About Catherine



My approach to individual and couples counselling
My name is Catherine Topham Sly and I am a warm and welcoming professional counsellor, writer, and speaker.
I work with adult individuals and couples who want to make changes and feel better – in Brighton and Hove and online.
If you decide to come for counselling with me, whether on your own or with a partner, we will work together to make sense of your problems and find a way forwards.
I will give you the space to tell your story and unravel your thoughts and feelings. I will listen not only with empathy but also with an objective distance that enables me to make links you may not have noticed.
I will offer my ideas to you with an open mind. This way we can think together about what you need and how you can get it.
Through my training and experience – professional and personal – I have a deep understanding of the range of difficulties that bring people to counselling. I also have a great respect for anyone who is brave enough to face their struggles and explore what they can do about them.
Often I think the core aim of counselling is best summed up by the serenity prayer. If you are looking to achieve serenity (or something close to it!) therapy can help you to develop the wisdom to work out what you cannot change and accept it, and the courage to change the things you can.
The best way to find out whether I would be the right therapist for you would be to book a consultation but if you would like to know a little more about my background first, please read on.
Catherine Topham Sly’s Professional Background
My academic background is in linguistics, the scientific study of language. I took a particular interest in psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics: what the things we say and how we say them tell us about ourselves and how we relate to others.
After University I worked at a communications consultancy. I managed people and projects and developed my listening skills as a market research focus group facilitator and trainer. I enjoyed the work but found the corporate world unfulfilling so in 2011 I started training as a counsellor.
In 2018 I decided to combine my expertise on what makes healthy, satisfying relationships with my workshop leadership skills. I started writing Relationship Goals 2.0, the regular event for parents in Brighton and Hove which launched in July 2019. Relationship Goals 2.0 is a relaxed event where parents learn the skills and habits that keep couples close while having fun together in a room above a pub.
When the Coronavirus pandemic hit I wanted to do something to support young families in lockdown together, so I released the online course Love in Lockdown. This self-paced course is still available, and recommended to anyone who finds themselves getting into conflict when under stress.
I am also the author of Back In The Sack, the PDF workbook which has helped hundreds of couples to get their sex lives back on track after kids.
I have a postgrduate Diploma in Counselling and Therapy from Northbrook College Sussex, and am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy working to their ethical framework.
2022 – Externship in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, International Centre for Excellence in EFT
2019 – Certificate in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, EFT International School
2017-2018 – Certificate in Clinical Supervison, The Rock Clinic
2017 – Certificate in Working with Couples, The Link Centre
2014 – Transactional Analysis 101 Certificate, Northbrook College
2012-2014 – Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Therapy, Northbrook College
2011 – NCFE Level 2 Award in Helping Skills, City College Brighton and Hove
2011 – CPCAB Level 2 Award in Introduction to Counselling Skills, Varndean College
2003-2006 – BA Hons Linguistics (2:1), University of Sussex
2016-Present – Counsellor in private practice, Insight & Connection (formerly Hove Counselling & Therapy)
2013-2018 – Counsellor, Rock Clinic Association, Brighton
2006-2010 – Workshop facilitator and trainer, Space Doctors, Brighton
2018 – Accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
2016 – Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy