Pippa Donovan

I started my psychotherapy journey over 20 years ago, first as a client looking for answers, which developed into a new career path.  I work well with adults and young people with various issues, including anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic health issues and low self-esteem/confidence.  I provide a safe and confidential space where we can make sense of life issues that are difficult to navigate.  The focused insights and strategies will help you manage current symptoms and enable you to make choices and changes to move forward.

My work is in Integrative Psychotherapy (long or short-term) EMDR and Attachment-Informed EMDR.

I can support you if you are experiencing the following:

• Persistent depression/low mood/feeling life is bleak
• Anxiety
• Isolation
• Self-esteem and confidence issues, including guilt and shame
• Sleep disorders
• Loss of life direction or loss of connection from your life goals and your values
• Relationship issues (family, friends, partner, colleagues)
• Bereavement and complex grief
• Acute and long-term health issues
• Trauma (past and present)
• Appearance-related distress (including burns, scarring, skin conditions, and body image)
• Chronic health syndromes (including pain)
• Childhood experiences that continue to cause difficulties in day-to-day life now or need to be discussed in a safe environment.

Specialisms:

I have a particular interest in trauma, attachment and related chronic health issues.  Often, trauma and attachment issues go unidentified, so understanding what trauma is and how it can be treated is essential.  

PTSD can occur when you have experienced a life-threatening event, for example, a car crash or witnessing a life-threatening incident.   CPTSD is when the trauma response has developed through a more subtle sequence of events such as childhood experiences (disrupted attachment, abuse, neglect), relational abuse, or complex grief.

Both routes to the trauma response can lead to symptoms such as anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, underachieving at work, physical health concerns, and difficulty in relationships.  Sometimes, these symptoms mask the underlying trauma or disruptive formative experience. 

Because the trauma response is activated in your body and mind,  I use an integrated psychotherapy approach, often incorporating experiential/somatic techniques to calm and provide relief between sessions.  I also use attachment/somatic-focused EMDR, which can work well with complex trauma and chronic health issues (which can often be a part of complex trauma presentation) and clients presenting with pain. 

Getting started:

Once you refer yourself to my service, I conduct a brief initial telephone contact, which is an opportunity for you to let me know what brings you to therapy,  your main concerns and some background information on yourself.  I also discuss how I work and if we are a good fit.  If you would like to progress, the purpose of the first session is to thoroughly examine the nature of your concerns, develop a psychological formulation with you and see if we can work together.  A recommendation will be made on the length of therapy best suited to the nature of your concerns.  This could be short-term (10-16 sessions), long-term (1 year or more), or open-ended (ongoing with in-built reviews).

My therapy is conducted by a virtual platform (e.g., Zoom, Bilateral Base) for local, national and international clients.  I also have a consulting room just outside Henley in Arden (minutes off the M42, M6, and M5), and parking is available at this location.

I will conduct a brief initial telephone contact, which is an opportunity for you to let me know what brings you to therapy,  your main concerns, and some background information on yourself.  I also discuss how I work and if we are a good fit.  If you would like to progress in the first appointment, we will thoroughly discuss your needs and whether time-limited or longer-term therapy will be helpful.  Assessment and Therapy sessions are 50 minutes long, and we can agree on the length and frequency of the contact.

How much does it cost?

My fee is £100 for each session.  I offer selected 75-minute sessions in agreement with clients at £150. (Often EMDR).  The fees reflect my level of specialism in working with complex trauma and chronic health issues.