About me
Do you need somewhere to explore all that might be whirling around in your mind, body and soul?
Have you learned to cope in your life so that everyone else's feelings have become more important than yours?
Did you have to take too much responsibility at too young an age, and is this showing up in current patterns of your relationships with friends and/or partners?
And even if you had a relatively secure start in life are you struggling to find your way in this uncertain world where we can feel overwhelmed by the hurts that are increasingly feeling normalised in our society, so that surviving rather than thriving can feel like the only way to be?
Most of us have developed ways of surviving whatever it was we needed to survive and to keep going. And, most of us come to point in our lives where these ways of managing ourselves no longer work the way they used to. This might be an individual experience, a change in connection in relationships, something happening around us-whatever it is, we can find ourselves needing something in us to feel different..
I am an integrative and relational psychotherapeutic counsellor working near the Fiveways area of Brighton, and I warmly welcome you to explore what might be 'whirling' . I am also a qualified couples' therapist and clinical supervisor. I believe in the healing power of the therapeutic relationship and you are likely to find me an approachable and soulful human being. I warmly welcome each person as an individual and encourage you to determine the pace at which we work.
Deciding to start counselling and exploring some of these thoughts and feelings can be a really courageous act, and a commitment to yourself which you may not have made before, and can therefore be one of the most generous gifts you give yourself.
Starting this process can feel frightening and anxiety provoking and so it is really important that you feel that you are working with the right counsellor for you,in a safe and non judgmental way. This can potentially help the therapeutic relationship to develop and trust can grow so that you are able to face whatever it is you are wanting to explore.
If you would like to book an initial session to start the process and get a sense of what you might feel like working with me, and for me to see whether I am the right person to help you, please do get in touch. I will do everything I can to put you at ease. I am currently offering short term therapy of up to 6 months, which can be a really helpful way of focusing on the work that is needed.
Within the past twenty four years I have supported people who have worked on a wide range of issues. These have included but are not limited to;
- Low self esteem/anxiety
• Identity issues
• Relationship issues, sexuality, gender, intimacy
• Abuse, trauma and it's impact
• Loss, bereavement, dying, suicide
• Work related issues
• Loss of meaning or direction
• LGBTQ+ issues - Meaning of life and our place in it.
COUPLES' THERAPY
A crisis in intimate relationships can often leave partners feeling stuck or powerless to find a way though what can often feel like chaos and deep pain.
In times of stress and conflict in our relationships we can easily find ourselves revisiting the same patterns to the argument or conflict. We know we have had this argument before but just can't seem to find a way out of this pattern. Often when this conflict erupts with what can feel like extraordinary pain, and which may touch into feelings such as an acute longing to be heard and understood by the other, the conflict can feel like a power struggle, and this struggle can at times feel hopeless and impossible to bear.
In our current society and culture where in general there is less wider community support and holding for relationships and more emphasis on the small family group or nuclear family, relationships and what is expected of them can come under enormous strain which can mean that there is little time for thinking about what any 'cracks' in the relationship might mean.
This is hard to do in isolation and so by embarking on couples therapy and by trusting that your relationship can be held in a safe containing space, couples can begin to explore the depth of feelings and responses from early experiences that may have given rise to such painful conflict and can begin to explore some empathic understanding.
It is important to explore the patterns and to find ways of coping from day to day when the struggle feels overwhelming, but it is invariably by taking time, paradoxically, to go deeper into the feelings that the relationship can emerge into a new and much more fulfilling place.
Please do call me if you and your partner are interested in an initial session of couple therapy. This initial session is an opportunity for each partner as well as for me to get a sense of what you are each wanting and what your relationship needs, and for you both to see how you feel working with me. I am also then able to see whether I am the best person to help you.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Training, qualifications & experience
BA (Hons) Social Sciences (Open University)
Tavistock Certificate in Applied Systemic theory.
PG DIP Person Centred Counselling (University of Brighton)
Advanced Certificate in Couple Counselling (Time2 Relate)
Diploma in Couple Therapy using the Arts (Time2Relate)
Diploma in Supervision with Soul (Re-Vision)
I am a registered member of BACP, and as well as working in my established private practice, I have worked at Brighton Women's centre and for some years at Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard’s counselling service. I have been a clinical supervisor for Mindout and for Cruse.
I have extensive experience of working with people who feel alienated and marginalised in our society including working with people who identify as LGBTQI .
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Additional information
Individual sessions are £60 for 50 minute sessions
All couple sessions are £85 for 60 minute sessions
