About me
Relational and Attachment-Based Therapy
I hope this page gives you a sense of who I am and how I work.
I am an attachment-based therapist and Accredited Member of the BACP, working with adults experiencing relational difficulties, grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, low mood, self-esteem struggles, and life transitions.
The impact of our relationships and life experiences can stay with us long after those experiences have passed.
If you’re feeling burnt out, shut down, overwhelmed, or caught in the same painful cycles with others (or with yourself), you’re not alone. These experiences can show up in intimate relationships, family dynamics, friendships, or at work. Beneath most struggles sits a longing – to be met, understood, valued, or allowed to be fully yourself.
I work from an attachment-based approach rooted in the belief that what is wounded in relationship can be repaired in relationship. So much of what we experience – anxiety, low mood, loneliness, conflict, self-doubt – is shaped by earlier relational experiences and the ways we learned to cope, protect ourselves, and survive emotionally. These patterns can continue long after they stop serving us. Together, we explore them with compassion and curiosity – not to blame the past, but to free you in the present.
Grief is also a significant part of the work I do. Sometimes this grief is easy to recognise, and sometimes it sits more quietly beneath low mood, disconnection, or a sense that something in life no longer fits. This may relate to the loss of someone important, but also to the quieter losses that shape us over time – childhood experiences, family breakdown, estrangement, unmet emotional needs, relationship endings, dislocation, or major life transitions. In therapy, we make space for both – the grief you can name, and the grief you’ve been carrying silently for years.
My style is warm, steady, and genuinely relational. I pay close attention to the ways you’ve learned to navigate the world by shutting down, accommodating others, striving, withdrawing, or staying strong for too long. We explore the emotional logic behind these responses with compassion for why they formed. Our work unfolds at a pace that feels right for you, while gently making space for the discomfort that meaningful change can involve.
In our work, we explore:
- relational patterns and the needs beneath them
- how past experiences echo through present-day feelings
- how familiar patterns and ruptures show up, and how repair can happen within them
- strengthening boundaries, self-worth, and emotional clarity
- meeting the parts of you that feel unseen, overwhelmed, or “too much”
My background in yoga and contemplative practice helps me bring a calm, grounded presence to sessions. I’m also guided by the natural world – its rhythms, resilience, and interconnectedness – which influences how I hold the work, even when this remains unspoken.
If this way of working speaks to you, I invite you to get in touch.
I also welcome therapists in training who are seeking their own therapy, particularly those interested in experiencing attachment-based work from the inside.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Diploma in Attachment-based Psychotherapeutic Counselling
- Diploma in Person Centred Therapeutic Counselling
- Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP, 400343)
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
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
Fees
£65.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
- I offer a free initial consultation
- Sessions are online via Zoom and can be weekly or fortnightly
- I have some limited lower-cost availability and offer concessions for selected client groups.
When I work
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Further information
Client Testimonials
I’ve been having regular sessions with Des for almost two years, focusing on long-standing issues of self-worth and insecurity. I am truly amazed by the progress I’ve made – it’s more than I ever hoped could be possible from therapy.
Her gentle and profound insight and guidance has given me the space and tools to help me work through challenges I experienced in childhood, heal younger parts of myself, and powerfully reframe narratives to work towards peace and balance in my adult life and relationships.
I’ve felt completely seen, heard, and understood throughout the process. Des offers a space that is beautifully warm, safe, and truly personal.
Becky
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In my two years of working with Des, I have come to understand myself in a new light. Des always creates a compassionate and welcoming space to examine the difficult realities of my emotional world.
Through an approach which attempts to draw connections back to the workings of my inner child, she has guided me through a process of seeing myself in the present linked to my experiences of my youth.
Whether it's been the problems of the day, childhood trauma, or understanding my diagnosis of neurodivergence, Des has helped me develop a mindset of curiosity and compassion towards myself.
Will
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I had therapy with Des for about a year. When I started, I didn't believe therapy could help me. After a lifetime of abuse and trauma, I felt broken beyond repair.
Des was completely different from my previous experience of therapy. She was so incredibly empathic and warm that, at first, I didn't trust her at all. It took time for those walls to come down, but slowly they did. For the first time in my life, I felt what it was like to truly trust another human being.
Des accepted me exactly as I was, helping me begin to see myself differently – not as broken, but as someone who had been deeply wounded. The process wasn't quick or easy. There were things I had spent a lifetime avoiding, but Des stayed alongside me – patient, steady, and present.
Since finishing therapy, I have continued on a journey of discovery and growth and love. I am becoming the person I was always meant to be. I can honestly say that healing is possible, and I will always be grateful for the part Des has played in helping me begin that journey.
Diane
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I worked with Des while completing my Level 5 Diploma in Attachment-Based Psychotherapy, and I genuinely feel that the work we did together helped me understand myself and my life story in a way I never had before.
Alongside my training, I was able to explore my own attachment experiences, relationships, and inner child more deeply. Des’s insight, compassion, and gentle guidance helped me make sense of how experiences from earlier in my life have shaped the way I feel, think, and relate to others today.
What I particularly valued was the way Des supported me to look at my experiences with curiosity rather than judgement. She helped me connect pieces of my past that I had previously struggled to fully understand, giving me a much clearer and more compassionate perspective on myself.
I am incredibly grateful for Des’s support, wisdom, and the safe space she created throughout this process. The work we did together was genuinely transformative.
Rachel
Therapist in training (Attachment-Based Psychotherapy)
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