Learn to lower your anxiety

Iffat Shafiuddin

I offer:

1. Online One to One counselling therapeutic sessions (incorporating The Polyvagal Theory) on Zoom
2. Yoga One to One in-person (also incorporating The Polyvagal Theory) for: Please note I work with adults and young people above 14 years of age.



About Me

Qualifications, Experience and Training

I am a neurodiverse counsellor and qualified in 1997. In addition I am an Accredited member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

You can find me on the BACP register here and am insured.

I also qualified as a Yoga teacher (200 hours) in 2023.

I have worked within various roles within Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND), in Education (Further Education College and Schools, both Primary and Secondary), with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Place2Be (Improving Children's Mental Health in Schools), Your Healthcare (working with children with Autism) within Domestic Violence projects (Women's Aid) and Cruse Bereavement Care.

I have been counselling both adults and children for over 10 years and have gained specialist experience and expertise in neurodivergence such as Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) particularly Asperger's and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Specialisms

*Particularly with people who may have spent the majority of their lives "masking", sometimes without realising.

Having worked with people of all ages in different settings as a counsellor my work with professionals and young adults took a positive turn towards somatic embodiment practice of connecting the mind with the body and slowing down the pace within oneself to reduce stress and anxiety and raise self-esteem and confidence. I incorporate Polyvagal Theory into my counselling and yoga sesions for mind-body integration which works very well for neurodiverse individuals.

The Polyvagal Theory – The Vagus Nerve - (Stephen Porges:2011*) explains how to understand and befriend our internal surveillance system. This system via the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, searches for cues of social engagement, connection and safety and cues of threat, danger and disconnection which can lead to appreciating and managing our emotions.
This prevents our brains from becoming hijacked and consumed by intense overwhelming feelings aiming to self-regulate via co-regulation for example in one-to-one counselling or yoga.

My one to one yoga teaching has included adults and teenagers whereby the sessions are all about you and we use the present moment to work through past patterns leading towards creating new neural pathways in the brain positively triggered by embodied practices. Healthy habits can become second nature in times of stress.

You can listen to my guest appearances on these Spotify ADHD podcasts here and here.

Read my contributions to articles related to ADHD 1 here and article 2 here (click here to access archive of web article 2).




What to Expect: Online Counselling

1. Online One to One therapeutic sessions on Zoom

We'd start with an initial assessment for me to be aware of the reason(s) for you (or your child) to want counselling and the nature of difficulties, as well as for you to ask questions.

I'll also talk through the process of counselling.

Namely:

The only exemption being that if you are a danger to yourself or others in which case I would follow the BACP Therapeutic Guidelines and Ethical Framework. This is standard practice and is part of my responsibility to you and can be explained further prior to commencement of therapy. I work within BACP's Ethical Framework found here.

One-to-one counselling sessions include: