Linda Hoinville - Profile

Many people experience challenges in life that that impact on their emotional well-being, relationships or work. I believe that everyone has the potential to overcome their difficulties and move forward, but it can be difficult to achieve this alone. Counselling provides a safe, confidential, supportive relationship for you to talk freely about whatever difficulties and challenges you are experiencing with an independent, non-judgemental professional and move forward in your life.

I have worked with adults in bereavement support, private practice, and a university counselling service helping clients to confront and address a range of issues that were causing them distress. I have helped clients with anxiety, depression, addiction, relationship problems, sexual and domestic abuse, trauma, bereavement, low self-esteem, perfectionism and stressful work situations.

The decision to start counselling is a courageous first step on this journey of self-discovery. I will accompany you on this journey by listening with empathy and compassion to create a trusting relationship in which you feel valued, heard and validated. This will allow you to explore and express your uncomfortable feelings so that you can make sense of whatever is happening in your life and better understand and accept yourself. You will learn to take responsibility for your own life so that you can decide how to find a way forward by make lasting changes that create a more satisfying and rewarding future.

You are the expert on your own life and as a humanistic counsellor I will put you at the heart and centre of this journey to provide a positive, beneficial counselling experience. Combining ideas from person centred, Gestalt and Transactional analysis counselling theories, I will adapt my approach to meet your individual needs, respecting your ability to decide what works in counselling and how to use the understanding you develop about yourself to make changes.

The quality of the relationship we develop is fundamental to the success of the counselling process. I offer a free, 30 minute initial phone call so that we can talk about the difficulties that you are currently facing, what you are looking for from counselling, and answer any questions you may have to help us decide whether we should start working together. Every counselling experience is unique, some clients may only want to meet for a few sessions, others may wish to continue meeting for longer, having made the decision to work together we will regularly review how long to continue doing so.

As a BACP registered counsellor I adhere to their code of ethics and undertake regular training to keep up to date with developments in counselling approaches. I also attend regular supervision with an experienced counsellor to ensure that I provide the best possible service to my clients.

I work in person at The Eaves in Guildford and currently have availability on a Thursday morning.

Testimonials

I saw Linda once a week for nearly a year. She has been a lifesaver to me. She is kind, insightful and completely without judgement. I felt safe sharing anything with her and trusted her completely. She provided a safe and calm environment. Her thoughts and suggestions were invaluable to me. Together we have worked through a lifetime of addiction, trauma and unhappiness and for the first time in 47 years I am content in myself. She has helped me so, so much, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anybody who needs help.

I was feeling very lost and confused and unclear when I first started with Linda. Her kind face patiently looking at me while I worked through my pain became a weekly source of comfort and clarity for me. I really felt she was with me and cared and that support was an invaluable key to see my situation with clarity. At times she pulled me up and reminded me gently not to slip into my old ways of navigating my life. I felt cared for and extremely comforted. Linda is just the right mix of empathy and subtle guidance. She’s brilliant.

The counselling process provided me with a safe and stable environment to explore my emotions, experiences and thought patterns, benefitting from personalised approaches to aid reflection and support to make steps towards the future I envision for myself. The process has enabled me to feel empowered to move forward positively and I have gained valuable insights and strategies to support my emotional regulation, which I have already begun to see the impact from.

I have worked with adults in bereavement support, private practice, and in a university counselling service helping clients to confront and address a range of issues that were causing them distress. I have helped clients with anxiety, depression, addiction, relationship problems, sexual and domestic abuse, trauma, bereavement, low self-esteem, perfectionism and stressful work situations.