Approach | Mysite 1

I offer counselling to adult clients (18+) for a range of issues including:

Depression and anxiety
Loss and bereavement
Trauma symptoms
Shame
Relationship issues
Management of change

I tailor my work to best serve my client's needs and draw on a number of theories, including Attachment theory and the Psychodynamic, Person-Centred, Gestalt, Cognitive Behavioural approaches to counselling, along with Trauma therapies.

I appreciate the contribution made by the arts, philosophy and neuroscience to the understanding of what it means to be human and to how we make sense of our lives and alleviate suffering. If we work together I may draw on the therapeutic application of these fields.

The healing power of the therapeutic relationship is central to my practice. I aim for this relationship to be restorative, in support of safety, empathy, learning, and creativity.

Developments in contemporary neuroscience propose that human relationships and affect regulation in particular, have a significant role in shaping not only our psychological make up but also our biology. The quality of our relationships throughout our life span impacts on our genes and the maturation of our brains.

These findings inform my work and echo the importance placed on the quality of the relationship between counsellor and client in many approaches to counselling.

Counselling is a collaborative process where I aim for you to feel respected, heard, supported and appropriately challenged.

my approach

session stages & format

I offer an introductory phone call. This will be an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have and establish whether we might schedule an assessment. The assessment may take place over one or several sessions depending on requirements.

The initial assessment session will usually be for up to one hour and a half in duration and will enable me to hear in detail what brings you to seek counselling. This will be an opportunity for you to meet me, to ask anything you would like to know about how I work and to explore what you can expect from sessions.

If we chose to work together, we will then discuss our working arrangements, including timings of sessions, fees, cancellation policy, confidentiality and so on.

Subsequent counselling sessions are 50 minutes each in duration and in most cases are held at the same time and on the same day each week.

The number of sessions will depend on the issues presented. I offer brief, time-limited work or open- ended sessions. If our work becomes open ended we will review outcomes on a regular basis

I work online via video conferencing and face to face.

The format of the session will depend on your requirements, on issues presented and the stage of the therapy.

If you require urgent crisis support please contact your GP or local A&E. You can also contact the Samaritans who run a 24-hour support line (Samaritans telephone: 116 123)