About me
Therapy will be pointless, a waste of time and money, if the greatest value is not given in therapy to the way we live beyond therapy. Not only do I understand that it is fundamental to support a client to live in everyday life what they realise in therapy, I too know I must live by this, if I am to walk my talk, and talk my walk. Thus, I am committed to living in such a way that enables me to be fully present, vital, attentive, flexible, and open-hearted, in order to respond to the changing needs of a client.
I am a Relational Therapist, with over 26 years in the therapeutic space, both in talking therapies and bodywork. This makes me a unique therapist, particularly attuned to non-verbal expression, supporting you to regain trust in yourself through self-awareness, and strengthen confidence through conscious presence.
The symbiotic relationship between client and counsellor offers an incredible healing opportunity, to see and discard what is in the way of being your authentic self, across all areas of life, and with all people you relate to.
Therapy to me should not be a place that only meets you in the attic of your mind, engaging you mentally, simply moving the same furniture about and making you feel momentarily better. Instead, I'm keen to get you engaged on a whole-body level, noticing where in the body emotions are felt, where they are locked in, how you feel when you check-out, why you withdraw, feel disappointed, resentful, hurt, or why the grief, guilt, shame, doubt, blame and insistence on past actions may linger, and inhibit you expressing and living your full potential.
I hold the essential, secure and confidential space for you to express and be heard, with presence, love and patience. I also offer reflection, supportive challenge and practical ways in which to apply in your daily life the realisations you have in sessions.
The primary magic happens between the sessions - transformative and sustainable change without constant effort, occurs when we embody what we realise, in other words: Act on and live the great aha! moments you have in sessions.
Cultural Sensitivity
A private practice professional in the therapeutic space since the mid-1990s, I’ve lived and practised in Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe and the UK. As a result I have extensive experience working cross-culturally, with great sensitivity. This includes working with immigrants, ex-pats and refugee trauma survivors. Working in-person and globally online, I also have significant ongoing experience with a large client base in Asia and the Arab States.
Counselling training in the Psychodynamic and Clarkson 5-Strand Relationship Models, along with a long term practice in bodywork, talking therapies and behaviour change experience inform my Integrative Counselling approach, where relationships and how we relate to ourselves (including our body) and others, is key to understanding how we experience life and its influence on our physical and mental wellbeing.
My private practice has been further enriched by work in the corporate EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) industry, carrying out Clinical Assessments and responding to clients, sometimes at immediate risk of suicide and self harm,
I am also a School Counsellor in a central London 6th Form School, dedicated to supporting young people navigate the transitional phases of life, particularly from high school to senior high, senior high to university, or directly to the world of work. In my private practice I support many teenagers and young adults embrace the power of responsibility and arise from long periods of bedrotting, low self esteem, debilitating self doubt, anxiousness and depressive outlooks on life.
Key tenets to my approach include:
- Our past enters the room with us - We arrive as the culmination of everything we have lived, giving us access to the past in the present.
- Whole-body Awareness - It is body connection that keeps our mind in check and settles incessant thinking.
- ’In-between the Sessions’ - Sustainable change requires that realisations reached in the therapeutic work are put into practice in everyday life.
- Personal Responsibility - Liberation from suffering lies in understanding that the triggers lie within us, releasing us from the blame, guilt and shame cycle.
- Relational Depth - Our first relationship is with ourselves, and the quality of this informs our relationship with others.
Specialisms
- Relationships - individual and couples counselling
- Anxiety related challenges, low self esteem, and depression
- Bereavement, Divorce and relationship endings
- Childhood Attachment and protection mechanisms
- Identity - Cultural, religious, LGBTQ+, transgender
- Menopause - symptoms and mental health impact
- Negative self talk and limiting self image
- Neurodiversity - ADHD, Autism Spectrum
- Religious and Spiritual - questions and exploration
- Work - stress, change, direction, purpose
How I Work
At its foundation, therapy is a relationship, and it is important to discern the person you intend to work with. You can contact me for a connect video call (up to 30mins, no charge) to discuss what you are looking for and get a sense of each other. If agreeable, we would book your first session, and from there establish the foundation of working together based on what your intentions are, and discuss length and frequency of your counselling programme going forward.
I am keen to support you in your everyday life, that therapy is a resource for your expansion in the world. I work short term and long term, in-person and online, with clients in the UK and globally.
All counselling sessions are 50mins.
2 Locations:
Eaton Gate Practice - 2 Eaton Gate, London SW1W 9BJ
Tube: Sloane Sq (3mins), Victoria (10mins)
Light Centre Belgravia - 9 Eccleston St, London SW1W 9LX
Tube: Victoria (3mins)
Training, qualifications & experience
Starting out with a BA major in Psychology, it completed as majors in Sociology and Politics, reflecting a desire to understand the world at large. I soon realised the key to understanding and affecting change in the world is understanding and supporting change in the individual. Hence, my life work is dedicated to understanding people and the way we relate.
Evolving with a career in bodywork, healing and talking therapy, my counselling approach highlights the value of noticing your body’s communication. Anxiety always indicates some degree of movement away from our body and what it naturally senses. Re-discovering that the body does not lie is pivotal in countering a mind overwhelmed with thoughts that can be incessant, critical, doubting, shameful or self-defeating. You sit down for the session in your body and experience the world through your body, so it makes sense your relationship with your body will be part of our counselling work.
I work with an Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counselling model, trained in a number of different strands (Psychodynamic, Attachment Theory, Humanistic), in addition to the practical application of Lasting Behaviour Change work, giving me the flexibility to adapt to what each client is calling for.
I am not restricted to being issue specific and experience has brought great diversity of clients and exposure to a wide variance in what people struggle with, something I never apply a hierarchy of importance to. Each person’s presenting issue is unique and to be approached with equal honour, attentiveness and care.
MBACP Registered
- Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling -Integrative Psychodynamic/Behavioural Models (Mary Ward)
- Current advanced professional studies: Clinician's Pathway - Evidenced based Functional Behaviour Assessment with the Functional Assessment Behaviour Interventions Clinic (FABIC)
- Other Qualifications include: Bachelors Degree, extensive training in bodywork and healing modalities.
Member organisations
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 - £130.00
Free initial online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Fees (In-person and Online)
- Individual: £80/session
- Couples: £130/session
- Young adults (up to 25yrs): £60/session
Advance multi-session purchase discounts available for ongoing clients, after 1st session booked and attended.
When I work
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