About me
Life isn’t always easy, but I promise there is beauty to be found in it. I will provide a safe, warm and confidential space for you to explore things that you are going through, whether related to trauma, anxiety, parenting, neurodiversity, identity, grief, terminal illness, addiction or menopause. I have been a therapist for over a decade, and I have more than 20 years’ experience supporting adults, children and teenagers.
You might have found your way to my page because everything just seems too much at the moment. Maybe, your internal self-critic is louder than ever; maybe managing a job, life and children leaves you feeling depleted; or you are finding your job unfulfilling; or maybe your hormones are all over the place because you have hit perimenopause and you need someone to support you to navigate through these life changes. You are not alone, even if it can sometimes feel that way.
I provide open-ended therapy so you decide how many sessions you’d like. I am a qualified integrative practitioner which means I draw from a number of approaches and techniques. However, I do favour the psychodynamic approach, and attachment-based theories strongly influence my way of working. This means I believe childhood experiences and relationships (not just parental) can have a profound effect on how we function as adults.
Other influences in my work include mindfulness, compassion-based therapy, mentalisation-based therapy, systemic therapy and parts work therapy. Don’t worry if these approaches don’t mean much to you, as the most important influence on my work will be you. I will work in partnership with you to explore what you find most helpful, whether this is learning tools to manage situations, bringing in creative materials to revisit and reflect on previous life events, helping regulate an over-sensitive nervous system or practicing mindfulness exercises to help you find space in your life.
I have an extensive background working with individuals who have experienced trauma in their lives. Many of us have experienced relational/emotional trauma, and others childhood and physical trauma. Trauma can have a lasting effect on our body and mind, making you hypersensitive to your surroundings, feeling constantly on guard and anxious and fearful of new relationships. Sometimes it can lead us into addictions and obsessive-compulsive behaviours. Trauma can take time to unravel, but I will be there with you every step of the way, helping you to find your inner strength to take the lead in your life.
I believe a good therapeutic relationship is key to supporting you to make sustainable change, and therefore building trust, in a safe, confidential place will form an important part of our time together. We will work at a pace directed by you and will only explore areas that you feel comfortable with.
Managing grief can feel endless and lonely. It is always hard losing a loved one, whether through death or end of a relationship. Anticipatory grief where we might be coming to terms with the terminal illness or end of life of a loved one, or ourselves, can be particularly isolating, as we are encouraged to appreciate the time we have left. I will not rush you to move on from your feelings. I would love to hear about your loved ones, help to preserve their memory, celebrate their life, understand the impact of their loss on you and help you to find peace in continuing to live your life.
I have worked as primary school therapist and still work as the Counselling Team Lead at a young people’s charity. Working with the younger members of our community is such a privilege as there are so many curious, diverse and inspiring minds out there. My role is to support these amazing young people to find belief in themselves to be the people they want to be.
Navigating through childhood and adolescence is one of the hardest times in our lives. Social anxiety can make school and workplaces unbearable, whilst at the same time young people are having to manage possible stresses at home, peer pressure, lack of control alongside added responsibilities in their lives. This is all at the same time as their bodies are changing and they are discovering who they are, who they are sexually attracted to and whether it is safe to share these things with their wider friends and family. I welcome you to bring every part of yourself to our sessions, even if you are not quite sure of them all yet.
I am sensitive to issues of body image, gender, ethnicity, colour, culture, lifestyle, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, homosexual, bi-racial, bi-sexual, ambivalent, lesbian, heterosexual, transgender, age and disability.
I have supported many neurodiverse individuals, whether they have a diagnosis or they are navigating life without one. Living in a world that is tailored to the neurotypical is not easy. I provide neurodiversity-affirming therapy which means I will focus on understanding your experiences and neurodivergent differences and help you develop skills to manage challenges and support your overall wellbeing and enjoyment of life.
In my sessions with you we might look for patterns in behaviour and think about what purpose they are serving. Is there a younger you putting in defences no longer needed? Is your nervous system extra sensitive and trying to protect you by reacting to perceived threat? There will be no judgement, just space to take time and reflect on what it is that might make things feel better in your life, and can we work towards this. I can’t promise it will be easy, therapy still requires you to be committed to working towards what you want. However, it would be my privilege to support you in your journey.
Feel free to contact me to arrange a free initial chat of 30 min to think about what you want out of your therapy sessions. If we both think we would work well together then we can decide on the next steps.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Neurodiversity Affirming Approaches
- Grief and Bereavement Support, Cruse
- Dyadic and Group Theraplay, Level 1, Family Futures
- Dyadic Developmental Practice, Level 1, Family Futures
- Intermediate Level in Systemic Therapy, Prudence Skynner Family & Couple Therapy Clinic
- Foundation Level in Systemic Therapy, Great Ormond Street Hospital
- Child and Adolescent Counselling PG Dip, Terapia & Middlesex University
- Counselling PG Dip, Terapia & Middlesex University
- Environment and Development MSc, University of Edinburgh – Distinction
- Psychology MA (Hons.), The University of Dundee – 2:1
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
£65.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I hold a couple of spaces for concessionary rates
Further information
I offer a 30-min free initial chat, please feel free to contact me if you would like to see if you think you might like to work together
