Welcome to Thistle Therapy for Men Edinburgh, Lothians and Scotland
John Maguire MSc, PG Dip, Dip CPC, Dip Supervision, PG CAP
Edinburgh based
I have been in the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy for almost 20 years.
I returned home to Edinburgh in 2014 and brought my practice with me. I began specialising in working with men (including people who identify as male or Trans) around 2009. After I returned to Edinburgh, I began to work exclusively with men. I believe men experience a broad range of issues in life and are confronted with many challenges which are not taken seriously enough by society and men are not encouraged to seek help or when they do ask for help, there isn't suitable help available.
Counselling and Psychotherapy are talking therapies in which a qualified therapist will work with someone in a confidential, respectful, facilitative relationship to help them address and confront 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. There is also a place for humour in my practice and sometimes we will 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.
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. Click the link above for information on fees.
Fees
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 less 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 almost 15 years and have taught on programmes at The University of Brighton, The University of Edinburgh and the Counselling Training Programmes at Edinburgh College.
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 a good Supervisor must 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 and look 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:
£100.00 for 1.5hrs
£70.00 for 1 hr
£75.00 for 1.5 hrs (student rate)
£55.00 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.
Edinburgh Based
Fees
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 less 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.
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
www.linkedin.com/in/john-maguire-5753aaa3
Counselling Directory
https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/john-maguire-2
Cosca (Counselling in Scotland) Register
https://finder.cosca.org.uk/RegistrantDetails.aspx?RegistrantID=2129
StopSO UK is the Specialist Treatment Organisation for Perpetrators and Survivors of Sexual Offending
Twitter/X
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:
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:
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
Copyright © All Rights Reserved