My Approach

My practice is relational and integrative. Part of what this means in practice is that I don't work from a single fixed model or body of theory, but draw thoughtfully from several, shaped by who you are and what you bring. My initial training and continued professional development spans psychodynamic and developmental approaches, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis, Internal Family Systems, somatic and body psychotherapy, and EMDR. But integration also refers to the aspects of the self that make up a whole person: feelings, thoughts, behaviour, what's happening in the body, and, for some people, questions of meaning and spirituality. Part of our work might involve exploring not only parts who seem very familiar but also those that might be split off or haven't been cared for. The therapeutic relationship itself is central to this work; I take it seriously as the ground from which genuine exploration becomes possible.

What brings most people to therapy with me is a sense that something isn't working, perhaps in their relationships, in how they feel about themselves, in the gap between who they are and who they suspect they could be. Sometimes there's a clear reason for this; often there isn't, or the story they've been telling themselves turns out to be incomplete. Much of what shapes us was laid down early, as we found ways to survive and adapt. Those patterns made sense then. In therapy, we look at whether they still serve you now.

My practice is explicitly neuro-aware, anti-racist, and GSRD- and LGBTQIA+-affirming. I don't pathologise difference. I tend towards medium- and long-term work, though I contract initially for around ten sessions so that we can find our footing before committing to a longer piece of work together.

I also have a specialist interest in immersive or 'maladaptive' daydreaming, a significant but little-recognised area in which I have particular clinical experience.

About Me

Hello. I'm Garthine Walker, a UKCP-registered relational integrative psychotherapist. I'm based in Cardiff, but work with clients across the UK, primarily online. I offer in-person sessions to trainees and occasionally have in-person availability for other clients. I also offer outdoor sessions in Cardiff. I also provide Clinical Supervision to qualified and trainee psychotherapists, counsellors and coaches, and am an EMCC-accredited Senior Coach Practitioner.

I trained at the Welsh Psychotherapy Institute, holding an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma (Level 7) in Integrative Psychotherapy. I spent five years working in WPI's Affordable Therapy Service, completed a placement in a substance use recovery service, and was subsequently part of the WPI tutor team, most recently as Core Tutor and Programme Leader. I hold a Certificate in Clinical Supervision from Metanoia Institute and am currently training in EMDR.

Before training as a psychotherapist, I was a Professor of History. Much of my research concerned what we'd now recognise as trauma: crime, violence, gender, and the emotional life of people in the past. That academic background, combined with my own lived experience of psychotherapy, eventually made the decision to retrain feel less like a career change per se and more like an inevitable progression. I left my chair in 2017 and haven't looked back.

I work with

• Individuals

Special Interests

Like all UKCP registered psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors I can work with a wide range of issues, but here are some areas in which I have a special interest or additional experience.

Types of Therapies Offered

• Integrative Psychotherapist

What I can help with

• ADHD
• Anxiety
• Autism
• Depression
• EMDR
• Online Counselling
• Post-Traumatic Stress
• Private Practice Issues
• Stress
• Supervision
• Trauma