About me
I help you to feel more in control of your emotions, stand up for yourself, be better understood and feel less self doubt. I respect your experience - we ALL carry wounds from the past and may be unaware of the impact on us today. I am a non judgemental, BACP Accredited therapist practicing since 2016. I provide a safe space to explore whatever you like.
Anxiety
Does anxiety overwhelm you? Do you question if you are a competent, interesting or a “good” person, or worry about your performance? Perhaps you compare yourself socially or compulsively scroll, or allow yourself to spiral, imagining the worst case scenario. We may expect an outcome and worry about it, even with no evidence it's going to happen. Self critical "pep talks" can create feelings of worthlessness and can actually increase your anxiety. Or, maybe, you just can't forget that ex. Does anxiety impact your work, your plans for the future, or get in the way of your social life?
Do you want to learn about your anxiety and why you do it? The immediate "cause" may be evident, however, discovering what is behind your reaction to circumstances and events can create better anxiety management, greater self acceptance and peace.
Anxiety always has an underlying cause and is different for everyone, however anxious process has a specific purpose for us, and is a very specific set of thoughts - thinking/seeing only the worst, self criticism, comparison, catastrophising, reliving the past and expecting too much of ourselves are typical of this behaviour. Your anxiety is a (thinking) behaviour designed to soothe. This might sound counter intuitive, as there is nothing soothing about anxiety! However, to our brain this makes sense, which is why we continue this habit.
Low self esteem and impostor syndrome
Is your work, social life or family life impacted by feeling that what you're doing isn't good enough or that you don't deserve what you have? Perhaps you would like to feel more confident, have more trust in yourself and feel that you actually have a right to be in the situation that you are in. If you currently see yourself negatively, you may feel that you need to fit in with others so you don't disappoint, even when your social battery, schedule or true opinion doesn't support doing so. You may prioritise the needs of others over your own. Chances are, you have become accustomed to denying your true self which has resulted in self doubt. We can work to discover what has caused this and improve the way you feel about yourself.
Depression
At times, we allow depression to become a go-to mindset and sometimes we might not even notice how we got here. Lack of motivation and thinking negatively about ourselves and our situation can overwhelm us and render us stuck, or use unproductive behaviours to avoid doing things we need to do. Feeling like we are failing or that nobody gets us and we are totally alone can compound our low mood. When we become bogged down in believing things are bad, naturally we feel low and it can become easy to procrastinate. Once you discover the reasons you feel this way, you realise you can impact your low mood, and that those things that felt previously insurmountable are indeed achievable. It may be that you discover that what felt like criticism before can serve as useful information to help you achieve your goals.
Relationship issues
Relationship issues are wide and varied, in romantic, friendship, familial and at work. Perhaps you would like to feel better about yourself to enter into a romantic relationship? Perhaps you feel anxious or lonely in relationship or feel overly dependent on your partner? Maybe you struggle to trust your intuition or to express yourself, or even identify how you feel or know what you want? It could be that you react with defensiveness and anger and struggle to hear what the other person has to say. Perhaps you feel misunderstood by others, or, when you try to advocate for yourself you are dismissed or even vilified for your viewpoint, or there may be someone expecting you to solve their troubles - and be resentful when you do! Or maybe you just feel stuck in a cycle of unhealthy relating in all areas of your life. We can work to understand the roots of your relationship issues and put you in a position to choose the relationships you want, choose how you behave in relationship and to be more in control. When you discover how you can impact the way your relationships go, you may find things you found challenging before are no longer problematic.
What is the purpose of therapy?
The purpose of therapy is to understand ourselves by observing how we feel. This provides us with information which we use to guide us and make the choices that are right for us. We are often unaware that we have denied our feelings throughout life, and this habit makes it harder for us to get in touch with ourselves, fostering self doubt and uncertainty.
The idea of therapy may seem daunting. We ask ourselves “can I trust someone with this?” or maybe "what will they think?" Or perhaps you just need to talk to someone impartial who can help you work it out. It can be tough to maintain your self belief or work out what to do when those closest to you are telling you "you need to do it this way!" It takes great courage to find your own way.
How I work with you
You choose what you wish to explore in session and I go with what you bring. I use a range of techniques to help you stop overthinking, combined with an exploration of how your early years and life so far have impacted you. We look at what you have come to believe about yourself and others. Discovering this information, you can become aware of things you may do unconsciously which can result in anxiety and depression or that can cause issue in your relationships with others. This will enable change where necessary to heal and improve your way of being. When we truly know and accept ourselves, it is within our power to choose how we respond to situations and relationships (even when under stress), in our close personal and familial, in our professional lives and within wider society. It is possible to create a way of being that offers you relief from uncertainty, feeling defeated or responding with anger.
I am based in Streatham Hill and in Anerley, at the bottom of Crystal Palace park.
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold a Dip. Therapeutic Counselling , I am an accredited member MBACP Accred. and practice the BACP code of ethics. I work from different theoretical perspectives and combine different approaches depending on what works best for you. I also hold a Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy and certificates in Mindfulness and Couples Therapy. I undertake regular training to improve my practice and the work I do with you.
I help you heal relationship issues, anxiety, self esteem and depression.
As well as working in private practice, I have worked in a bereavement agency for 3 years, and with young people at a secondary school for three years.
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£70.00 per session
Additional information
I charge £70 per session.
I offer weekly counselling that occurs at the same time and day each week, I work on an open ended basis that continues for as long as you require therapy.
I offer a short introductory call to establish your needs, and should you feel we could work together, I offer an initial assessment session free of charge, the purpose of which is for you to get a sense of whether or not you feel comfortable to work with me and for me to get a sense of where you are at right now and what has brought you here.
When I work
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Further information
Based in Streatham, South West London, and Crystal Palace, South East London, I offer in person and online therapy. I work with relationship issues, anxiety, low self esteem and depression and to release feelings of guilt and shame and retire that relentless inner critic. I help you work out and decide the right path for you. I do not judge. I do not offer advice. My goal of working with you is to support you and improve your wellbeing. I am an Integrative practitioner and an accredited member of BACP. I am a qualified clinical hypnotherapist and this approach informs my work. I am a mixed race/mixed culture therapist and my own exploration around accepting that I am me, and not what others tell me I am, has enabled me to truly appreciate every person’s uniqueness and their own view of their world and I likewise seek to understand you as an individual and how you relate to the world.
I value uniqueness, trust, truth and honesty, and having faith in yourself despite what others say, especially when societal expectations can leave little space to allow us to just be ourselves. I believe it's ok to speak our truth and indeed, it’s important to be heard. I believe we have the power to heal ourselves and that instinctively we know what is right for us. I believe we are all connected in some way and that impossible things are possible.
