Ash Denscombe

Therapist Directory Listing Category: Psychotherapists and Counsellors

About the Therapist

About the therapist:

Hi! My name's Ash, and I focus on working with LGBTQ+ clients in Brighton and online. I'm trans and non-binary (though I'd usually just call myself Queer), and trained to become a counsellor in part because of the lack of counsellors who came from my world.

I'm trained as a Humanistic counsellor, which means my work focuses on your identity and way of understanding the world. Rather than me presenting you with pre-made solutions, my aim is to help you increase your own autonomy and self-understanding, and creatively explore how you think, feel, and react to the world.

I'm experienced in working with issues of anxiety and depression, loneliness, personal identity, gender, neurodivergence, and addiction.

I offer a free 30-minute online consultation to discuss any questions you have, and to get to know each other a bit before you commit to further sessions.

Sexual identity:

Queer

Gender identity: Non-binary

Gender history: Not as assigned at birth

Non-monogamy: Yes

Intersex: No

Trans: Yes

Neurodivergent: Unsure

Personal pronouns: they/them

Qualifications - Links to websites:

PgDip in Humanistic Counselling and Psychotherapy

My BACP Registration can be found here.

Qualifications - Additional:

Award	Awarding body	Year of award
BSc (hons) Psychology with Social Sciences	Nottingham Trent University	2003

Experience and approach:

I've been counselling for two years now. The vast majority of my clients have identified as LGBTQ+, and many also identify as various flavours of neurodivergent. Before that, I worked in addiction services, and I'm strongly aware of the common overlap between sex & gender identity and substance misuse.

I've trained as a Humanistic counsellor, a school of talking therapy with roots in existentialist philosophy, counter-culture and the importance of viewing each client as the expert of their own experiences. This fits really well with queer & non-mainstream ways of living, and accepts that what the client wants should be paramount, rather than some predefined idea of what 'wellness' should look like (and the assumption that anyone who doesn't fit in this box is ill or wrong).

What that means practically is that in sessions we'll focus on exploring how you interpret the world (and your place in it), what is and isn't working for you. By shining a light on the habitual ways we've come to understand the world, we open them up to consideration and change, allowing you to grow and adapt to the challenges in your life, and be more prepared for future difficulties.

Approaches: