About me
Are you and your partner stuck in a painful cycle of arguments that go nowhere, distance growing between you, or the feeling that you are more like housemates than lovers? Maybe communication has broken down, affection feels strained, or you're wondering whether you’re still 'in love.'
If you’re here, you’re likely exhausted, confused, and unsure what to do next.
You’re not alone. Many long-term, married and midlife couples reach this crossroads. The good news? You don’t have to navigate it alone. Support does help.
How I help
I’m a psychotherapeutic counsellor and couples therapist with 13+ years’ experience, specialising in:
Midlife relationships & long-term partnerships
Marriage and recommitment work
Discernment Counselling (if you are asking 'should I stay or leave?')
Couples dealing with disconnection, conflict, or betrayal
High-pressure professional couples with limited time
My approach is calm, reflective, and practical. I help you slow down, understand what’s really happening between you, and find clarity and confidence in your next steps; together or apart.
If You’re Considering Separation:
I offer Discernment Counselling, a short-term, structured process designed for couples where one or both partners are uncertain. These time-limited sessions give you the confidence and clarity to explore realistic paths forward and make grounded decisions.
Whether you decide to work on the relationship, stay as you are, or separate respectfully, you’ll gain calmness, insight, and direction.
If You Want to Repair and Rebuild:
For couples choosing to work on the relationship, I offer weekly Couples Counselling sessions focused on: strengthening communication, healing old hurts, rebuilding trust and connection, rediscovering intimacy and affection and changing stuck patterns you can’t shift alone
Sessions are tailored to your relationship dynamics so you can move from confusion and tension to clarity, teamwork, and renewed closeness.
Couples Therapy Intensives (Ideal for Busy Professionals)
If weekly sessions don’t fit your schedules, I offer immersive, structured intensives. These provide space to go deeply into your challenges and rebuild connection without months of waiting.
Support for Married Women
I also run a coaching programme, Relationship Confidence & Clarity, for married women who want to understand their patterns, reconnect with themselves, and make authentic, empowered relationship choices.
You don't need to keep figuring this out alone.
If you’re lying awake at 3:17 am thinking about separation…
If you’re tired of the same fight…
If you want to reconnect but don’t know how…
There is a way through this.
Take a look at my blog for more resources: www.sdhcounselling.co.uk/blog
Try my relationship health-check quiz: https://sdhcounselling.co.uk/is-it-time-leave-your-relationship-quiz/
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold a BACP-accredited Diploma in Integrative Psychosynthesis Counselling (2012) from the Re. Vision Centre for Integrative Psychosynthesis.
I have undertaken additional specialist qualifications in working with couples and couples counselling, and I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Couples Counselling: couples in Search of Soul.
I am a qualified ICF coach with a certificate from the Creative Mind University (Jungian Life Coaching)
I regularly attend courses and training to comply with the requirements of professional bodies.
These include:
- Couples Developmental Model Training Certificate - The Couples Institute
- Discernment Counselling - The Doherty Relationship Institute
- Mindfulness (MBSR)
- Trauma - various workshops with Peter Levine
- Complicated Grief and Traumatic Bereavement.
- Working with Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
- Working with Diversity in Counselling
- Health and Well-being in the Workplace
- CBT (Foundation Certificate)
I have extensive experience working at senior levels within Public Sector organisations. I understand the complexities and challenges of work-related stress and its impact on personal relationships.
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 UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
I offer various services tailored to each relationship's needs, including therapeutic coaching, couples therapy intensives, discernment counselling, and traditional weekly couples counselling. Each service has a different structure and fee. You can find full details of my fees and charges on my website.
When I work
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