About me
I am an experienced, accredited psychotherapist and counsellor working online or from a friendly practice in Hove. I also offer supervision for individuals, groups and organisations.
Therapy offers an opportunity to explore your concerns at your own pace in a safe, supportive and confidential setting.
People come to counselling for a variety of reasons. Some may come with a particular problem, or in response to a crisis or trauma in their lives. Others may come to explore long standing issues, or are seeking an increased understanding of who they are or why they behave in certain ways.
Therapy can also help when you don’t know exactly what troubles you, but you have a sense that something is not right or that life is not as fulfilling as it could be. Sometimes we just need extra support for a while to get through a difficult time.
“After a serious bodily injury one might consult a physical therapist for help regaining freedom of movement. Psychotherapy has the same role in the matter of emotional injuries, the healing of which requires fostering emotional freedom of movement.” Robert Saltzmann.
Sometimes, although it may seem counterintuitive, we need to go backwards to move forward.
This is because past experiences can impinge on our present and future if, for any reason, we have not had the opportunity to safely process and make sense of them.
However, therapy isn’t only about looking back. It can also involve deepening your self-understanding and letting go of things that keep you from making changes that align with your desires and values. Sometimes, therapy can help guide you towards a sense of authentic living if you feel lost or far away from your natural timber.
As a social species, elegantly evolved for coregulation and connection, it’s just harder for us to do this on our own – or even with the significant people in our lives who, naturally, may have a ‘stake’ in the outcome.
The therapeutic relationship offers a reflective yet non-judgmental understanding of your experience, free from personal agendas or expectations. It is this distinction that creates a safe and welcoming space for growth and change, or a deeper acceptance of yourself and your life as it is.
And so, giving yourself this time and space, along with some expertise and experience, sets the stage for both healing from your history and moving forward in a way that is meaningful to you.
My experience includes helping people with:
Anxiety and stress
Relationship issues
Panic disorder
Low self esteem
Gender and sexuality issues
Bereavement and loss
Relationship break up
Pet loss
A sense of ‘feeling not quite right’
Low energy and exhaustion
Feeling teary or overwhelmed
Family relationships, past and present
Depression
The search for meaning and purpose
Existential issues
Feeling isolated and alone
Eating disorders and OCD
Adult/Child trauma
Climate anxiety
Someone to talk to
As well counselling, I offer specialist sessions (1 to 1 or small groups) working specifically with understanding and managing anxiety, stress and panic. symptoms.
I am an experienced couples therapist.
I also offer Solution Focused Brief Therapy.
I offer Supervision for therapists across all modalities.
Training, qualifications & experience
Experience and Qualifications
I hold a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling from The Northern Guild for Psychotherapy, accredited by the UKCP, and a Diploma in Supervision from the Link Centre.
I am registered and accredited with the BACP and adhere to their code of ethics and confidentiality.
As a qualified supervisor, I also provide Clinical Supervision and Reflective Practice for individuals, groups and organisations. I am registered and Accredited with the BACP and adhere to their code of ethics and confidentiality.
As well as private practice, I have had many years working as a counsellor and psychotherapist in a large GP surgery in the North East. I have also worked for Mind as part of a specialist centre in Hove for people with mental health difficulties and a diagnosis of Personality Disorder.
I specialise in anxiety, stress and panic symptoms and offer treatment to help with understanding and managing anxiety. I also deliver the Managing Anxiety course for the Recovery College. (See https://www.sussexrecoverycollege.org.uk)
My Approach
My modality (the particular ‘flavour’ of therapy training) is rather a freight train of confusing terminology: Humanistic Integrative with a core model of TA -Transactional Analysis .
I also offer Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Short Solution-Focused Therapy (SSFT).
When appropriate, I use a Trauma-Informed, nervous system approach that pays added attention to the interconnection and interplay between our experiences, brains and bodies.
I maintain a strong interest and hold a degree in Philosophy, and offer Existential Psychotherapy. At times, this may involve a broader, more universal perspective on what it means to be a human being on this planet. For instance, we may explore issues related to finding meaning or purpose, the passage of time, change, death, age and stage.
Ultimately, however, my years in practice return me to the insight of Carl Rogers, founder of Person-Centred therapy, who proposed,
“The gentle and sensitive companionship of an empathic stance… provides illumination and healing. In such situations, deep understanding is, I believe, the most precious gift one can give to another.”
Like Rogers, I believe much of the healing power resides not in the specifics of technique, but in the relief of being seen, heard and understood.
I sometimes wonder if these statements sound like esoteric, rather anaemic sentiments in the face of unhappiness and desperation.
Yet, for me, this is more than a belief without basis or scientific underpinnings. Clinical work on the neurobiological impact of trauma now demonstrates what psychological therapies have long proposed: drawing on the consistent, attentive availability of another is the most effective helping hand out of threat states, depression, anxiety, and suffering.
In other words, we have what Rogers termed “a powerful need” to be deeply witnessed and acknowledged, and it is this that fosters our ability to thrive.
And this is why, though interventions and theoretical frameworks play an important part, it is the quality of our connections - and in this case, the therapeutic relationship - that unlocks our healing and flourishing potential.
“Consequently, healing must take place by means of relationship between two beings in ordinary life. A relaxation in companionship with another person… so that there is a space for a human healing.” Robert Salzman.
As an Integrative Psychotherapist, I draw on and blend elements of different theories towards a combined approach, tailoring the therapy to the needs of each person.
I work with clients from various ethnic, religious and social backgrounds and with diverse sexual identities.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I offer specialist sessions working specifically with anxiety, stress and panic symptoms, running 1 to 1 or small group sessions aimed at understanding and managing anxiety. Please contact me for more details. References and testimonials are available.
Therapies offered
Fees
£65.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
//Fees
- 30 minute initial assessment £30
- 50 minute appointment £65 (Unemployed/Students £50)
- Couples counselling £70
- Specialist sessions on understanding and managing anxiety (individual or group) please contact me for details.
- Solutions Focused Brief Therapy - 3 sessions, £65 per session.
- Supervision £65 per 1 hour session.
When I work
I offer online, telephone and face to face appointments available Monday to Friday with some weekend appointments.
Further information
I am currently involved in the anti-stigma campaign, Time to Change. Part of this project is called ‘Dispelling Mental Health Myths in the Workplace’ and is run by Brighton and Hove Mind. You may see me and other volunteers at various local businesses and outposts around town aiming to start conversations about mental health!
