About me
Struggling with anxiety, relationships, identity or a change in your life? I offer warm, active and collaborative counselling for people who want more than just a space to talk, combining counselling and coaching to help you understand and move forward.
People come to counselling for all sorts of reasons. You might be anxious or low, struggling in a relationship, navigating a relationship beginning or ending, changing career, facing redundancy, becoming a parent, questioning what you want in midlife, adjusting to retirement, or simply realising that a part of your life no longer fits as it once did.
Sometimes nothing is obviously "wrong". Things may look fine from the outside, but something doesn't feel right. You might understand quite a lot about yourself already but still find yourself caught in the same patterns, or know that something needs to change without knowing what.
Relationships, identity and change
I have particular interests in anxiety, relationships, identity and change, and I'm especially interested in how these can intersect. Changes in our relationships or circumstances can affect our sense of who we are; changing ourselves can alter our relationships; and transitions such as midlife and retirement can raise unexpected questions about identity, purpose, belonging and what we want next.
LGBTQ+ counselling
LGBTQ+ counselling is one of my specialist areas. Sexuality or identity might be central to why you're seeking counselling, or it may simply be one part of who you are and have nothing to do with why you're coming. I also offer a neurodiversity-affirming approach.
More than just a space to talk
Being listened to and genuinely heard matters, but I take an active and collaborative approach to counselling. I'll ask questions, offer observations and different perspectives, help you make connections and, where useful, gently challenge you. At other times, the most helpful thing may be giving you room to think, feel and explore at your own pace.
Past, present and future
I work integratively and I'm interested in the past, present and future: what has shaped you, what's happening now, and what you might want to be different.
My training in both counselling and coaching means we can combine deeper exploration with more practical, future-focused work when that's helpful. You don't need to decide which you need before you arrive.
I work with individual adults face-to-face in Eastbourne and online.
Training, qualifications & experience
My training and approach
I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Counselling and Coaching (Level 7, Distinction) from the University of East London and am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). My earlier training includes Level 2 and Level 3 Counselling Studies. I also hold an MBA from Kingston University.
My integrative training allows me to draw on a range of ideas and approaches, including person-centred, psychodynamic, Gestalt and transactional analysis therapies, CBT, ACT and solution-focused approaches. I also draw on ideas from areas such as attachment theory and Internal Family Systems (IFS), alongside coaching techniques, where these are useful to the person I'm working with.
Experience beyond my qualifications
Becoming a counsellor was my third career. I've previously worked in music and spent many years in business and consultancy. That experience gives me an understanding of professional environments and can be particularly relevant when personal difficulties overlap with work, responsibility, career change, redundancy, retirement or professional identity.
My understanding of therapy also comes from the other side of the room. I've undertaken a substantial amount of my own counselling and therapy over the years. I'm naturally analytical and curious, and I know what it can be like to understand something intellectually without that necessarily changing how it feels. My own experience has taught me that understanding ourselves can involve more than simply thinking harder - and that greater self-understanding can open up possibilities for change.
I place a high value on continuing to learn. Reading, reflection and personal development have been important throughout my life, not simply since becoming a counsellor, and I continue to develop my practice through professional reading, training, CPD and regular clinical supervision.
What I'm like to work with
Counselling with me doesn't have to feel overly serious or academic. I'm down-to-earth and there's room for humour too. For me, a good therapeutic relationship should have space for the whole person.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
- Midlife and midlife transitions
- Retirement and adjusting to life after work
- Major life changes and transitions
- Questions of identity, purpose and belonging
- Feeling stuck or knowing something needs to change
- Attachment and relationship patterns
- Co-dependence and boundaries
- Narcissistic traits and relationship dynamics
- Disordered eating
- Obsessive thoughts and patterns
- Navigating what you want from the next stage of life
Therapies offered
Fees
£65.00 per session
Additional information
Standard counselling sessions are 50 minutes and cost £65.
I also offer 80-minute sessions for £95 for people who prefer more time and space to explore things in greater depth.
Further information
Free introductory call
I offer a free introductory call of up to 30 minutes before you decide whether to book. It's an opportunity to tell me a little about what has brought you to counselling, ask questions and get a sense of me and how I work.
I'll ask you some questions too, so I can begin to consider whether I'm likely to be able to offer the support you need. There's no obligation to book afterwards.
Your first session
You don't need to arrive with a neatly organised story, know exactly why you feel as you do, or have a perfectly formed goal.
The first session gives us more time to explore what's happening, what has brought you to counselling now and what you might want from our work together. I won't expect you to tell me your whole life story in 50 minutes. Part of our early work can simply be making sense of what's happening and deciding together where it might be useful to focus.
It's important to me that you receive appropriate support. If during the first session I identify that what you need is outside my competence or would be better supported by another practitioner or service, I won't charge you for that session. Where I can, I'll also help you consider appropriate alternatives.
If you simply decide that I'm not the right counsellor for you, that's absolutely fine too, but the usual session fee would apply.
When and where I work
I currently have availability on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with daytime appointments and a limited number of evening sessions.
I offer face-to-face sessions from my private practice in Eastbourne, as well as online sessions.
Find out more
If you'd like to get more of a sense of me before getting in touch, you can visit my website www.perspectivepractice.co.uk to read more about how I work and explore my articles on relationships, midlife, retirement and navigating change.
You don't need to write a long message when you first contact me. A brief enquiry saying you're interested in arranging an introductory call is enough.
