About me
I am an experienced psychotherapist and counsellor who uses an integrative, humanistic approach. I offer a confidential space where I will listen carefully in order to understand why you have come and what you’re hoping for. Whether you are bringing specific problems or a desire to discover more about yourself and grow, therapy offers an environment where you can explore your feelings and gain insight into your difficulties.
I have a background in the arts and an MA in arts psychotherapy (Distinction) and have worked in the NHS with complex PTSD. I have an understanding of the impact of trauma and the ways we can manage our painful past and even transform it into a powerful source of purpose. I am particularly interested in the ways the arts can support growth by giving access to our inner resources, creativity and imagination. Therapy can expand your awareness, deepen your understanding, and support you to live a richer, more meaningful life.
I also offer talk therapy and adapt according to the needs of each person.
You may be feeling stuck and want support to make a change. You may be experiencing anxiety, depression, anger or confidence issues. Often these stem from painful experiences in our past.
Therapy can change the way we experience ourselves and others by exploring what lies beneath our beliefs and patterns of behaviour. Together we will come to understand how the past affects the present; your relationships, work, and feelings about yourself. Therapy provides a safe, non-judgemental space to explore challenging thoughts and feelings whilst gaining insights and new perspectives.
Our Relationship
The relationship between the therapist and client is central to this experience. I cannot offer you a cure, but I will listen and support you to explore and deepen your own understanding. I believe that every person has the resources to find their own answers, given time, compassion and support.
It may be that similar difficulties to those you experience with others in your life surface in the therapeutic relationship. This offers us an opportunity to explore your relationship patterns in a safe space where we can look beneath the surface and understand the deeper issues at play.
I am deeply respectful of the way in which each individual has developed in response to the challenges of their childhood. However, our early survival mechanisms may no longer be useful in adult life. In fact, they often cause us to be harshly self-critical, sabotaging our own growth. In therapy, we will explore these critical voices. I encourage clients to become curious about parts of themselves that may have felt shameful, overwhelming or persecutory. As we begin to understand the origins of these feelings in past experience, we can make sense of our inner world. Lessening the shame allows us to develop self-acceptance and compassion so that we can recognise our strengths and a new narrative can evolve.
My approach is psychodynamic, which means we will explore the present in relation to your past and the beliefs and values that have shaped you. I draw upon neuroscience and our understanding of how the brain impacts our nervous system, so we can lessen anxiety. I work in a relational, humanistic way that values the unique nature of every human being.
Using the arts
You can choose whether or not you would like to try using the arts in our sessions. You don’t have to be artistic, just open to exploring. Working with images and metaphors often surprises with its power to communicate what would be hard to put into words.
The arts can provide an alternative language which goes beyond our intellectual defences and offers a way to explore ‘unacceptable’ feelings and parts of the self. Talking therapies focus primarily on the spoken word. The arts support the exploration of non-verbal and unconscious experience, revealing fresh insights and perspectives that are not so easy to find with language alone.
The body can often tell us what has happened in the past, and what’s needed in the present. I encourage curiosity about our physical experience, working with bodily sensations to recognise and release pent-up feelings, which increases self-support and a sense of grounding.
Over time we can expand our own tolerance for difficult feelings, and become more curious about the experience of others. In doing this, we foster a more fluid, empathic understanding of ourselves and others, and dissolve fixed, repetitive behaviour based on expectations from the past. Again, the arts can support you by offering a container that allows you to witness yourself and others, explore feelings, and experiment with new possibilities.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have an MA in Arts Psychotherapy (Distinction) and a Diploma in Psychosynthesis. I have worked within the NHS with complex PTSD in survivors of sexual abuse and am a tutor and assessor for Trauma Informed Schools UK. I am a member of HCPC.
For many years I was a theatre director and now work with many creatives who are seeking support from a therapist who understands their language and world.
I work in drama schools with students and staff both as individuals and in groups. At Guildhall Drama School I have designed a programme that recognises that psychological understanding and empathy lies at the heart of the actor’s craft, and can deeply enrich practice as well as supporting personal growth and resilience. I encourage compassionate understanding of ourselves and others, challenging the culture of competitive perfectionism prevalent in our education system.
I have run workshops for the Arvon Foundation, National Theatre and British Council as well as in universities, drama schools and theatres throughout the world.
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 HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I charge £60 per session for individuals. I understand that therapy is an investment and am happy to work with you to keep it affordable. I invoice each month, although you can pay as you go if you prefer.
Sessions usually last 50 minutes, but our initial session will last for an hour. At the end of the hour, we will decide together how you want to go forward.
