I am an integrative counsellor which means that I have been trained in a variety of counselling theories and practice. My approach will always be to start with you and your experience.  By getting to know you and developing our relationship, we will together help make sense of what brings you to counselling. Having the space to explore your thoughts, feelings and actions will help identify how you can be more in control, and be able to move forward in a way that is best for you. 

I am also trained in delivering EMDR therapy. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is a therapy used to help people recover from distressing events and the problems they have caused, like flashbacks, upsetting thoughts or images, depression or anxiety.

EMDR is recognised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

​

Individuals

Whatever brings you to counselling I will create a safe space for you to able to explore this in detail. I also offer some strategies that may help with your presenting issues. For example, a lot of my clients will present with anxiety. I am interested in how our bodies tell us how we feel which may be at odds with how we think we should feel. A lot of anxiety manifests itself as negative thought which can be overwhelming. Breaking this down into physical and emotional responses can help us 'sit' with uncomfortable feelings, helping to process emotions. I help clients identify how their bodies tell them what they are feeling and have some practical interventions, such as breathing techniques, that can be used away from the therapy session to help manage anxiety better. Once clients build up confidence in techniques that they find helpful, we can start to unpick or challenge the negative thoughts that lie behind the feelings, enabling the client to move forward.

I deal with a variety of presenting issues and will go at your pace and focus on what you want. You are the expert on yourself and my role is to help you get to a place where you can feel more confident about what you feel and more confident in how you manage yourself.

 

Couples

The main issue between couples is communication - maybe you've stopped listening to each other or there is a painful issue between you that you can't move past. I help create a safe space where both partners can express their emotions. It's important to understand that we can only change ourselves, not our partner. Although simple, this can be the most difficult thing to achieve when we live with someone - it's much easier to blame our partner rather than looking at what we can do or change. Again I have various interventions to help couples improve how they can communicate and if arguing is a feature, various strategies to help ensure communication remains safe. As a trained psychosexual therapist I am also able to deal with any sexual issues that may have arisen in the relationship. 

​

​

​

​