About Grainne Wood

- Feeling lost, stuck or anxious, or that there is emptiness in your life where your wellbeing and happiness should be?
- Or are you just unsure about something and want the time and space to explore it?
I will work with you to understand painful and enduring personal emotional patterns that are preventing you from having the life and happiness you want.
- Whatever is happening in your life, as a Gestalt therapist, I will work alongside you to help you navigate this difficult patch in your life, or to resolve life-long issues and find a way through the anxieties, difficulties or pain you are experiencing.
- This will involve raising your awareness of yourself so that you can trust your own experience and make sense of what is going on for you in this moment.
- This may mean coming to terms with a painful history, a search for your true direction, or exploring a relationship.
- It may involve starting to look carefully and compassionately at past or buried trauma, or learning how to believe in yourself and in your sense of what is right for you.

My training, work experience and any achievement

Gestalt therapy is a “right here, right now” therapy. Its foundation is the relationship between myself (the therapist) and you (the client) as it happens in the therapy session. Unlike some other forms of therapy which focus on the past, I will take the time to gently and carefully explore how your past affects the way you think, feel and relate to yourself and others right now. Through this process of exploration I can help you gain the awareness you need to make different choices about what you are no longer prepared to tolerate.

In all my work, I am aware that the body and the mind are interconnected. Anxiety, for example, isn’t just a psychological experience, but can include a churning stomach, fast breathing and other physical symptoms. So I work with the whole person using approaches that match your needs and your preferences for how we work together. There are many creative possibilities that we can look at, including an exploration of your dreams, exploring how your body reacts to anxiety and other creative ways of deepening your understanding of want is going on in your current life.

As a result of the work we do together, you will find increased self-knowledge and self-acceptance. You may also find the clarity and voice to speak whatever is true for you. We will work in a way that supports your choices and moves you in the direction you want to take. The methods I use are very effective and can be powerful ways of accessing and harnessing half formed thoughts, ideas and feelings and can make something clear that was previously hidden.

I work on a long term and brief therapy basis and ensure that however long we work together, we undertake regular joint reviews. This helps to keep the work focused and allows for any concerns to be raised. Equally, when the time comes for our work together to end, I will ensure sufficient time is allowed to review our work and to look at alternative forms of support for the future.

Counselling sessions last for 50 minutes and are held once a week, although more frequent sessions can be scheduled as required. I also run small therapy groups that meet bi-monthly for a day. Throughout our work together, everything that is said will be treated with the greatest respect and confidence and you will be able to share your thoughts, concerns and feelings safely. I see clients in a beautiful, safe and calm waterside setting in Chester, where you will be made welcome and feel supported.

I am very aware that it takes courage to approach a therapist, and to discuss deeply personal matters with another human being, even if that person is professionally trained. Whatever the issues you bring, I will promise to work with you to the best of my ability in a non-judgemental and compassionate way.

I abide by the code of ethics of GPTI (Gestalt Psychotherapy Training Institute) and UKCP.

I have completed a four-year masters level course in Gestalt Psychotherapy at the Manchester Gestalt Centre. The Centre follows the GPTI curriculum and is accredited by UKCP. I am a member of both GPTI and UKCP and am currently in advanced training to build on, and support, my existing qualifications and experience.
As part of my on-going training I have trained with Ruella Frank in New York and James Kepner from the Cleveland Gestalt Institute.

I am also a qualified Executive Coach having completed my training with the European Coaching Foundation, and have been coaching senior managers and board directors for many years in my role as managing director of TSI and TSIRenew.

TSI is a management consultancy and coaching organisation that I have established and run since 1996. It has a successful track record and is respected for its people focused approach. Chester Gestalt Counselling is the individual therapy arm of the business. You can find out more about TSI by going to www.tsiltd.co.uk.

I am also a qualified teacher and social worker and have a training management diploma from the CIPD. After many years in the public sector, and then as a management consultant in the both the private and public sectors, I came to gestalt about 20 years ago. At the time I wanted to find out more about how the teams I worked with operated as people – what made them tick. In my quest I came upon some inspirational gestalt therapists, and so my journey to becoming a qualified gestalt therapist began.

For the past four years I have worked with a CAMHS Team (Children and Young Persons Mental Health Services) Where I counsel parents with a range of personal and mental health issues, including anxiety, trauma, abuse, depression and personality disorders.

Throughout my career I have always been involved with helping people be the best they can be, and supporting their life choices and drive for change. My experience has given me invaluable expertise and skills in working with others, and in allowing me to agree with my clients what they are aiming for and be on their side.

Training and working as a therapist, I have come to understand the significance of our background and experiences in determining the person we become. I have become passionate about psychotherapy and believe in its role in individual change. Indeed, I have significant personal experience of its transformational possibilities.

Further Information

About Gestalt Therapy
- Gestalt therapy refers to a form of psychotherapy that derives from the gestalt school of thought. It was developed in the late 1940’s by Fritz Perl’s and is guided by the principle that every individual is a whole (mind, body and soul), and that they are best understood in relation to their current situation as he or she experiences it.
- It focuses strongly on self-awareness and the “here and now” (what is happening from one moment to the next). In gestalt therapy, self-awareness is key to personal growth and developing full potential. The approach recognises that sometimes this self-awareness can become blocked by negative thought patterns and behaviour that can leave people feeling dissatisfied and unhappy.
- It is the aim of the gestalt therapist to promote non-judgemental self-awareness that enables clients to develop a unique perspective on life. By helping an individual to become more aware of how they think, feel and act in the present moment, gestalt therapy provides insight into ways in which he or she can alleviate their current issues and distress in order to reach their true potential.

Key concepts of gestalt therapy
- Person-centred awareness Focusing on the future, and imagining it divorced from the present and past is considered essential. The process follows an individual’s experience in a way that does not involve seeking out the unconscious, but staying with what is present and aware.
- Respect Clients, whether an individual, group or family, are treated with profound respect by a gestalt therapist. Providing a balance of support and challenge is key in helping those taking part to feel comfortable about opening up and acknowledging areas of resistance.
- Emphasis on experience The gestalt approach focuses on experience in terms of an individuals emotions, perceptions, behaviours, body sensations, ideas and memories. A therapist encourages the client to “experience” in all these ways, vividly in the here and now.
- Creative experiment and discovery There is a range of experimental methodology used by therapists to test their client’s experience. These involve highly creative and flexible techniques to help them open up and acknowledge hidden feelings.
- Social responsibility The gestalt approach recognises that people have a social responsibility for self and for others. It demands respect for all and acknowledges that everyone is different. Ultimately it encourages individuals to adopt an egalitarian approach to life.
- Relationships Relating is considered central to human experience and gestalt therapy considers individuals as "whole” when they have a good relationship with themselves and others around them. The interpersonal relationship between the individual and therapist that is developed and nurtured in sessions is a key guiding process in therapy.

How does gestalt therapy work?
- Fundamentally, gestalt therapy works by teaching clients how to define what is truly being experienced rather than what is merely an interpretation of events. Those undertaking gestalt therapy will explore all of their thoughts, feelings, behaviours, beliefs and values to develop awareness of how they present themselves and respond to events in their environment. This gives them the opportunity to identify choices, patterns of behaviour and obstacles that are impacting their health and well being, and preventing them from reaching their full potential.
- The unfolding of this therapeutic process will typically involve a range of expressive techniques and creative experiments developed collaboratively between therapist and client. These will be appropriate for the client and their specific problems.

Who can benefit?
- Ultimately, gestalt therapy is considered to help individuals gain a better understanding of how their emotional and physical needs are connected. They will learn that being aware of their internal self is key to understanding why they react and behave in certain ways. This journey of self-discovery makes the approach beneficial for individuals who can be guarded when it comes to their emotions, and find it difficult to process why they feel and act the way they do. It can also provide support and a safe space for individuals going through times of personal difficulty.
- Gestalt therapy is considered particularly valuable for helping to treat a wide range of psychological issues – especially as it can be applied as a long-term therapy or as a brief and focused approach. It has been found to be effective for managing tension, anxiety, addiction, post traumatic stress, depression and other psychological problems that can prevent people from living life to the full. Overall, people who participate in gestalt therapy tend to feel more self-confident, calm and at peace with themselves.