Penny Maddrell

I am now conducting sessions in person with Covid precautions, and online when necessary. Working remotely can feel a little strange to begin with, but my experience is that using video calls, or voice calls where preferred, can work well.

Psychotherapy involves a confidential, professional relationship, to think together about your life. You may have felt depressed, anxious or angry for some time, or you may be thinking about a short-term problem. Some people have difficulties they can't easily talk to friends or family about. Some people want to get a better understanding of experiences they have had, to help them move ahead.

As well as thinking and talking about your experiences, psychotherapy can involve attention to body sensations and feelings it is not easy to find words for. You may remember bits of dreams, or you may describe situations using visual images that occur to you. Whatever comes up can turn out to be meaningful, even when it doesn’t seem to make any obvious sense at first.

My training was in a mindfulness-based type of psychotherapy. Mindfulness means paying attention to what is happening at this very moment, without judging it. In fact, psychotherapy has always involved close attention to what seems to be happening right here, right now, between the two people in the room, and thinking about what that tells us. This can help you become aware of painful or limiting ways of managing that you may have developed through your life. Growing awareness can help you to loosen these strategies and live with more choice and ease.

My location for in-person work is near the B1049 (Histon Road) in the northwestern part of Cambridge. It's easy to come in by car from Junction 32 of the A14, or it takes about 30 minutes to walk (or 12 to cycle) from the centre of Cambridge.