Carl Argent, counsellor and coach in Southend-on-Sea and online across the UK

I’m Carl Argent.
Counsellor & coach.

I help people understand themselves, work through difficulties and make changes in life and work. My person-centred coaching brings together Positive Psychology, practical action and attention to wellbeing. My counselling supports individuals and couples with emotional and relationship experiences, and I support parents of teenagers who want calmer, closer family life.

Start with a free conversation

Free no-obligation call · Find the support that fits.

Carl Argent, counsellor and coach
BACP Registered Member · 418034Association for Coaching Accredited Coach
How I work

A place where you do not have to perform

Hi, I’m Carl. I work with people who want to understand themselves more clearly, find a way through emotional or relationship difficulties, or make changes that genuinely fit who they are.

You do not need to arrive with the right words or a clear explanation. People often come to me after years of adapting to other people’s expectations, hiding how they feel or questioning their own instincts.

My approach is person-centred. I will not impose somebody else’s idea of who you should be or what success should look like. My first responsibility is to understand your experiences, relationships, values and needs. Where useful, I can also offer practical skills and different ways of understanding what is happening, always adapted to you rather than delivered as a fixed programme.

How I work in my specialist areas

Read how I adapt my person-centred approach to the support you are looking for:

Sessions

In person in Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea, or securely online across the UK.

Location and contact details

Choose the right support

Counselling, relationship therapy, parenting support or coaching?

You do not need to decide alone. A free initial conversation can help us identify which kind of support best fits what you need now.

Counselling

For anxiety, grief, low mood, trauma, identity, ADHD, relationship experiences or emotional overwhelm. We make sense of what has shaped you and explore change without treating you as a problem to correct.

Explore individual counselling

Relationship counselling

The relationship is my focus and I do not take sides. We can explore communication, connection and recurring patterns, whether you want to repair the relationship, make clearer decisions or work towards a respectful separation.

Explore relationship counselling

Parenting support

For parents and carers of 11 to 18 year olds who want calmer, closer family life. We work with the two of you, together or across two homes, not your teenager, to understand what is happening and become a team again.

Explore parenting support
My coaching approach

Turn understanding into something you can use.

I bring together coaching, training in Positive Psychology and my background as an integrative counsellor. That means we can work practically with your goals while paying attention to self-doubt, relationships and the pressure around you.

My presence is calm, curious and engaged. I listen closely, ask questions that help you examine assumptions, and offer exercises where they serve your goal. You decide what fits, and we review what actually happens when you try it.

Positive Psychology gives us ways to explore your strengths, motivation, relationships and what makes an activity or goal meaningful. We might use a strengths reflection, a values exercise, a wellbeing review or a practical rehearsal, according to what you want help with.

Your priorities lead

We agree what you want to explore and what useful progress would look like. You can question an exercise, change direction or tell me when an approach does not fit.

We test ideas in real life

Each session can lead to a decision, a conversation to try or a small experiment. We review what you learn and how it affects your confidence and wellbeing.

Professional standing

Qualifications and registrations

I hold a Level 4 Counselling Practitioner Diploma in integrative counselling. My training has a person-centred foundation and includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Transactional Analysis and psychodynamic theory.

Professional registrations

  • BACP Registered Member, membership number 418034
  • Association for Coaching Accredited Coach

I work within the relevant professional ethical frameworks and undertake ongoing supervision and professional development.

Further professional training

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Essentials, Level 2
  • Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy
  • Couples and relationship therapy, including Imago and Gottman-informed approaches
  • Grief and bereavement training with Cruse Bereavement Support
  • Positive Psychology, informing my coaching work with strengths, motivation and wellbeing
  • Emotional Freedom Technique and mindfulness
  • Online counselling

I am also a Mental Health First Aider, hold an Enhanced DBS check and maintain professional indemnity insurance.

Ethical practice

Professional and honest about limits

I only offer work that sits within my training and competence. If a medical assessment, crisis service or another specialist would be more appropriate, I will say so and help you consider the next step.

Counselling and coaching are confidential within the boundaries explained in our agreement. I attend regular professional supervision and continue to train so that my work remains thoughtful, current and accountable.

Who I work with

I offer individual and relationship counselling for adults and couples, including support with anxiety, stress, low mood, grief, trauma, identity, self-worth, relationship difficulties and neurodivergence.

I also offer parenting support for parents and carers of 11 to 18 year olds, working with the adults rather than the teenager.

And I offer individual, ADHD and workplace coaching to people who want clearer decisions, stronger direction or practical change that suits how they actually function.

The person behind the work

A genuine human conversation

I am naturally curious about how people make sense of themselves and one another. Nature, meditation and mindfulness help me stay grounded and influence the calm, attentive presence I bring to sessions.

I do not want therapy or coaching to feel like being analysed from a distance. Our work should feel like a genuine human conversation, held within clear and dependable professional boundaries.

Further reading

A closer look at how I work.

Read about the emotional experiences people bring to counselling and the questions we can explore in coaching.

A small first step

You don’t need the whole story.
Just a place to begin.

We can talk about what brings you here, what you might need and whether working together feels right for you.

Book a free conversation Prefer to email?
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