STEWART THURLOW (MNCPS)

Hello and welcome. I'm Stewart, a NCPS accredited psychotherapeutic counsellor based in Manchester. I founded Honest Therapy Centre with the aim of creating a space for people looking to make meaningful change in their lives.

I grew up as the child of a military family so I know what it's like to move around a lot, to struggle to form and maintain relationships, and to feel distant from a parent who's often away on deployment. I faced homophobia as a young man and understand what it's like to carry the trauma of that experience around for years afterwards. I worked myself to complete burnout for a boss who expected me to give my entire life to a job, then made me redundant when I tried to put boundaries in place. 

I've chosen to share these experiences with you to show you that first and foremost I'm a person who's lived a life and faced challenges, just like you. I didn't simply decide to become a therapist out of university. Therapy is my vocation; the culmination of what to do with all the lessons I've learned from all the experiences that have shaped me. 

As part of my training to become a counsellor, I volunteered with children and young people's charity Place2Be in a primary school and with the charity LGBT Foundation, working with LGBTQIA+ adults on a variety of issues. 

Prior to undertaking my four years of therapy training, I worked extensively in hospitality, managing teams across hotels, bars and restaurants, as well as spending several years working in LGBTQIA+ nightlife. I understand the toll these working environments and associated lifestyles can sometimes take on your mental health and wellbeing and the importance of prioritising your self care. 

I strongly believe that our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing need to be in balance for us to thrive. I'm currently training to become a Reiki practitioner and hope to incorporate this, along with hypnotherapy, into my practice in the future.   

You might choose to work with me if you're experiencing difficulties in areas such as work or relationships, anxiety (including social anxiety), grief, depression, low self esteem, low self confidence and lack of motivation. You may just be feeling sad or low and simply don't know where to start. The aim of therapy is to explore the causes of these uncomfortable emotions in a safe environment. I invite you to contact me if this sounds like something you'd be interested in exploring.