Persephone Moir

You don't need to have the right words, a diagnosis, or even know exactly why you're struggling to begin therapy.

Perhaps something from the past is still affecting you, you're struggling with betrayal or difficulties in a relationship, or you've spent so long being what other people need that you're no longer quite sure who you are. Maybe life has changed – becoming a parent, your children growing up, menopause, the end of a relationship – and experiences or feelings you thought were behind you have unexpectedly resurfaced.

I specialise in relational and sexual trauma, but you don't have to identify with the word trauma to work with me.

I offer a warm, curious and compassionate relationship where you don't have to make your story neat, minimise what happened, or explain why you feel the way you do. We can start with where you are now and make sense of the rest together.

About me

I am a BACP registered counsellor with over ten years' experience working with trauma, abuse and complex relationships. Alongside my clinical work, I have completed a Master's degree in Understanding Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence at Goldsmiths, University of London.

This specialist study has allowed me to explore sexual and relational trauma in considerable depth, not only what happens to us, but how our experiences are shaped by relationships, family, gender, identity and the wider messages we receive about abuse, responsibility and shame.

For me, this knowledge doesn't replace listening to you. No amount of professional or academic understanding can tell me what an experience means to the person sitting in front of me. Instead, it gives us a wider range of ways to understand what you may be experiencing, while keeping you at the centre of our work.

Trauma doesn't happen in isolation. Our experiences take place within relationships, families and the wider world around us, and all of these can shape how we understand ourselves.

Family can be a source of love and belonging while also being complicated. Perhaps you grew up feeling responsible for other people's feelings, learnt to keep the peace, struggled to have your needs recognised, or found yourself occupying a particular role within your family. You may love the people in your life while also recognising that some of your experiences with them have hurt you. Both things can be true.

These experiences can become woven into our identity: who we believe ourselves to be, what we need, what we're allowed to want, and where our responsibility for other people begins and ends.

You may have become very good at adapting, coping or being what other people needed you to be. Therapy can offer a space to understand how your experiences have shaped you, question some of the roles and expectations you've carried, and explore who you are and what you want now.

Who I work with

You don't need to think of yourself as a "therapy person" to come to therapy. Many of the people I work with don't.

I work with adults of all genders and at different stages of life. Some people arrive with a clear idea of what they want to explore; others just know that something isn't working in the way they would like it to.

I work with parents of young children, teenagers and adult children. Becoming a parent can unexpectedly bring our own childhood experiences into sharper focus. Seeing our children reach particular ages can stir feelings, memories or questions about the way we were parented and things we experienced – or perhaps needed but didn't receive.

There can be another significant shift as children become teenagers and young adults. As they develop identities and lives of their own, we may find ourselves looking again at who we were at the same age, our relationships with our own parents, or the choices and experiences that shaped us.

For some people this stage of family life also coincides with menopause and other changes in our bodies, relationships and roles. When so much of life has been organised around caring for others, being needed differently can leave a surprisingly big question: who am I now?

Therapy can offer somewhere to explore that question without assuming that something has gone wrong. We can make space for parts of you that may have become quieter over the years and begin to think about what you want from the next part of your life.

I welcome neurodivergent clients, including people with ADHD or autism, whether diagnosed, self-identifying or questioning. Neurodivergence isn't something I diagnose or treat, but I have experience of working with neurodivergent clients and recognise the important ways ADHD, autism and other forms of neurodivergence can intersect with trauma, relationships and identity.

Experiences such as masking, feeling different, being misunderstood, struggling to meet expectations or spending years adapting to the people around you can affect how you understand yourself. For some people, recognising their neurodivergence later in life can also mean looking back at earlier experiences through a very different lens.

You don't need to communicate, process or express emotions in a particular way for therapy to work. Part of my role is adapting therapy to the person in front of me, rather than expecting you to adapt to therapy.

Working with trauma doesn't mean you have to relive it. 

There is no requirement to tell me everything that has happened to you. You don't need to have clear memories, know exactly what to call an experience, or be ready to talk directly about it.

Often the effects of difficult experiences are already present in the here and now – in relationships, emotions, your body, your sense of self, or the ways you've learnt to cope. We can begin there.

Our work might involve talking, but it can also be creative or include awareness of the body and nervous system. Most importantly, it will be led by you. Therapy should not be another relationship in which somebody else takes control of your story.

The relationship you have with your counsellor matters. I offer a free introductory call before you decide whether you would like to work with me.

There is no obligation to book afterwards. It's simply an opportunity to meet, ask questions and get a sense of how it feels to talk with me.

You don't need to arrive knowing exactly what is wrong, what you want to change, or even where to begin. We can work that out together.

Birth trauma

Reduced rates available for people on low income.

I work mainly online, alongside a smaller number of in-person appointments from my counselling room on Bodmin Moor.

Online therapy can offer flexibility and the comfort of talking from your own space, and can make regular therapy more accessible when work, family life, health, location or simply a busy life makes travelling to appointments difficult. I have extensive experience of working therapeutically online and aim to make our sessions feel just as relational, personal and connected as working together in the room.

How we work isn't fixed. I am primarily a person-centred therapist, which means our work begins with you rather than a particular technique or programme. Depending on what feels helpful, we might work through conversation, explore patterns within relationships and family, pay attention to what is happening in the body, or use creative ways of exploring things that can be difficult to put into words.

I don't expect you to sit and talk in a particular way or to arrive each week knowing what you want to discuss. Therapy can be reflective, emotional, practical, creative, challenging and sometimes even funny. We find a way of working that fits you.

For those who prefer to meet in person, my counselling room is in a beautiful and peaceful location on Bodmin Moor. The surrounding landscape and sense of space can feel like a valuable part of stepping away from everyday life for therapy. As you might expect from a rural Moorland location, however, public transport and accessibility are more limited, so please contact me if you would like to discuss whether attending in person would work for you.