My Approach

Integrative Relational Psychotherapy

About Me

Clinical Qualifications, Interests, and Experience:

I am an Integrative Psychotherapist and trained at the Metanoia Institute in London. I have three main clinical qualifications: a Clinical Diploma in Integrative Psychodynamic Counselling, a Clinical Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy, and an MSc (with Distinction) in Integrative Psychotherapy (Metanoia Institute/Middlesex University).

My particular areas of clinical interest include anxiety, depression and low mood, culture, sexuality, particularly and gay and bisexual men’s health, and developmental and relational trauma. I am especially interested in working with clients with an HIV diagnosis and have experience working in this field (both long term diagnosed and newly diagnosed). I have experience working with clients from a variety of diverse backgrounds and experiences.

How I work:

I have a small clinical practice in Nottingham. I work either face-to-face or online (Zoom) with adults (18+). The heart of my therapeutic approach is relational and appreciates our uniqueness as individuals and on your developing sense of ‘psychological integration’ in the cultural world. This means that I would invite you to consider ways in which you might experience a deeper sense of wholeness, connection, and comfort within yourself in relationship to others and the cultural world around you. I consider each therapy relationship to be different, and so I draw on a wide variety of theoretical approaches to help us reflect on how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviour may interact, converge, or diverge. For example, I appreciate the importance of the mind (thoughts), body (physiological experience), socio-political culture and oppression, how we make meaning in our life existentially, our ‘spiritual’ and creative selves, and how all these aspects can impact us in our everyday lives.

We all take in messages of some sort from the world and we will have our own way of reacting to these. These messages might be explicit and direct or implicit, say through body language, and might come from our parents, peers, siblings, larger family, from society as a whole, the media, or from our culture, race, and religion. Sometimes the messages we take in are supportive and helpful, but other times they may not support our needs and identity and this might create difficult feelings and a sense of unease and conflict.

I have experience of long, mid-term, and shorter-term work, though I most typically work medium to long-term (6 months +). I'm open to working creatively, and consider the potential role of metaphor, symbolism, the arts (especially music as a listener or as a musician), and the language and sensation of the body in addition to an explicit verbal narrative. As a focus of our work would be to support your personal empowerment, I cannot 'tell you' what to do. However, I will offer suggestions and feedback that we can evaluate together. My general interactional style is actively involved and I work collaboratively and relationally. To me, 'relationally' means that I value the process of the therapy relationship we create together which may be useful to use when exploring insights into your life.

In addition to my clinical work and qualifications, I am a qualified Higher Education Lecturer and also work as one of the core Assistant Professor/Senior Teaching Fellows on the MSc in Psychotherapy and Counselling degree at the University of Warwick. I have a Postgraduate Cert. in Higher Education, and am an Academic Psychologist by PhD (Chartered Academic Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society)*. I have experienced both psychodynamic counselling and integrative psychotherapy myself for over 10 years and can therefore appreciate the therapy process from a client position.

‘This member has completed UKCP Covid-19 Online Working Guidance’

*Please note that although I regularly use skills gained from my academic training to enhance my clinical practice, my PhD in Psychology is an academic Doctorate, and not a clinical one.

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

• Abuse
• Addiction
• AIDS/HIV
• Anger Management
• Anxiety
• Cancer
• Chronic Illness
• Cultural Issues
• Depression
• Domestic Violence
• Employment Difficulties
• Gender
• Health-related Issues
• Identity Problems
• Mental Health Issues
• Post-Traumatic Stress
• Relationships
• Sexuality
• Stress
• Training
• Trauma