About me
As you arrive here, I imagine you are in search of someone who can truly understand and help you.
We are all formed by the people and experiences in our lives, for better and for worse. We know about some of these experiences, and have memories, stories and feelings that go with them, but others might be lost or unclear in our minds - perhaps because they happened so long ago, or were too painful or confusing to remember, or there was nobody there to help us make sense of things.
This can make it very difficult sometimes to understand what is wrong, to cope with feelings which can be overwhelming, or even to know how you feel. Perhaps you already have a good idea of what has gone wrong - for instance, if something deeply upsetting or traumatic has happened to you - but it can be hard to bear this and try to recover alone, and it doesn't always feel possible to share difficult feelings and experiences with the people in our lives, however close we are to them.
I believe that this is where good therapy can make such a difference - and that means finding a therapist who you feel you can trust, with the skills and insights to help. If you decide to get in touch with me, either for a phone call or a first session, we will be able to find out what it might feel like to work together. In the meantime I will share a little bit more about who I am and the things I do in therapy, to help you decide.
My main aim as a therapist is to offer you a sensitive, understanding and thoughtful relationship - everything else that you need can unfold from our own safe and trustful connection. During sessions we will explore together whatever it is that is troubling you, and support you to feel the emotions that belong with it, so that each time we meet things should make a little more sense, and feel a little more bearable. I think it also needs to be acknowledged that therapy can, of course, be painful and confronting at times; I will help us to work through these moments with care and respect.
We might talk about what is happening in the here-and-now of your life, or focus on important relationships and experiences from your past, and weave these together to create new understanding. Another helpful place for us to focus might be our own relationship, because this can shed so much light on what you need from other people, and what kinds of things either help or get in the way when you try to make deeper connections. (If you are someone who likes to know the more technical names for things, I practice relational psychodynamic therapy - this means I am interested in relationships, feelings, and how our minds work, including the unconscious parts.)
My experience is that this kind of therapy can help to relieve pain, deepen your trust and understanding of yourself, and enrich the ways you connect with other people.
I can provide both open-ended and fixed-term therapy, depending on what you feel you need (or can afford) at the moment. I offer once-weekly meetings, usually at the same time and place each week, because that consistency can be a powerful signal to our emotional selves that we are somewhere that feels safe and familiar. I generally work face-to-face as I find this is most effective, but can offer zoom or phone therapy in exceptional circumstances - for instance if you have no other way of accessing therapy at the moment.
I hope that this has helped you feel that you are beginning to get to know me. I would welcome the chance for us to talk or to meet, so please do get in touch either to book that in, or ask any questions that I haven't covered here. Thank you for taking the time to be here.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a fully qualified psychotherapist registered with UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapy). This means that I have completed an extensive training program over several years, which supports me to work with you in a skilled, ethical and effective way. I have been practicing as a counsellor and therapist for nearly ten years, and prior to this I worked in a range of advocacy and support roles in the NHS and overseas.
I keep my professional experience and knowledge up to date through regular learning and development activities, including affiliate membership of our local West Midlands Institute of Psychotherapy. I have regular supervision with an experienced colleague - this is a reflective process (and a completely anonymised one) which helps to guide our work together.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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
Additional information
Our first meeting is an opportunity for you to find out how it would feel to work with me, and to decide whether you would like to continue. I charge £25 for this first session, and then my usual hourly fee is £60.
When I work
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I usually have sessions available during the daytime on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and Friday evenings. Please get in touch to ask about my current availability.
