Welcome.
I am Kalba Meadows, a person-centred therapist now
living and practising in Ariège, in the foothills of
the Pyrenées in southern France. I worked for many
years with diverse individuals and groups, in
non-statutory organisations and in staff training,
before taking time out to study full time at the
University of East Anglia,
one of the world’s leading centres for study and
research in the person-centred approach, graduating
with a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling in 1995
and a research-based Master of Arts in Counselling
Studies in 1998. Over the last thirteen years as a
professional therapist I have worked within
counselling organisations and in private practice,
with individuals, couples and groups and as a
supervisor and trainer. I moved to Ariège in 2007
with my partner John; we're into people, walking,
writing, wildlife, food, wine, growing things,
environmental issues, dance and voice,
contemplation, living, being ... and offering time
and space to other people for their own journeys of
discovery and understanding.
About person-centred therapy
The person-centred approach is rooted in the work of
the humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers in the
middle-to-late twentieth century. Whereas the
traditional problem-centred approach to counselling
and psychotherapy views the therapist as the
‘expert’ in the client’s problems and therefore aims
at controlling the process of therapy, the
person-centred therapist believes that the client
himself is the expert and understands herself to be
a collaborator and equal partner in the therapeutic
relationship. The therapist’s task is to be fully
and genuinely present in the therapeutic
relationship, to accompany the client in his search
to find more satisfying and fulfilling ways of
living, and to create the kind of safe,
non-judgmental space and facilitative relationship
within which the client can contact his own wisdom
and potential for growth, can see and become who he
truly is, and can risk being real-ly, intensely
alive both in the relationship and in the world. For
a deeper flavour of the approach and of how I work
as a therapist, please visit my website.
Sessions and fees
I offer face-to-face sessions, on a long- or
short-term basis, for individuals or couples. Each
session normally lasts for an hour, and takes place
on a weekly or fortnightly basis, usually at The
Person Centre. However, this isn't fixed in stone,
and we may be able to agree on alternative
arrangements or locations; for example, longer,
intensive sessions may feel more appropriate on
occasion. Because of the importance of the
therapeutic relationship in my work, I don't offer
either telephone or online therapy. I adhere to the
Ethical Framework of the British Association for
Counselling and Psychotherapy, and that of
L'Association Française de Psychothérapie dans
l'Approche Centrée sur la Personne, of which I am a
member.
The Person Centre is a non-profit making association
and therefore sets out simply to cover its costs. On
this basis, a one hour session for an individual or
couple is normally charged at 30€. However, as some
people who have come to live in France may be
cash-poor but relatively time-rich, I also offer the
alternative of an energy exchange (more details on
my website). There is no charge for a first meeting.
The Person Centre ...
... is based at my home near the village of Rimont,
between Foix and St Girons, and is easily accessible
from Haute Garonne and western Aude as well as
within Ariège. The centre offers English language
professional psychotherapy and counselling for
individuals, couples, families and groups; from 2009
we will also be hosting an annual programme of
workshops, intensive days and other events for
exploration, personal development, recovery and
retreat. You are most welcome to contact me in
complete confidence to find out more about me, the
Centre, or to explore the possibility of coming for
therapy.
Telephone: 0033 (0)5 61 66 55 94
Email:
info@thepersoncentre.net
Association status:
The Person Centre |