Kerry has extensive knowledge and experience of working with Children and Young People and is passionate about putting the young person at the heart of what she does.
Kerry finds fun, creative and engaging ways of allowing the client to make sense of their world and experiences, enabling them to find ways of working through the challenges they may face.
Kerry’s warmth and ability to attune to her clients is central to what she does. She understands that children and young people often experience overwhelming emotions which can feel scary and bewildering both to them and the people who care about them.
Kerry is dedicated to supporting her clients build the necessary skills to help them effectively manage ways to move forward.
As a counsellor for people of all ages, Julie focusses on providing a warm and nurturing environment to support individuals with everyday difficulties and challenges. Julie is passionate about helping young people transition into adulthood with the confidence and capability to reach their full potential.
With a friendly face and a smile, Julie keeps the client at the heart of the counselling and is trained in a number of therapeutic approaches to work in a flexible way that suits each individual.
Through her caring, conscientious nature, Louise helps children, young people, adults and families to explore and understand difficult emotions. Louise provides a warm, safe space for her clients to learn new skills that enable them to successfully navigate situations impacting their lives.
She focuses on building trust with clients, and in her family intervention work Louise increases communication between members in order to improve family dynamics. Louise helps families nurture their strengths, hopes and needs.
As a supervisor, she provides a non-judgmental space to reflect on clinical practice in depth, sustain positive, safe and ethical practice, benefiting both counsellor and client.
Jenny works with children and adults to create a safe, non-judgmental space where her clients remain at the heart of the therapy, supported to regain balance in their lives.
Jenny has a calming presence that creates a comfortable space to talk.
Using an integrative approach Jenny gives clients the tools to cope with their feelings in the present, the strength to look at their past, and the support to move to a better future.
Our aim is for therapy to be accessible to all people, so we work with placement counsellors to provide in-person counselling sessions for adults at a reduced rate.
All our placement counsellors are skills-assessed to ensure they are providing a high quality of counselling and go through a thorough interview process with Mindful Life Counselling.
All our counsellors, both placement and qualified, are required to have regular support from an experienced supervisor and be members of professional bodies, such as the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy, who hold counsellors accountable for working safely and ethically.
At Mindful Life, we believe in matching all our clients with a counsellor who has relevant experience and skills to support your individual needs. If you would like to access our affordable counselling sessions, we will carefully consider whether one of our current placement counsellors might be a good fit for you.
If we do not have a placement counsellor with the right expertise to support you at that time, we will do our best to explain the reason why and discuss suitable alternatives. We won’t ask you about your financial circumstances if you enquire about affordable counselling.
Get in touch with our friendly team to hear more about our affordable counselling, and to find out how to book your first session.
We realise how daunting it can be making that first contact and how important it is to find the right person to work with. We are here to help and support you through the process.
First of all, we can help by offering you an initial contact method that you are most comfortable with:
07443 532165 and we can start the process by text
