I am trained and experienced in leading evidence-based therapeutic approaches and can formulate non-prescriptive treatment planning to meet your unique problems and assist you in achieving a genuine and sustainable progress. My style is warm and collaborative, creating a trusting space to clarify issues central to you or aspects of your life that are problematic or confusing. I suggest an initial consultation which gives you chance to see how you feel about working together and explore what you want to get from counselling. After the initial session, should you want to go ahead, we can plan how to proceed and either structure a number of sessions for short-term counselling or begin open-ended therapy. On commencing therapy we will review our progress at regular intervals, both reflecting on work and re-evaluating goals together should it be necessary. Research demonstrates that the most effective outcomes are based on the quality of the relationship between client and therapist. Therapy will focus on building on your strengths and reconnecting you with your resources, allowing you to make better, safer choices and meet the challenges in your life.
Trauma Therapy
Trauma treatment is arguably the greatest area of development and progress in psychotherapy. Unconscious trauma often underlies unwanted behaviours. Trauma is a response to severely distressing event/s, resulting in an overwhelming amount of stress that exceeds one’s ability to cope or integrate the emotions related to the experience. Complex trauma relates to relational damage and emergent core beliefs grounded in childhood, which can impact one’s emotional template and how individuals respond to stress and anxiety. In turn this can negatively influence behaviour and life choices. Somatic and trauma techniques, EMDR & BSP encourage greater emotional stability, creating a sense of felt safety allowing you to make better, safer choices and meet the challenges in your life.
Integrative Psychotherapy
I studied for five years at the leading UKCP training institution, Regent’s College (now university) London. My masters is in integrative psychotherapy and I am trained in several psychotherapy models and specifically how to integrate to create an effective course of therapy for each individual client. I completed an advanced diploma in existential psychotherapy at Regents College and am a member of the Society of Existential Analysis. Existential analysis explores human problems philosophically rather than medically, engaging dialogically with clients to establish and work through their issues, focusing on relational themes and body-based affect regulation techniques.
Couples Therapy
In my work with couples, I look at reoccurring problems, explore communication styles and emotional and relational organisation. As a trained, experienced couples therapist, I can support you in changing a dynamic or defusing a volatile or difficult situation. Talking openly and honestly about relationship difficulties in a supportive and safe atmosphere that facilitates mutual understanding, opens up the opportunity to alleviate the sense of being stuck in the same patterns of relating, and can affect real change in one’s relationships.
Trauma Therapy
Trauma treatment is arguably the greatest area of development and progress in psychotherapy. Unconscious trauma often underlies unwanted behaviours. Trauma is a response to severely distressing event/s, resulting in an overwhelming amount of stress that exceeds one’s ability to cope or integrate the emotions related to the experience. EMDR and BSP a Complex trauma relates to relational damage and emergent core beliefs grounded in childhood, which can impact one’s
Addiction & Compulsion
I have specialist training and experience in working with individuals who have concerns around their substance or alcohol use and, those with process addictions such as food, gambling or sex compulsive behaviours that control or limit aspects of day-to-day existence. Bespoke integrated treatments, include trauma therapy, psycho-education EMDR and CBT. I encourage self monitoring to recognise disordered thoughts and behaviours and emotional regulation techniques to reduce anxiety. Working through underlying traumas and negative core beliefs we explore factors which keep the behaviour entrenched and provide strategies to challenge them. A robust relapse prevention plan assists clients in managing cravings, leading to sustained behavioural change.
Sexual Compulsion & Addiction
I am a CSAT trained sexual addiction therapist; a rigorous training that provides expertise and tools in tackling addiction. This is a structured integrated treatment for individuals suffering from sexual addiction/compulsivity, which tackles the behaviour and explores the underlying trauma, tailored to meet the clients’ requirements. I also work with partners of addicts recovering from betrayal and relational trauma.
Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy explores how the body expresses deeply painful experiences, applying mind-body healing to aid with trauma recovery.
Typical talk therapies such as CBT engage only the mind, but in somatic therapy, the body is the starting point to achieve healing; encouraging people to become aware of disturbing thoughts and behaviour patterns and work to change them. This form of therapy cultivates an awareness of bodily sensations, and teaches people to feel safe in their bodies while exploring thoughts, emotions, and memories.
EMDR & BSP
Eye Movements Desentisitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is recognised as an effective form of trauma treatment by the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organisation. Known as a treatment for PTSD it is also a helpful treatment for anxiety, depression, OCD and addictions (Maxfield 2019). EMDR is a structured therapy that encourages the client to focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (usually eye movement or tapping) which reduce the vividness or intense emotion associated with the trauma memories. BSP or Brainspotting is a similar treatment utilising eye movement to identify somatic cues to process and release core neurophysiological sources of emotion/body pain, trauma and dissociation.