What is Counselling?
“Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?” Charles Bukowski.
Counselling is a collaborative process. It isn’t about being told what to do or being “fixed”. It’s about creating a safe, steady space where you can speak openly and honestly — often in a way that isn’t easy to do elsewhere in life.
Together, we take time to explore your thoughts, feelings, patterns, and experiences at your pace. As we do, things begin to make more sense. What once felt overwhelming or tangled can gradually become clearer and easier to hold.
Working with an integrative approach
As an integrative counsellor, I draw on a range of therapeutic approaches rather than just one. This gives us the flexibility to work in the way that best supports you — your personality, your history, and what you need in the moment.
Our work might explore:
- what you’re finding difficult right now
- old experiences that continue to affect you
- your relationships and the roles you take on
- the ways you react, cope, protect, or hide
- what you want for yourself beyond the struggle
The aim is to help you gain a deeper understanding of yourself, make sense of your emotional world, and create lasting change from the inside out.
Why talking helps
When you’re given space to speak freely — without judgement, pressure, or expectation — something shifts. You can begin to hear yourself more clearly. You can understand your needs, name your boundaries, and reconnect with the parts of you that have been ignored or overwhelmed.
Counselling helps you to:
- feel calmer and more grounded
- understand your emotional patterns
- make choices that support your wellbeing
- build healthier relationships
- move forward with greater clarity and confidence
A compassionate, confidential space
You don’t need to have the “right words” or even know exactly what you want to say. You just need to show up as you are. I’m here to listen, to support you, and to help you navigate whatever you are facing — gently and collaboratively.
Counselling is not about perfection. It’s about honesty, courage, and connection.
And the first small step is simply reaching out.
Talking Helps
Welcome
I'm here for whatever's real for you: anxiety hijacking your plans, depression whispering that nothing's worth it, grief crashing in like it owns the place, self-worth ebbing away. Together we can unpick those knots, help you unlock the door and find your own kind of freedom.
Talking helps.
Sessions and Fees
When you first get in touch, we’ll set up a free introductory call — phone or video, whatever works for you. It’s our chance to say hello, see if we click, and for you to ask any questions. If we’re both happy to go ahead, we’ll book your first session.
We can meet in person at my therapy room in The Kensey Centre, Launceston (Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays) or online on other weekdays or evenings — ideal if you’re further away or juggling a busy schedule.
Before we meet, I’ll send you my Client Agreement so you know exactly what to expect. In our first session, we’ll go through it together and I’ll ask a few questions to learn more about you and what’s been going on.
How long we work together is entirely up to you — some people come for a few weeks, others longer. We’ll check in regularly to make sure you’re getting the support you need.
Sessions last 50 minutes and cost £55 for individuals, £75 for couples.
Services
Why Counselling?
Life doesn't come with a handbook - but wow sometimes it feels like it really should. Counselling gives you a space to pause, breathe, unpack things, and actually hear yourself think. It’s not about being “broken” or needing to be “fixed.” It’s about having somewhere safe to talk honestly, feel supported, and make sense of what’s going on beneath the surface.
Whether you’re overwhelmed, stuck, hurting, confused, overthinking, or just feeling a bit lost… counselling offers a place where you get to put the weight down for a while. A place where things get clearer. Easier to carry. Less scary.
Talking Helps
One-to-One
Sometimes life hits you in ways you didn’t see coming. Other times you’ve seen it coming a mile off and still feel knocked sideways. Either way, you don’t have to face it alone.
Working one-to-one means you get a space that’s entirely yours — no judgement, no awkward expectations, no pressure to have the “right” words. You can show up exactly as you are: messy, unsure, tearful, angry, hopeful, numb, curious… all of it is welcome here.
Together we’ll explore what’s going on for you, untangle the bits that feel too heavy to carry, and help you reconnect with yourself in a way that feels steady and real. You set the pace; I walk alongside you.
Talking Helps
Couples
Let’s be real: relationships get messy. Even the strongest ones.
Life pressures build, communication slips, resentments grow quietly in the background — and suddenly you’re circling the same arguments, feeling unheard, or drifting further apart than you meant to.
You might be dealing with trust issues, jealousy, emotional distance, money stress, parenting conflicts, or patterns that feel impossible to break. And for some couples, there may be deeper concerns such as controlling behaviours or unresolved hurt from the past. Whatever you’re facing, it matters — because how you feel in your relationship shapes everything else.
Couples therapy gives you both space to slow down, step out of the conflict, and look at what’s really happening underneath the surface.
Talking Helps
Issues
Here are some of the things people often bring to therapy — though yours might look different, and that’s totally okay:
• Anxiety & overthinking — When your brain won’t stop spiralling or second-guessing everything.
• Low mood & depression — Feeling flat, stuck, or like the light’s gone out a bit.
• Trauma & difficult experiences — Recent, old, or the kind you can’t quite put into words yet.
• Self-esteem & identity — Feeling “not enough,” unsure who you are, or tired of people-pleasing.
• Work stress — When your job is draining the life out of you.
• Family & relationship issues — Everything from communication struggles to emotional distance.
• Life changes — New chapters, endings, and everything in between.
Talking Helps
My Experience, Qualifications and Training
Before becoming a counsellor, I spent years working in business — and saw up close how many people were quietly struggling with their mental health at work.
Eventually, I decided it wasn’t enough to just notice it; I wanted to actually do something about it. So, I retrained as a counsellor and never looked back.
After qualifying, I set up my private practice here in Launceston, Cornwall, and also began working with (and volunteering for) a Plymouth-based Community Interest Company. Between both roles, I’ve supported adults facing all sorts of challenges — from domestic abuse to anxiety and depression to relationship struggles. Often, these are tangled up with recent or long-ago trauma that’s still casting a shadow.
I’m also trained to work online, so if you’re further afield — or just want therapy that fits neatly around your week — we can still make it happen.
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Certificate in Counselling
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Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling
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Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling
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Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling
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Grief and Bereavement
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Domestic Abuse
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Attachment
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Certificate in working Therapeutically with Couples
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Eating Disorder Awareness Diploma
Get in Touch
If you are an adult over 18 and would like to get in touch for an exploratory conversation and to make an appointment, I will respond to your call, text or email within one working day.
By phone or text on 07568 437723
By email on michaela@michaelapaincounselling.co.uk
I look forward to hearing from you.
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About Me
I'm a counsellor, but, more accurately, I'm a down-to-earth human who’s also studied far too much about feelings! Like you I’ve been in situations where your brain spins so fast it could launch satellites, where the weight of anxiety or grief hits like a ton of bricks, or where life suddenly feels, well… not okay.
My style is pretty-straight forward. I don’t get caught up in therapy jargon. I don’t use big words or try and blind you with science or theory. I listen carefully and ask questions because I want to better understand what’s happening for you and, together, find a way through it.
I work with individuals and couples. My wide-ranging life experience means I can offer empathy and compassion for your life experiences. Sometimes I may gently challenge you. I will always support and encourage you. I will never judge you. I will always respect your courage for coming to counselling.
