
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG7
07522 578007
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG7
07522 578007
I'm an Integrative Psychotherapist fully registered and accredited by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). I am also an Integrative Psychodynamic Counsellor registered by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (Registered Member, BACP).
What to expect from Counselling and Psychotherapy:
Counselling and psychotherapy are similar in that they both aim to enhance your sense of wellbeing and to support you towards the life changes you are aiming for. We all experience problems in life, and sometimes it really helps to have space for you to explore your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Both counselling and psychotherapy involve working with an unbiased and qualified professional in a safe, predictable, and confidential environment, typically weekly, for an agreed period of time. The terms counselling and psychotherapy are often used interchangeably - the main difference between the two is that the emphasis with psychotherapy is usually on deeper and broader psychological work and is typically (but not always) aimed towards longer-term work.
Whilst counselling and psychotherapy can be a very effective process and can provide you with the opportunity for change, it isn’t always going to be easy because moving away from the familiar often feels uncomfortable. It’s important and necessary to feel challenged in order for growth and change to emerge. Commitment, transparency, and collaboration will be needed. You may want to work on one specific issue over a short period of time, or you may want to engage with longer term in-depth work. You may have a sense of how long you are looking to work for, but it's equally fine to not really know, and we can take things in stages. However, for whatever length of time we work with, we will regularly review the sessions and the work we are doing.
How I work:
I am a UKCP accredited and registered Integrative Psychotherapist and a BACP registered Counsellor. I work face-to-face and one-to-one with adults (18+). The heart of my therapeutic approach is relational and appreciates our uniqueness as individuals and on your developing sense of ‘psychological integration’. This means that I would help you to consider ways in which you might experience a deeper sense of wholeness, connection, and comfort within yourself. I consider each therapy relationship to be different, and so I draw on a wide variety of theoretical approaches to help us reflect on how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviour may interact, converge, or diverge. For example, I appreciate the importance of the mind (thoughts), body (physiological experience), socio-political culture and oppression, how we make meaning in our life existentially, our ‘spiritual’ and/or creative selves, and how all these aspects can impact us in our everyday lives.
We all take in messages of some sort from the world and we will have our own way of reacting to these. These messages might be explicit and direct or implicit, say through body language, and might come from our parents, peers, siblings, larger family, from society as a whole, the media, or from our culture. Sometimes the messages we take in are supportive and helpful, but other times they may not support our needs and identity and might create difficult feelings and a sense of unease.
I have experience of both long, mid-term, and shorter-term although I most commonly tend to work with clients for at least 6-12 months. I'm open to working creatively, and consider the potential role of metaphor, symbolism, the arts, and the language of our body in addition to an explicit verbal narrative. As a focus of our work would be to support your personal empowerment, I cannot 'tell you' what to do. However, I do offer suggestions and feedback that we can explore and evaluate together. My general interactional style is actively involved and I work collaboratively and relationally. I value the process of the therapy relationship we create together in order to explore insights into your life.
Clinical Counselling and Psychotherapy qualifications:
I am insured and have regular clinical supervision. I have experienced regular, weekly psychodynamic counselling and integrative psychotherapy myself as a client for several years as part of training and can therefore appreciate the process from both standpoints. I work within the UKCP and BACP ethical framework.
Sessions are for one hour apart for our initial meeting where I offer a reduced rate and longer meeting, in order to get a clear sense of the work required.
Cancellation information
I review my fees annually.
Other qualifications:
I have a PhD in Psychology, and alongside my private practice, work part-time as a Lecturer-Practitioner at a local University teaching on psychology and psychology with counselling courses.
Practice Information:
My practice is located within about 15 mins walk from Nottingham city centre. You will be able to park outside the practice for your sessions without cost (I will need to give you a pass to put in your car). Please note I often work on the third floor of the practice and there is no lift, if this would be a problem, please let me know on enquiry and I will try to reserve a room on the ground floor. Toilets are available on the ground floor. There are a few steps to enter the property through the outdoor gate and there are a couple of steps to enter the building.
What next?
If you would like to explore working with me, please do contact me, and we can decide whether or not to move forward with an initial session. An initial session would be an opportunity for us to explore your aims and needs and to get a feel for what it would be like to work together. Further early sessions (approx 4) would be a continued assessment of our work followed by a review to end or continue. I am usually able to suggest alternative psychotherapists or counsellors if necessary, useful, and if requested.
Please note:
I do not have the facility to work with clients experiencing active suicidal thinking or who are in crisis.
If you feel in crisis, please contact your GP as soon as possible, GP out of hours service, NHS 111, the Samaritans on 116 123, or SANEline on 0300 304 7000 (6-11pm)
If you are a man, you can contact CALM, which is a charity specifically supporting mental health in men. https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/get-help/ (5pm-midnight).
If necessary please go to your local Accident and Emergency department (if you cannot go on your own ask a friend or safe other to take you there). If you are unable to get to A and E and you feel you need to go, and all other options have not worked, call 999 for an ambulance.
Online counselling: | No |
Telephone counselling: | No |
Face to face counselling: | Yes |
Home visits: | No |
Sign language: | No |
Other languages: | None |
Wheelchair access: | No |
I can sometimes reserve a room on the ground floor if needed, please enquire. Please note that there are a few steps to access the property and the main building.
Regular Practice Hours:
Adults |