My Approach

I am experienced and easy to talk to, and work with empathy and acceptance of difference, individuality, and the difficulties we face in being human. This is my foundation as a psychotherapist.
My approach is relational and humanistic, which means I am open and authentic in my communication. I share my knowledge of the human condition with clients, how I understand their struggles, and our therapeutic work. I see counselling and psychotherapy as a process of increasing self-awareness, self-management and personal growth, through the establishment of a safe therapeutic relationship in which difficulties can be explored.
My training is integrative, which means that I draw on different psychotherapeutic approaches rather than a single one. I see the past as alive in the present, organising our responses, sometimes causing restriction and difficulty. My focus is on appreciating each person’s emotional landscape, coping mechanisms, and survival structures, and understanding aspects that may no longer be useful. The aim is to expand the sense of self and what feels possible in life.
The Body and Working with the Imagination
I have a physiological understanding of emotion and feeling, particularly anxiety. I offer clients the opportunity to become more aware of how emotions are experienced in the body, and familiar with techniques to manage difficult feelings. Working with physiological responses can also help in working through and healing from traumatic experience.
I am alert to creative processes and the imagination. Memories and feelings can be explored through images as well as words, using pictures, photographs, and objects, or simply by paying attention to the casual metaphors we chose to convey meaning. This can be an effective and surprising form of discovery, and is available to everyone.
Social Context
I am thoughtful about cultural identities and meanings, and work with awareness and sensitivity to the impact of difference and discrimination. Our social identities influence our sense of safety and acceptance in the world, particularly if we belong to a minority culture that is not understood or welcomed by main-stream society, causing low self-esteem and lack of confidence. Counselling and psychotherapy can help with these toxic feelings.

About Me

I am white, English, with a European background, and have lived in London all my life. I love the diversity of London, the wealth of cultures, and flow of ideas.
I have a creative background in visual art, writing and performing. I am a freelance therapist for Bapam (British Association for Performing Arts Medicine), a charity providing short-term counselling to performers and musicians.
I worked in advocacy services for many years’ and have extensive experience of mental health difficulties and mental health services. During my training as a psychotherapist I worked for NHS England as an independent expert in psychiatric environments, advising mental health practitioners on how to work appropriately with people with learning disabilities and those on the autism spectrum who were being held under the Mental Health Act.

I work with

• Individuals
• Private healthcare referrals

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