About me
Have you ever been told to "stop making a fuss and just get on with it," or that you’re "too quiet," "too sensitive," or conversely, "too much", leaving you unsure how you're supposed to be or what to do with your feelings?
I'm Charlotte (she/her), a BACP registered psychotherapist and counsellor based in Castle Cary, Somerset. I offer face-to-face, online and telephone sessions from a peaceful, private space in my home.
Since qualifying with an MA in 2010, I’ve worked with people of all ages, many of whom have felt their natural emotions dismissed or invalidated, or that they are somehow "different" or "wrong". This includes those who are highly sensitive, introverted, neurodivergent, or who’ve experienced emotional neglect, trauma and difficult family dynamics.
I’ve supported people stuck in anxiety, shame, grief, depression and trauma, and have seen how draining it is to constantly worry about how others perceive you, while feeling lost and unfulfilled inside.
You might feel misunderstood or like the "black sheep" of your family, and this may be because you are courageously confronting and working through challenging emotions and generational trauma that others may be denying or suppressing.
Perhaps you’ve spent years trying to get it “right,” silently managing overwhelm or masking your true self to fit in. If so, I want you to know: you are not too little or too much, and you are not alone.
If you're ready to look at what’s been holding you back and begin making changes, gently, and at your own pace, please get in touch to book a free, no-obligation, 15-minute online or phone call. Or, if you're ready, we can arrange a first full session and begin exploring together.
How therapy can help you
- In therapy, all emotions are welcome and valid. You can feel heard and accepted exactly as you are, so you know that you matter too and that you can feel proud of your unique personality, exactly as it is.
- If you’ve experienced criticism, judgment, or emotional neglect, therapy can help you feel less self-conscious, more grounded, and more free to tread your own path.
- Together we can explore how past experiences, especially in childhood, have shaped your beliefs about yourself and the world. From there, we can begin to untangle what’s no longer beneficial, and help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
A little about me
I know how hard it can be to feel like there’s something "wrong" with who you are. And I know the courage it takes to walk your own path, especially if it doesn’t look like everyone else’s.
Some of my choices and ways of being have come in for criticism and judgment over the years, and I’ve often doubted myself. But over time, I’ve come to view my introversion and high sensitivity as superpowers, particularly in my work as a therapist. They allow me to sit deeply with people’s feelings, attune to what’s often unspoken, and hold space for the kind of emotional exploration that brings real relief and growth.
I was brought up in a "stiff upper lip" environment, where there was little space to process difficult feelings or past hurts. But I’ve turned that around and built a life and career rooted in doing the very opposite!
Clients have told me they feel heard, valued, and "no longer drowning at sea but more able to ride the waves of life."
I’ve been described as "warm, gentle, compassionate and deeply intuitive with a quality of stillness which is both containing and allowing, offering clients an experience of being accepted for who they are with no agenda."
If that’s what you’re looking for, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Equality, diversity and inclusion are important to me.
I welcome people of all backgrounds, identities and experiences, especially those who may not have felt truly seen, heard or accepted in other spaces.
Training, qualifications & experience
As well as my Masters Degree, from Terapia (Middlesex University) in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents, I also have a Certificate in Counselling Skills and Theoretical Perspectives in Psychotherapy, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Psychoanalytic Observational Studies from the Tavistock Centre. My initial degree was in Psychology at Sussex University.
I have always worked within the caring profession, at first predominantly working with children in many capacities including as a nanny, a 1:1 therapist and 'school shadow' with neurodivergent children, a research assistant at Great Ormond Street Hospital and as a residential social worker in children's homes.
Since starting my MA in 2007, I've worked as an Integrative Psychotherapist and Counsellor in schools, for charities and in private practice. I was a trainee for the first three years, until I qualified in 2010.
In 2012 when I returned to Somerset from London, I began running a private practice at Kilver Court, Shepton Mallet working with children, adolescents and adults to help them overcome a range of difficulties and emotions.
Over the years, I discovered that my passion lay in working with teenagers and adults. Often, even as adults, we carry around parts of our ‘inner child’ with us and in helping people to untangle childhood experiences and explore challenging emotions, behaviours and experiences, I am able to help them move forward equipped with healthy ways of managing difficult feelings.
I now work in person and online from the comfort of a peaceful upstairs room at my home in Castle Cary.
I also have a qualification as a Vegan Natural Chef from the College of Naturopathic Medicine in London, where I learnt how food can be used as medicine. I am happy to use some of this knowledge in therapy sessions if that is something that would be of interest to you.
My MA led to an accreditation with the UKCP and I am a registered member of BACP, which means I am bound by their Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions and their Professional Conduct Procedure.
I have regular individual and peer supervision and current professional indemnity insurance.
I have BUPA recognition and an up to date enhanced DBS check.
I update my CPD regularly.
Previous CPD
- Existential Therapy, Psychotherapy and Counselling
- Working with the Highly Sensitive Person Part 1 and 2.
- Understanding Autism.
- Introductory Transactional Analysis 101 Course.
- Family Constellation: Understanding family system, structure and dynamics.
- Forgiving Life; Forgiving death and beginning again.
- Jung and Transactional Analysis
- Secrets and Lies - Uncovering hidden truths in family histories.
- 7 keys for working successfully with men in therapy.
- Neuroscience - Introduction to the amygdala hijack.
- Working with shame in the therapy room.
- The highly sensitive person in psychotherapy.
- Mind or body - what's in charge?
- Loss - What does life mean for me now?
- Working with survivors of sexual abuse.
- Exploring challenges and strategies for positive adolescent mental health.
- Assessment and treatment of suicidality.An experience of embodied relational therapy.
- PTSD: dual awareness and the sensory nervous system.
Member organisations
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I'm very interested in the 'replacement child' phenomenon. This refers to the situation where parents, who have lost a child, have another child to fill the void left by the child who sadly died. This new child, often referred to as the 'replacement child', may be consciously or unconsciously expected to fulfill the role of the lost child, inheriting the emotional weight and expectations that come with this position.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£65.00 per session
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
I charge £65 for a 50 minute session.
This includes face to face, online and telephone sessions.
Payment can be made by BACS before the session or by card or cash at face to face sessions.
I offer a free 15 minute phone or online introductory call.
When I work
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Further information
You will probably feel nervous about approaching someone for help and this is quite normal. Often, once people have asked for help or disclosed something they felt they never could, they wish they had done it much sooner.
Prior to the initial session, I will email you an agreement, which includes my privacy statement and information about cancellation policy, amongst other things, as well as, a place for you to fill in your contact details. This is so you know what to expect and to see if you have anything you'd like to discuss further or have clarified before we start our sessions.
In the initial session, we will discuss what is currently troubling you, some personal history, your expectations and hopes for your sessions and I will explain confidentiality. I'll also give you the opportunity to ask me any questions.
It is important that you feel comfortable and trust your instincts when choosing a counsellor or therapist - we can have a phone call or email exchange before your first session to get a feel for who I am and how I work, if you would like to. Please get in touch to arrange this.
