About me
At work, are you a “swan on the water?”
Effortless, serene on the surface, even though there’s a lot of unseen effort, stress, and executive functioning overload happening behind the scenes?
Are you struggling with anxiety, perfectionism, people pleasing, and constantly battling to feel like you’re enough?
Relentlessly striving and pushing to do better and feeling like you are spinning plates 24/7, trying not to allow one to drop.
The counselling I offer is for those who are anxious, burnt out, and barely holding it together.
I provide a safe, flexible space to unmask and relax, and for processing everything you have been carrying.
About me
Hello, I'm Mel, and I am a qualified and accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). For the past nine years, I have had the privilege of working in private practice with both diagnosed and self-identified clients with ADHD, autism, and AuDHD.
Before training as a therapist, I was qualified in HR and supported employees through performance reviews, personal challenges, bullying, redundancy consultations, disciplinaries, and grievances.
I have an awareness of workplace culture, power dynamics, and organisational structures. I have gained a great deal of experience both professionally and personally supporting people, and I understand how it can have knock-on effects on your health, relationships, self-esteem, and the quality of your life.
The average person spends approximately 90,000 hours of their life at work. If you are struggling, this can drain you emotionally and physically.
What comes to mind for you when I say the word “work"?
Do you feel: anxious, low, Sunday blues, panicked, stressed, self-doubt, depressed, insecure, feeling nauseous, frustrated, defensive, unmotivated, disrespected, humiliated, unhappy, bored, burnt out, disillusioned, numb, angry...?
How do you want to feel?
Motivated, valued, confident, empowered, heard, enthusiastic, competent, respected, worthy, satisfied, comfortable, energised...
I can support you in working towards achieving these goals.
What I work with:
- Navigating stress and burnout loops.
- Coping in a work environment that isn't set up to support you and your needs.
- Identifying what triggers you in the workplace, e.g., changing a meeting time at the last minute, and how to stay calm.
- How to manage having a short fuse. and RSD triggers.
- Managing emotions by working with your nervous system.
- Dealing with shame spirals where you may have lost it with your boss, and then try to avoid them for weeks.
- Anxiety.
- Low mood and depression.
- Imposter syndrome.
- Perfectionism.
- Striving to feel “good enough.”
- People pleasing.
- Workplace conflict and navigating tense relationships.
- Workplace bullying.
- Confidence issues or low self-esteem.
- Work-life balance challenges and overworking.
- Grief or loss.
- Going through a disciplinary, performance improvement or grievance process.
- Redundancy.
- Career transitions.
- Getting back to work following a period where you have been signed off due to stress.
- Working from home and feeling disconnected, misunderstood, or lonely.
How can I help you?
Managing stress and anxiety: Workplace issues such as heavy workloads, difficult colleagues, or pressure from Management can cause stress and anxiety. Counselling can help you develop coping strategies to manage these feelings and avoid burnout.
Improving communication: If you're facing misunderstandings or conflicts at work, counselling can provide tools to improve communication and handle conflicts constructively.
Building confidence: If you're struggling with self-esteem or confidence in your work, counselling can help you explore the root causes and develop strategies to boost your confidence and self-worth.
Setting boundaries: Sometimes, workplace issues arise when boundaries are not respected. Counselling can help you set healthy boundaries with colleagues, supervisors, and clients, which can reduce stress and prevent burnout.
Career decisions and transitions: If you're feeling stuck or unsure about your career path, counselling can help you explore your values, strengths, and goals to make informed decisions about your career and any transitions you might be considering.
Emotional support: Having a neutral, supportive space to talk about your feelings and frustrations can be therapeutic. Counselling offers a safe place to express your emotions and work through any challenges you're facing in the workplace.
I am drawn to working with workplace issues as I understand the direct impact it has on a person’s mental health and how enormously challenging it can be.
Training, qualifications & experience
- BACP Accreditation (2025)
- Autism Ambassador Training 2025
- Certificate from ACTO – Online and Telephone Counselling (2020)
- CPCAB Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, Level 4 (2017)
- CPCAB Certificate in Counselling Studies, Level 3 (2015)
- CPCAB Certificate in Counselling Skills, Level 2 (2014)
- NCFE Certificate in Interpersonal Skills, Level 1 (2013)
- CIPD - Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2002)
- BSc (Hons) degree in Sociology (1996)
I have worked as a counsellor for many Employee Assistance programmes (EAPs), providing me with further exposure to a diverse set of individuals across many organisations, scenarios, and job titles.
CPD
- Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with neurodivergent clients.
- Understanding and supporting neurodivergence at work.
- Autism and trauma.
- Neurodiversity affirming therapy with autism and ADHD clients.
- Solution-focused brief therapy.
I regularly engage in professional development to keep my approach responsive and neurodivergent affirming. In our sessions, I adapt to your individual attention, sensory, and pacing needs.
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
Health Insurance/EAP
When I work
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early morning | |||||||
| Morning | |||||||
| Early afternoon | |||||||
| Late afternoon | |||||||
| Evening |
