Edinburgh based

I have worked in the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy for almost 20 years.

I came home to Edinburgh in 2014 and brought my practice with me. I had began specialising in working with men (including people who identify as non-cis male or Trans) around 2009. After my return, I began to work exclusively with men. Men experience a broad range of issues in life and are confronted with many emotional and psychological challenges which are suppressed due to shame and other social pressures. This can lead to mental health issues such as depression or anxiety or behavioural problems further down the line.

Counselling and Psychotherapy are talking therapies in which a qualified therapist will work with someone in a confidential, respectful, facilitative relationship to help them to confront and own the issues they are facing. For this to work effectively, I believe the therapist should never show judgement towards the client or the client's behaviours and should always take the position that the person in front of them is asking for help and should be met warmly, gently and with encouragement. A good therapist should always be willing to gently but firmly challenge a client at times. There is also a place for humour in my practice and we can have a laugh.

Traditionally, Counselling is shorter term work with agreed goals and outcomes. Psychotherapy is usually longer term and involves in-depth processing of the way in which a client meets, experiences and processes their unique version of the world and in therapy we look at where, in the client's life history, this pattern of experiencing was formed. This can enable a reconstruction of how a client understands themself and how they relate to and treat the people in their lives.

Areas I work in include:

Post Traumatic Stress

Passive Agression

Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence (perpetrators and survivors/sufferers)

Gender Transition or Fluidity

Sexual and other forms of Abuse (perpetrators and survivors/sufferers)

LGBTQ+

Sexual Offending (including online offending)

Worrying or Frightening Sexual Interests

Pornography Issues

Monogamy Issues

Men Struggling in their Relationships

Historic Bullying/Victimisation

Low Self Esteem and Low Assertiveness

Existential Angst (mid-life crisis)

I have trained and worked extensively in the area of sexual offence prevention and work with men with offending histories or who currently feel drawn towards offending.

I offer one to one sessions in-person in South Central Edinburgh or online. I also offer group therapy.

Fees

I try as much as possible to make therapy accessible and affordable and I offer a number of lower cost options to help clients on lower incomes. 

Ordinarily 50 minute sessions cost £70.00 and lower costs sessions start at £50.00. For those on mid-to-lower incomes, I can negotiate somewhere between these two figures. For those facing very serious hardship, I will try to find a way to work with you if there is space in the practice. This might include fewer regular sessions or shorter sessions.

Group therapy ranges from £25-35 per person depending on the number in the group and groups generally last 90-120 minutes. 

Edinburgh Based

About Me

I am a counsellor, psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and trainer. I work from my own practice in South Central Edinburgh - Minto Street, specialising in working therapeutically with men

I am both Registered and Accredited by the BACP (British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy) and I work within their ethical framework.

Qualifications

- Diploma in Pastoral and Clinical Counselling (2007)

- Post Grad Diploma in Counselling (2009)

- Diploma in Clinical Supervision (2012)

- Certificate in Groupwork (2014)

- MSc Counselling (2015)

- Post Grad Certificate in Academic Practice (Higher Education) (2021)

Experience

I have extensive training and experience in working with men confronting issues with sex, sexual abuse, post traumatic stress, worrying sexual interests/behaviours, relationship issues (including domestic violence), gender dysphoria, sex/pornography addiction and also self esteem and confidence issues.

Training

I have been involved in the training of counsellors for over15 years and have taught on programmes at The University of Brighton, The University of Edinburgh and the Counselling Training Programmes at Edinburgh College.

Training in Working With Offenders and those Worried about their Sexual Interests

During 2026, I will be developing a package of training aimed at preparing other therapists and helping professionals to work with sexual or violent offenders or those with harmful sexual/violent interests. If you are a therapist interested in undertaking this work, please contact me for more information.

Edinburgh Based

Supervision

I graduated with a Diploma in Supervision from Wealdon Psychology Institute in Sussex in 2013.

My approach is underpinned by Bradley's Principles, Practice & Process approach. In this approach the Supervisor takes the role of Counsellor, Teacher & Consultant with the Supervisee. For me, it is fundamental that Supervisees find me accessible, warm, encouraging and supportive and never shaming or critical. Supervision should nurture your internal locus of evaluation and facilitate the growth of your Internal Supervisor. My role is to help you find your own way forwards. You are the expert on your unique model of therapy and the relationships you form within that and my role is to respect this. I will share my own experiences with you, offer a space for development, use theory and concepts from literature and model my own way of working whilst looking for any potential blind-spots such as parallel process or vicarious trauma, to keep you safe.

I have provided supervision in agencies, in public institutions, charities and to private practice therapists. I also have extensive experience of working with students and newly qualified counsellors.

Supervision fees can be flexible:

£120.00 for 1.5hrs

£80.00 for 1 hr

£90.00 for 1.5 hrs (student rate)

£60.00 for 1 hr (student rate)

I am not currently facilitating any supervision groups but if there is interest I would be happy to consider this. Group supervision costs around £35 with a minumum of 30 minutes per group member.

Fees for therapy

Ordinarily 50 minute sessions cost £70.00 and concessionary sessions (for low income clients) start at £50.00. For those on mid-to-lower incomes I can negotiate somewhere between these two figures. 

Concessionary sessions

Many people continue to suffer financial hardship in this scary economic climate. For those facing very serious hardship, I will try to find a way to work with you if there is space in the practice.

This could include fewer regular sessions or from April 2025, I am piloting shorter sessions at 30 minutes each. We will begin with a 50 minute introduction session and follow this up with ongoing 30 minute sessions. These can be in-person or online. The price of these is be £35.00. 

Group Therapy

Group therapy ranges from £25-35 per person depending on the number in the group and groups generally last 90-120 minutes.

GET IN TOUCH

You can contact me using the link below. All enquiries will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.  I don't respond to text messages.

Links

Bacp

https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/29842/john-maguire/edinburgh-eh9

LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com/in/john-maguire-5753aaa3

Counselling Directory

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/john-maguire-2

StopSO UK is the Specialist Treatment Organisation for Perpetrators and Survivors of Sexual Offending

stopso.org.uk

Twitter/X

https://x.com/ThistletherapyS

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561391834510

Edinburgh Based

Your Privacy

My contact details

Name: John Maguire

Address: Minto St. Edinburgh. EH9 1SB

Phone Number: 07809243331

E-mail: john@thistletherapy.uk

The type of personal information I collect:

• Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics (for example, name and contact details)
• Emergency Contact Details
• GP Details

How I get the personal information and why I have it

The personal information I process is provided to me directly by you for one of the following reasons:

• To contact you
• In an emergency, to contact your emergency contact
• In an emergency, to contact your GP or other professional services
• To understand your therapy needs and ascertain the most suitable model and approach to therapy

Your information will not be shared with any other party without your knowledge

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

(a) Your consent. You are able to remove your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting John Maguire john@bravetherapy.co.uk

How I store your personal information

Your information is securely stored. I keep your contact details and emails electronically for an indefinite time as I do not delete emails. I will dispose of any of your information held on paper 12 months after the sessions end by shredding the paperwork.

Paperwork is held in a folder, locked in a box and contained in an alarmed, locked room, monitored by an alarm response service.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

Your right of access - You have the right to ask me for copies of your personal information.

Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask me to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask me to complete information you think is incomplete.

Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask me to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask me to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to object to processing - You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that I transfer the personal information you gave me to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, I have one month to respond to you.

Please contact me at john@thistletherapy.uk if you wish to make a request.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about my use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to me at john@bravetherapy.co.uk

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how I have used your data. My registration number is ZA152776

The ICO’s address:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website:https://www.ico.org.uk

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