Samantha McEwan

Welcome to Samantha McEwan Psychotherapy. Anxiety and Trauma Therapist. Kilmarnock and online.

Hi, and welcome, I'm Samantha, a warm and experienced cognitive behavioural psychotherapist with practice safely underpinned by over 25 years as a mental health nurse, having worked both clinically and in leading work to educate on and improve trauma informed, therapeutic practice in mental health services in Scotland to reduce patient harm and re-traumatisation.

I often find that people's earlier life experiences are important to their current lives.  As a mental health nurse I naturally consider these experiences, with specialist knowledge of, and working with the impact of, the psychological and relational dynamics played out in families or other contexts as part of childhood abuse and trauma, and which can be part of adulthood traumatic experiences in personal relationships, at work, or even in contact with health or care services. 

As a mental health nurse I also consider the link between physical and mental health, and the impact of chronic or sudden illness, or medicines effects on wellbeing and identity.  

Many of the people who come to me for therapy are caring, conscientious, often with high standards for themselves that they worry they won't always meet.  Often they are highly independent, sometimes with high responsibility, demanding or caring roles.  Sometimes they have adopted other roles or rules during their lives, learned from childhood experiences- and repeating patterns can emerge that can affect beliefs about self, interactions with others, and mental and physical wellbeing.

I support my clients with the self-doubt or criticism, and other difficulties that can arise here, with extensive experience also supporting people to work through and overcome the impact of: 

• Generalised anxiety, overwhelm, worry, intrusive thoughts, images or memories, and overthinking
• Feeling not good enough
• Depression and low mood
• Complex PTSD and impact of childhood trauma including sexual, psychological or physical abuse -and neglect and unstable caregiving, the things that didn't happen that should have. Often the impact of childhood trauma isn't recognised or disclosed until well into adulthood. 
• Traumatic experiences and PTSD in adulthood, including chronic illness
• Relationship and communication issues
• Loss of personal identity, purpose, confidence or personal boundaries
• Career issues, burnout or bullying at work

What you can expect from therapy with me

I am warm, kind, active and collaborative, and work with my clients to  understand and address the root causes of their difficulties - not just the surface symptoms- to develop a new way forwards, perhaps with reconnection to self, values, identity and purpose, or confidence and boundaries. 

With my mental health nursing background I'm also comfortable and skilled in working with people experiencing more complex issues- there is little I've not heard over the years, which has made me passionate about helping people feel heard, believed and empowered.

Therapy and treatment approach

I use only research-proven therapies that help support and improve emotional, psychological or relational wellbeing.

These include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Mindfulness-based CBT, Compassion Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, whch can help us identify and change patterns in beliefs about self, and ways of thinking, feeling and relating. 

I also use evidenced-based trauma therapy, and emotional awareness & processing therapies. These include Imagery Rescripting and Reprocessing Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy, and elements of Internal Family Systems /'Parts' therapy and schema informed therapy. I'm also shortly training in EMDR Therapy which can help process single incident trauma- such as a car accident or an assault - and complex, relational trauma.

What a first therapy session with me looks like

In a first session, I ask a little about what's been happening for you, along with any recent or past experiences that feel relevant, and any changes you've noticed in yourself. You can share as much or as little as you're comfortable with, there's no pressure -my priority is helping you feel at ease as we get to know each other.

We then set goals together for what you'd like to be different or better, and build a therapy plan and a rough number of sessions. 

How long therapy might last, and how often you might attend

Some of my clients are in therapy for around 3-4 months, some for around 6-9 months and a few for upwards of 10 months -everyone's needs and reasons for therapy are different.  My clients usually attend either fortnightly or weekly, or a mix of both, depending on their own schedules and what has brought them to therapy, and frequency is often reduced /spaced out towards the end of therapy.

As an ethical practitioner, I keep sessions purposeful and we regularly review how you are finding therapy and our progress to your goals, to ensure that it doesn't drift without direction. You will know yourself when you are ready to end therapy.

My approach is flexible, and I offer follow up afterwards for a few clients who like to check in every so often to keep on top of things. .

Starting therapy

It can sometimes feel daunting to reach out for therapy, especially when you feel 'stuck' or not sure where to start, but once the first step is taken it can feel like a relief, and even empowering.

The therapeutic relationship is important to successful therapy, and getting the right clinical fit is important. I offer a free, completely no-obligation 20-30 minute consultation call to ask about how you're feeling at the moment, what you'd like to get out of therapy, and give you the opportunity to see if you want to work with me -you don't need to decide at the time.

You can contact me via this page or, if you prefer, you can book an initial call directly via the calendar on my website. I try to respond to enquiries within one working day. 

It is always a real privilege to be alongside each of my clients on their journey. Previous clients have fed back on how they have benefited from my warm, direct and professional approach, while also quickly getting to the root of issues and enabling positive progress and change. 

Some of my client feedback is available on my website- Please do also look around my website for some trauma-sensitive mindfulness, emotion regulation and communication strategies, information on trauma informed therapy and what to look for in a trauma-informed therapist.

With high standards for clinical and professional practice, I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and COSCA, and work to their ethical frameworks and codes of practice. I'm fully insured, have a clear PVG, and am registered with the ICO.

My Clinical Background 

As a mental health nurse I enjoyed working in communities supporting and treating people with complex trauma, depression and anxiety, and addressing health inequalities- all areas I remain passionate about.

I lectured in mental health nursing, worked to educate on and improve trauma-informed, ethical and therapeutic care within inpatient mental health services across Scotland as part of leading national patient safety programme activity, publishing work on this; and then to support development of mental health and suicide prevention education which is now used across health and social care in Scotland, with some of the video resources available online for anyone concerned about suicide -these are called 'Ask, Tell, Save a Life'.

I also teach aspiring counsellors on the COSCA Counselling Skills certificate and volunteer with a specialist trauma charity that offers therapy to adults who have experienced childhood sexual abuse.

Therapy sessions last for one hour, and my standard session fees are £65; with a reduced fee of £55 for people on a lower income, students and keyworkers; or to make therapy more accessible. 

My therapy office is at suite 3.07 Ingram Enterprise Centre, John Finnie St, Kilmarnock. The street is on a bus route and there is on street, paid parking and also a car park around the corner. There's lift and stairs access to my office, and a staffed and friendly, but quiet, reception. There are various business types in the building which helps preserve anonymity if this feels important. My clients find my office a calming and safe space.