About me
Navigating life can sometimes be challenging, invoking painful emotions and ways of coping and adapting, which may cause further pain. You may be experiencing difficult emotions, poor mental or physical health and/or been affected by significant life events, which are impacting your day-to-day life and your connection to yourself and others.
I am an integrative counsellor, meaning that I draw from a range of evidence based theories and practices, with particular interest in Polyvagal Theory and Internal Family Systems (IFS).
Polyvagal Theory looks at your body and how your nervous system is constantly scanning for and responding to cues of safety, danger and life threat. Our past experiences significantly impact the working of our nervous system, which in turn, impacts our current experiences.
IFS looks at your mind and views different aspects of your personality and behaviours as parts designed to protect you from threat.
When your nervous system detects a threat, the protective inner parts step in to manage the danger. An anxious part might jump in to control a situation, or a numbing part might make you feel detached to shield you from emotional pain.
By bringing these two approaches into our sessions, we don’t just talk about your problems; we soothe your physical nervous system while listening to your emotional parts. This gentle combination helps you move out of survival mode, gain greater appreciation of your parts and their intentions, and process emotional wounds from a place of empathy and compassion.
The therapeutic relationship is the key to positive outcomes in therapy, so it is important to find someone you feel comfortable with. That may or may not be me, as everyone is unique. Get in touch to arrange a free initial consultation, giving you the opportunity to ask any questions you have and to get a feel for whether you would like to work with me. Please also check out my website.
Training, qualifications & experience
My core training was Petruska Clarkson's Integrative Psychotherapy, emphasising the importance of the therapeutic relationship and fostering an environment of safety, empathy, and warmth. I engage with ongoing professional development, with particular interest in Polyvagal Theory and Internal Family Systems.
I worked within residential addiction and mental health services before starting my own practice and have helped clients seeking support with a range of issues, including anxiety and depression, addiction, grief, trauma, compulsive disorders, anger, and childhood abuse and neglect.
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£55.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I ask for payment by bank transfer 48 hours before session. I feel it is important to make therapy available to all, so please ask me about reduced rates if needed.
When I work
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Further information
Our difficulties today may be influenced by our past. When working with clients, it is often helpful to explore their early and formative years. The intention is never to assign blame but to understand how early experiences may impact feelings, behaviours, and attitudes today. Before going into any depth with this work, we would first establish ways to help emotionally anchor you.
