Philippa Whiting

About therapy

My aim as your therapist is to provide the opportunity for an empathic and supportive relationship where you can feel safe to explore the things that are causing you difficulty.  As your awareness of yourself deepens, so too does the opportunity to decide if there is something that you wish to change or perhaps learn to accept.

There are many different reasons we might come to therapy. Sometimes, we can find that we are struggling to cope with our thoughts or feelings. We may be experiencing a difficult life event, such as the death of a loved one, or find ourselves stuck in a pattern of behaviour we wish we could change. We may be experiencing complex feelings that are hard to understand or have a general sense of dissatisfaction with how our life is. Therapy is a way to make sense of our experiences and find a way forward.

About me

I am a counsellor and  psychotherapist with a previous career in mental health services for the NHS. I believe that we all have worth as human beings and that we are doing the best we can, in our own unique circumstances. Whatever our individual history or situation, we all have the potential for greater understanding of ourselves and for growth and change.

I work in a collaborative way with you, rather than giving advice or telling you what I think the problem is.

Many of the issues that bring us to therapy arise from our experiences in relationships with others. My job is to offer the opportunity for a relationship with a safe, trustworthy and ethical therapist as a vehicle for healing.

Put simply, my role is to learn about you and what life is like for you, support, challenge and empower you to make whatever decisions you choose to make. I believe that you are not only capable of growth or change, but you deserve to be happy and fulfilled.

I work with people struggling with many different issues, but my particular interest is in diet culture, chronic dieting and disordered eating. I work from a weight-neutral approach and am guided by Health At Every Size® principles.

What to expect from the first session.

It is understandable to be apprehensive about your first session. The most important thing is for us to get to know each other and for me to start to understand what brings you to therapy and what you need. During our first meeting, I will take some information about your history and experiences so I can start to understand what you want to work on, but there is no expectation to go into great detail or to disclose deep feelings at this early stage, until you are ready.

However, it is crucial that the therapist you choose is someone that you feel comfortable with and ‘gets you’. It has been proven that, regardless of the type of qualification or length of experience the therapist has, the quality of the therapeutic relationship is the most vital aspect for effective therapy.

Please get in touch if you would like to book an initial session, I look forward to hearing from you.