Testimonials

Over the time I spent with Christopher I always found him to be welcoming and interested, compassionate, accepting and encouraging. He developed a space where I was able to discover my own desires and a voice to articulate them. Slowly all the goals I had set for myself at the beginning of therapy began to be accomplished. My relationships with colleagues, friends and family benefited, becoming more equal and rewarding. The challenges life throw at me are now faced with a new confidence. Although therapy has ended I can still feel the encouragement, internalised, cheering me on. (October 2013)
 

I think of my time with Christopher as profoundly important, nothing less than a watershed. I am still living the transformation. I entered counselling with fear and trepidation, with little faith, and I emerged from it with a secure sense of its efficacy. It is truly possible to "arrive where we started and know the place for the for the first time". (June 2013)

 

The support and guidance I have been given in supervision was excellent. The safe and confidential space enabled me to explore issues from both a clinical and ethical perspective.  When my work with clients tapped into aspects of myself I was encouraged to explore this with empathy and understanding resulting in a deeper level of understanding of my work with clients. This was invaluable in my work with clients. Christopher was highly respectful of the progress I made in the development of my practice. (July 2013)

 

 Amazing experience during our sessions. I came wanting to change and take control and not to become a "victim" I empowered myself to take control and that I did. As each week of counselling passed I became a stronger person and put my self first with my thoughts and actions. You know what it was a lot easier than I thought and the results were . amazing. I got help as soon as that pressure cooker exploded! But now I have techniques to stop letting it get that far. Christopher created a safe and confidential environment for me to express myself. Empower yourself to get help! Mental health is linked to your physical well being. Excellent service!

 

 I got exactly what i needed from the therapy and have recommended to many people since. As a student it was invaluable to see a therapist work so professionally - I felt held in a way that I don't in my studies. I may return at some point! thank you. (March 2011)

 

Whilst the overall experience was as I expected, there were certainly surprising moments within it.  I found you to be highly skilled at helping me to explore some of the more painful aspects of my past experiences - and their relevance to me today. Your years of experience in this work and your width of knowledge on how we all learn and think made the whole experience very interesting.  And very useful to me.  I certainly learned about myself.  Thank you.

 

 The service I received is second to none. Christopher invested time and effort into our sessions. He offered support, encouragement and humour throughout our time. He has an incredible ability to help me find my way through things and helped me gain perspective which propelled me into being the person that I always have been but had gone into hiding. I feel better about my self because Christopher has taught me so much. He gave me an understanding of how to deal with my inner thoughts and how to deal with others. I am no longer a "crowd pleaser" but a strong, independent, happy woman. Thank you for your strength and energy, you are a very uplifting person to be around.

 

My time spent with Christopher was of tremendous help to me and also my family

 

I received counselling supervision for three years. I at all times treated with respect and I highly value the opportunities offered during supervision to develop both personally and professionally. Working with you helped me gain a stronger sense of myself and enabled me to work well in an often stressful environment which was out of my comfort zone. I also learnt the value of counselling and was able t o view and experience good practice a first hand which I hopefully have been able to reflect in my own practice. I feel confident that I will be able to use the learning effectively in my new post which is not a counselling post but will involve aspects of it. (April 2009)

 

I found my time with my counsellor, Christopher Murray, supportive and helpful. He helped create an atmosphere within our sessions which made me Tfeel comfortable. I was able to talk, sit in silence thinking or at times listen to his input which I found vey helpful. (Feb 2009)

 

Your respect for the client is paramount. Rogers writes ’As he expresses more of t he hidden and awful aspects of himself, he finds the therapist showing a consistent and unconditional positive regard for him and his feelings. Slowly he moves towards taking the same attitude  toward himself, accepting himself as he is, and therefore ready to move forward in the process of becoming.’ I think that this sums up this awareness you are bringing to the supervisee in supervision.

I didn’t feel I need to hide  anything as I didn’t feel judged.

 

If you needed to highlight something I was doing you did so and I learned from your comment. Thank you. (August 2009)

 

My experience with Christopher was very different to how I thought it would be, but in a very positive way. I had expected to be told what to do and how to 'fix' the issues I was dealing with at the time - like a doctor's prescription. But Christopher's approach to therapy isn't like this.

Instead, Chris gave me the space to explore my life and the issues troubling me. Through his guidance I finally stopped thinking and tying myself in mental knots and instead began to feel and connect with life and the parts of 'me' that had been suppressed/forgotten about.

 

I found the experience life changing; but not just for me but for the people around me. The people I care about, that care about me.

 

I knew what I wanted from counselling, but wasn't at all sure I'd be able to get it, because I was asking for rather a lot. I wanted to find someone could get inside my head, see and feel and understand the world through my eyes, and then somehow convey to me that what he saw was valuable and potentially loveable. I knew that if I got that it would help me to believe those things about myself, and allow me to shake off some of the tight protective armour I always wore and begin to connect more with life. Well I actually found what I was looking for. You were consistently present, connected and able to follow most (if not quite all) of my tangled mental processes as far as I chose to take them. You never pushed me too hard. But your consistent warmth and interest gradually made me feel safe enough to reveal most of what was important to me. (October 2008)

 

I felt that there was trust and a meaningful rapport between us in supervision. While you are so much more experienced than I am you always treated me as an equal who had a useful  contribution to make. I felt that the supervision sessions were focussed on me and my clients and the work that we were doing together. You provided a safe and secure environment whereby I could explore difficult and challenging issues regarding my work with my clients. You also challenged me to take responsibility not only for the difficulties but for the positive outcomes.

 

The best thing I could ever done f or myself as it helped give me my life back. Christopher was simply amazing: the most understanding,  congruent, and professional counsellor I have ever come across to date. (November 2008)

 

Chris helped me to cope with the stuff that others seem to take in their stride but that overwhelmed me.  He helped me take a slice of life.

 

I am now in a place where I feel part of life rather than merely an observer of it. Through Christopher's help and my work with him I'm in a much better place than I was 1 year ago. I would recommend Christopher's services and would definitely return to him for further guidance, if the need arises.

 

My expectations of counselling have changed over time, having entered it with the most desperate of feelings and shame I believe I have finished my time with Christopher with a love of myself never experienced before.

 

I received supervision from you for two years, In that time I learnt much from you. I really appreciated the time, interest, patience, insight, expertise, openness and resources that you made available to me.  I always looked forward to supervision and found it immensely helpful and supportive. You gave me validation in my work as a student counsellor. You  challenged me to think, feel and express the experiences I was undergoing. You gave me guidance when I needed it  but always encouraged me to think and feel for myself about the counselling process. I felt very safe with your supervision and I knew that my clients were safe also. (November 2008)