What a first appointment involves
The Initial Consultation lasts 45 minutes and costs £75. It is a proper working session rather than a sales conversation. We cover what has brought you here, what you have already tried, anything relevant from your history, and what you would want to be different. By the end you should have a clear sense of whether continuing feels right, roughly how many sessions might be useful, and what the work would involve. If it is not the right fit, you will be told so, and pointed somewhere more suitable.
How sessions run
Sessions are 45 minutes, or a full hour for couples, and they start on the hour, a ten o’clock appointment runs from 10:00 to 10:45. Many people start weekly and space sessions out as things settle; the pattern is agreed between you rather than fixed in advance. You can meet face to face in South Shields, by telephone, or by secure video, and you can switch between them as your circumstances change.
Confidentiality
What is said in session stays in session. The exceptions are the narrow legal ones that apply to every therapist in the UK, a serious and immediate risk to you or to someone else, or a court order, and these are explained clearly at the start rather than buried in small print. Notes are kept securely and handled in line with UK data protection law. You can ask at any time what is held about you.
Hypnotherapy, supervision and mediation
Counselling and therapy are the heart of the practice, but they are not the whole of it. We also work in three other ways, each with its own place and its own boundaries.
Hypnotherapy. We offer solution-focused hypnotherapy: a calm, collaborative way of using focused relaxation to help with things like anxiety, sleep, confidence and unwanted habits. It is gentle and led by you, you stay aware and in control throughout, and it can be used on its own or alongside counselling.
Clinical supervision. We provide clinical supervision for qualified and trainee counsellors. Supervision is a regular, confidential space to reflect on client work, think through the ethical and practical questions that come up in practice, and stay well supported and accountable. Sessions are one to one by secure video, so distance is no barrier.
Civil and commercial mediation. We offer civil and commercial mediation, a structured, confidential way of resolving disputes without going to court. As an impartial mediator, Kingsley helps everyone involved talk through the issues and work towards a practical agreement, rather than advising or taking sides. This sits apart from the therapy side of the practice, and is delivered under his Civil and Commercial Mediation Foundation Training and Civil Mediation Council registration.
Qualifications and professional memberships
Kingsley A. Boateng, BA (Hons) Counselling, MSc, MNCPS (Acc.), MBACP, MHS (Acc.), GMBPsS, is an Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counsellor, Clinical Supervisor and Civil and Commercial Mediator. He holds the following qualifications and professional memberships.
Qualifications
- PhD in Psychology, Durham University, in progress, expected 2028
- MSc Psychology (MSc Psych), University of Sunderland, 2025
- BA (Hons) Counselling, University of Sunderland, 2024
- Foundation Certificate, Civil & Commercial Mediation, Crowther Mediation, 2024
- Level 5 Professional Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling Practice (Prof. Dip Psy C.), Chrysalis, 2022
- Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Skills and Theory (Dip CST), Chrysalis, 2021
- Level 3 Certificate in Hypnotherapy and Counselling Skills (Cert Hyp C.S), Chrysalis, 2019
- CPCAB Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills (CSK - L2), Conel, 2017
Professional training- Cruse Bereavement Support Supervision Course, quality checked by the National Counselling Society, 2024
- Bereavement-support training provided by Cruse Bereavement Support
Professional memberships- The National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS), Accredited Registrant, MNCPS (Acc.)
- The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), Registered Member, MBACP
- The National Hypnotherapy Society (HS), Accredited Member, MHS (Acc.)
- The British Psychological Society (BPS), Graduate Member, GMBPsS
- American Psychological Association (APA), Graduate Student Status, APAGS
- CMC Associate Mediator
Supervision and accountability- Monthly clinical supervision with two clinical supervisors
- Doctoral research supervised by three academic supervisors at Durham University
- Organiser of a group supervision forum for fellow therapists in private practice
- Clinical supervisor for Cruse Bereavement Support
- Trustee, West End Refugee Service (WERS)
Supervision is a requirement of ethical practice rather than an optional extra. It is how the work is kept safe, reviewed and honest, and nothing that identifies you is shared in it. If you would like to see certificates, or to check any of the above with the relevant body before you book, please ask, it is a fair question and it will be answered plainly.
Inclusion
Everyone is welcome here. Whoever you are and whatever brings you, you can expect the same warmth, respect and care. Marking Therapy works in an affirming way with people of every background, culture, faith, gender, sexuality and relationship style, and keeps learning so that the space it offers stays genuinely inclusive. You matter. The name you go by and your pronouns are used from first contact, and you will never be asked to explain or justify who you are in order to be taken seriously. Who you are shapes the work. Race, culture, faith, disability, neurodivergence, gender, sexuality and relationship style are part of what is understood in the room, not set aside, and you decide how much any of it matters to what brings you. Practical adjustments are made on request; the
Access and adjustments page says how. If something matters to how you are understood, there is room for it here. The practice works with adults aged 18 and over. If you are under 18, or you are asking on behalf of someone who is, please still get in touch and you will be pointed towards a service that can help.
Areas the practice covers
Anxiety and panic, low mood and depression, trauma and its aftermath, bereavement and loss, relationship and communication difficulties, work-related stress and burnout, confidence and self-worth, identity, and life transitions. Alongside the therapy work, the practice offers hypnotherapy, clinical supervision for other counsellors, and civil and commercial mediation.
Training and safeguarding
Safeguarding is treated as a standing part of practice rather than an add-on. Kingsley holds certificated training in
Level 3 Safeguarding Adults and
Level 3 Safeguarding Children, both awarded by Virtual College, a corporate member of the CPD Certification Service, and this training is refreshed every two years. Further certificated continuing professional development covers
GSRD (gender, sexuality and relationship diversity) therapy, studied at the University of Sunderland,
LGBTQ+ Awareness,
Self-Harm and
Bereavement Awareness. For the mediation side of the practice, Kingsley has completed
Civil and Commercial Mediation Foundation Training with Crowther Mediation, on a course registered with the Civil Mediation Council. Certificates can be provided on request.
