About me
I’m a systemic psychotherapist and EMDR therapist specialising in trauma and complex trauma. I work with individuals, couples, families and children, including people whose difficulties have roots in early or prolonged experiences of harm, loss or neglect.
My clients know me for my warmth. Whether we’re talking about something painful, difficult or hopeful, I appreciate their humanity and their intentions. People tell me they feel valued with me, particularly in the parts of themselves that have felt undervalued or even shameful, and that they begin to say what has previously gone unsaid and to tell a new, more hopeful story.
How I work
Systemic therapy means understanding you not in isolation but in the context of your relationships, family, culture and history. It’s a collaborative approach that respects everyone’s experiences, needs and opinions, whether you come alone, as a couple or as a family. It’s about working with people, not on them.
Alongside this, I use on EMDR and compassion-focused therapy, which are well suited to healing from trauma. In these approaches we would identify and work on the parts of ourselves that feel most difficult, or are most connected to difficult experiences. NICE recommends EMDR as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
I also work with trauma in couples and families, where the focus is on understanding its impact on relationships and how people support one another. Trauma so often takes place in relationships, so it is often in our closest relationships that we heal. Trauma work is paced carefully. We go at a speed that feels safe, and we don’t revisit painful material until you’re ready.
I welcome people of all backgrounds and family forms, including single-parent, blended, adoptive and LGBTQ+ families, and I work in an LGBTQ+ affirming way.
What to expect
Therapy might involve exploring difficult thoughts and emotions safely, understanding one another’s experiences, building on your strengths and making useful changes in your relationships and your life.
I don’t assume any set length of work or frequency of sessions. It depends on what you want to work on. At the end of our first session we’ll agree how we’ll work together and how we’ll review it.
I see clients at several locations across Bristol, including Stokes Croft, Clifton and Cotham.
Training, qualifications & experience
I’m a qualified, registered systemic psychotherapist, registered with the UK Council for Psychotherapy.
Most of my experience comes from working across NHS and local authority services, including specialist services for complex trauma, mental health crisis and eating disorders, and new approaches to family conflict. I’m also a lecturer and academic tutor for trainee therapists and other professionals at the University of Exeter.
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.
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
£100.00 per session
Additional information
I offer free initial telephone consultations, which will allow you to get a sense of me and how I work, and allow me to get a sense of whether I can help.
The fee for regular sessions of one hour is £100
When I work
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