Sharon Black

Perhaps you spend so much time looking after other people that you have lost sight of what you need.

You may feel anxious, low, overwhelmed or emotionally exhausted. You may find yourself caught in the same relationship patterns or conversations, questioning yourself, putting other people first, or knowing that something needs to change without being quite sure where to begin.

Whatever has brought you here, you do not need to have everything figured out before starting therapy.

I am a qualified person-centred and integrative counsellor, BACP Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist and IPT-UK Accredited Interpersonal Psychotherapist, with more than 20 years’ experience supporting adults through emotional difficulties, relationship problems, bereavement, loss and significant life changes.

Alongside my clinical work, I have held senior therapeutic roles, provided clinical supervision and supported the professional development of other therapists.

I work with individuals and couples, offering a warm, collaborative and relational approach to therapy.

My aim is to provide a space where you can talk openly, feel genuinely heard and begin to understand yourself and your relationships more deeply.

Together, we can explore what you have been going through, recognise patterns that may be keeping you stuck and consider changes that feel meaningful and achievable for you.

Experience and Specialist Training

I have more than 20 years’ experience supporting adults across NHS Talking Therapies, charitable organisations and other therapeutic services.

During this time, I have worked with people experiencing depression, anxiety, trauma, relationship difficulties, bereavement, identity concerns and major life transitions.

I am trained as a person-centred and integrative counsellor and an interpersonal psychotherapist. This allows me to tailor therapy to the individual while also paying close attention to relationships, significant life events and the ways interpersonal experiences can affect emotional wellbeing.

I am also trained in Couple Therapy for Depression through Tavistock Relationships, enabling me to work therapeutically with couples experiencing relationship distress alongside emotional difficulties such as depression.

My breadth of experience means I am comfortable working with concerns that may feel complex, longstanding or difficult to put into words.

Therapy is always shaped around you—your experiences, your circumstances and what you hope to gain from our work together.

How I Can Help

You may come to therapy with a very clear idea of what you want to work on, or simply with the feeling that something in your life no longer feels right.

I can support you with:

• Low mood, depression and anxiety
• Worry, stress and feeling overwhelmed
• Relationship and communication difficulties
• Trauma and the lasting impact of difficult experiences
• Repeating relationship patterns
• Low confidence and self-doubt
• People-pleasing and difficulty prioritising your own needs
• Bereavement, loss and significant life changes
• Feeling stuck, lost, lonely or disconnected from yourself
• The emotional impact of domestic or sexual abuse
• Trust difficulties, intimacy concerns, affairs or betrayal
• Difficult family relationships and conflict
• Gender identity and identity exploration
• Cultural identity, difference and lived experience

You do not need to arrive with the right words or a clear explanation.

We can begin with what is happening for you now and work together to understand what you need and how you would like things to be different.

My Approach

My approach is warm, relational and collaborative, drawing upon my training as a person-centred and integrative counsellor and interpersonal psychotherapist.

I believe therapy is most helpful when you feel safe enough to be honest, including about the thoughts, feelings and experiences that may be difficult to talk about elsewhere.

You can expect to be met with respect, compassion and genuine curiosity rather than judgement.

We may explore how earlier experiences have shaped the way you see yourself and relate to other people, what happens within important relationships, and the patterns that may be repeating in your life.

Therapy is not about telling you what to do.

It is about helping you understand yourself more deeply, recognise the choices available to you and feel more confident making decisions that are right for you.

Working With Couples

Relationships can become caught in patterns where both people feel unheard, misunderstood or increasingly disconnected from one another.

You may still care deeply about each other while finding yourselves having the same arguments, withdrawing from one another, or no longer knowing how to talk without things becoming difficult.

In couples therapy, I offer a structured, balanced and supportive space where both partners have the opportunity to speak and be heard.

My role is not to take sides, assign blame or decide whether you should stay together.

Instead, we work together to understand what may be happening beneath arguments, silence or emotional distance.

We can explore each person’s experience, understand the relationship pattern you have become caught in, and develop different ways of communicating and responding to one another.

Couples therapy can help with:

• Communication difficulties and recurring arguments
• Emotional distance or loss of connection
• Loss of intimacy
• Trust difficulties, affairs or betrayal
• Depression affecting the relationship
• Significant life changes or pressures
• Feeling more like housemates than partners
• Difficulties understanding one another’s needs
• Deciding how you would like the relationship to move forward
  The aim is not to determine who is right or wrong.

It is to help you understand what is happening between you and consider whether healthier, more connected ways of relating can be developed.

Sessions

Individual therapy: 60 minutes

Couples therapy: 60 minutes

Sessions are offered online through a secure platform, allowing you to access therapy from a private and comfortable space wherever you are in the UK.

A limited concessionary rate may be available in some circumstances. Please feel free to ask during your introductory call.

Free 30-Minute Introductory Call

Choosing a therapist is a personal decision, and feeling comfortable with the person you work with matters.

I therefore offer a free 30-minute introductory call.

This gives you an opportunity to tell me a little about what has brought you to therapy, ask any questions you may have and get a sense of whether my approach feels right for you.

There is no obligation to continue afterwards.

If you feel that something needs to change but are unsure where to begin, that is completely okay.

You do not need to know exactly what to say or have everything worked out before contacting me.

We can begin simply by talking about what life feels like for you at the moment and what you would like to be different.

If my approach feels as though it may suit you, you are warmly invited to get in touch to arrange your free 30-minute introductory call.

I also provide clinical supervision and professional mentoring for counsellors, therapists and other helping professionals. Further information is available on my separate supervision and mentoring profile.

Fees

Individual therapy: £60 per 60-minute session
Couples therapy: £90 per 60-minute session

If you are thinking about starting therapy, you are very welcome to get in touch.

I offer a free 30-minute introductory call, during which we can talk briefly about what has brought you to therapy, what you are hoping for and whether working together feels like the right fit.

There is no obligation to continue after the call.

You do not have to work through everything on your own.

Responding to Enquiries

I aim to respond to enquiries within 24 hours, Monday to Friday. Enquiries received over the weekend will usually be answered on the following Monday.

If you have not heard from me within this time, please check your junk or spam folder, as replies can occasionally be filtered there. You are also very welcome to send a brief follow-up email to make sure your enquiry has reached me.