Finding your way forward.
Welcome to Annie French Counselling
About me
My name is Annie and I provide 1:1 Therapeutic Counselling for adults. I am based in Ossett, nestled in West Yorkshire near Wakefield, Dewsbury and Leeds, and offer face to face and online sessions. I do not provide counselling for children or couples.
I'm a qualified Person Centred Therapeutic Counsellor and a Registered Member (Number 417773) of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP). I have worked in various supportive roles with adults struggling with feelings, decisions or facing difficult times in their lives, for over 20 years.
I can help with issues such as relationships, work, family, sexuality, health, loss, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, anxiety and low mood, and have a lot of experience working with people who identify as neurodivergent.
My approach
Being Person Centred means I learn about you from your own perspective and together we develop our understanding of where you are now and where you want to be.
I'm a firm believer in the uniqueness of individuals - sure, we can share similar life events and feelings, but how we experience them, and what they mean to us, is deeply personal.
I know how valuable and affirming it can be to have the time and space to lay things out in your own way, and without judgement from the person in front of you. Working out how you feel, understanding why you feel this way, and thinking about your future, your values and your choices can provide you with a stronger foundation to find your own way forward.
This is what I seek to offer you. The space to share, explore, understand and perhaps move forward, practically or emotionally, from a place of feeling stuck or trapped by what is going on in your life.
SPEAK FREELY AND IN CONFIDENCE
I will provide you with a confidential and non judgemental space to share whatever you want or need to talk through. Knowing that what you share stays between us can allow you the freedom to explore issues, experiences, thoughts and feelings that you may not have the space to talk about anywhere else.
A PROBLEM SHARED...
Speaking with a counsellor is different to speaking with friends and family in many ways. A counsellor will not claim to know what is best for you, will not offer you advice based on their own opinions, nor encourage you in any particular direction if you are faced with a difficult choice. My aim, as your counsellor, would be to help you work out your own direction. This often means allowing time and space to understand and unravel confused thoughts or feelings that you may have been struggling with for some time.
LIFE IS A JOURNEY...
...and counselling can be a part of helping you make the most of your journey. Counselling cannot change the past - difficult life events, trauma, loss, illness and abuse - they do not disappear because of counselling. What counselling does offer, what I offer, is space for you to explore important events and their impact on you, look at where you are now and what is difficult, and maybe reveal the path to where you want to be.
Contact me
Feel free to contact me, using the form below, if you have any questions about how counselling works, or to arrange a free consultation. You can also call me on 07517 121645 if you would prefer to speak to me, or send a text or message via WhatsApp. In all cases I will respond as soon as I am able, and usually within 3 days.
MY LOCATION
I offer face-to-face sessions in Ossett, within easy reach of Wakefield, Leeds and Dewsbury.
I also provide online sessions to people throughout the UK. Please enquire if meeting online is of interest to you.
Getting started
I offer an initial, free consultation which can be done by video call or by phone. This would last up to 30 minutes and would be an opportunity for you to ask any questions, share your reasons for seeking counselling, and establish if we are a good fit for therapeutic support.
If we're both happy to proceed, we would agree a start date that worked for us both, and an initial number of sessions.
Counselling sessions last 1 hour, cost £45, paid in advance, and would be at the same time each week.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a difficult question to answer because every person who uses counselling is completely unique. What I would always suggest is agreeing an initial number of sessions and then reviewing, together, how things were going, before deciding if and how we carry on. Sometimes people may only need or want a few sessions, while others may need or want to have sessions for a much longer period. It is good counselling practice to regularly review progress, and sometimes having a break from sessions is helpful to allow time for any changes or adjustments to be made in life outside of the counselling room.
I aim to respond to all enquiries within 3 days, and arrange an initial, free consultation within 2 weeks. If we agreed to proceed we would arrange a start date that worked for us both and an opening number of sessions. At the moment I am able to offer sessions to new clients from April 2026.
Confidentiality is an essential part of building trust between people who use counselling and their counsellor. Privacy is paramount and your personal information and what you share in the counselling room would be between you and me. However there are, for ethical and good practice reasons, limits to this such as if there was concern for the physical safety of a child or vulnerable adult, or if a counsellor became aware of terrorist activity, money laundering or human trafficking.
Also, if I was concerned that you were at imminent risk of significant harm I would discuss with you whether we needed to speak to someone to keep you safe. This might be your GP, emergency services, or your emergency contact if you have provided one. If absolutely necessary, and as a last resort, I may do this without your agreement. This is an extremely rare occurrence in counselling.
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