About Me

This service is only for clients aged 16 and over

Life as a psychotherapist began 18 years ago for me when I started a degree in Psychology. I then went on to study Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counselling and Integrative Psychotherapy. I trained in a core modality (Transactional Analysis) and also learnt other modalities that would be useful to my work, such as existential, person-centred, psychodynamic and gestalt therapies. Following this, I trained in High Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and, more recently, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Sometimes trying to establish what sort of therapy to embark on can be a daunting task. The following may be useful to enable you to decide if my learning and experience can be of benefit to you. Below are a few examples of the struggles people have come with, that they have either overcome thanks to our therapy or have learnt to cope with:

* Bereavement; sometimes this may have happened years ago but circumstances at the time or our belief about ourselves didn't allow us to grieve; we find we're not managing too well now but support networks are long gone
*Work-related and relationship-related issues; sometimes the stress of these can lead to unexpected and unusual health complaints, for example temporary reduction in limb mobility
* Panic attacks; they are scary and they may come out of the blue - maybe when we step outside or when we are in a crowd and believe we are being judged by everyone around us; we have been told there is nothing medically wrong with us
* Loss of some kind that can change a person's sense of identity; sometimes we think we know where we fit in the world and then something happens and we no longer feel as confident in our sense of who we are or how the world operates
* We feel like we've got to where we're supposed to be in life, which should be great but why does it feel as if something is missing? And why does every day start feeling like hard work?
* We may notice repeated patterns in life; for example, each time we begin a new relationship, we think 'it's going to be different this time' but it's not
* We may be aware that our brain seems to jump from one worry to another and when not worrying, we worry that we're not worrying; sometimes it can be our health that causes concern and the slightest twinge results in hours of internet research or yet another doctor's appointment
* We may have had an extremely stressful period in our lives, it's over but our body doesn't seem to realise it and we struggle breathing or our heart races when we're supposedly relaxing
* We can't seem to get over a traumatic event that happened to us in the past (recent or long ago); we may have nightmares or avoid situations that can trigger memories of the event; sometimes we can feel as if we're back in the moment and reliving it
* We may have been bitten by a dog; whenever we see a dog we freeze though logically we know the dog is friendly; now we walk home the long way around because the dog at no. 29 may be in the front garden; it's getting worse - the other day we froze when we saw a picture of a dog
* We believe crying is weak; a recent event is triggering confusing emotions for us and we notice our chest is becoming tight and we sometimes find it hard to breathe when we go to bed; everybody tells us how well we're coping but it doesn't feel like it
* We can't be bothered and want to stay in bed because we feel constantly tired. We don't know how to feel better and we're starting to think 'what's the point?'
* Flashbacks; these can feel very much as if a traumatic event is repeating itself. EMDR can be a useful therapy for such experiences.
* We just want to talk to someone in a confidential, non-judgemental setting

As you can imagine this is only a small example of issues that I can help you with. The underlying theme is that behaviour patterns, symptoms in our bodies or sudden overwhelming emotions are not making sense and we need a little help. Gaining awareness can be enough or sometimes people decide they want change for themselves.

On a practical note...I work in a room on the 1st floor, with no lift. There is ample parking to the side of the building and a waiting room with toilet facilities. Please scroll to the 'Fees' section below to see my fees; unfortunately, I have no facilties to accept credit cards. I have a full CRB check

Qualifications and Membership:
BA (Hons) French Language and Literature
BSc (Hons) Psychology
Diploma Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counselling
MSc Integrative Psychotherapy
Post-graduate Diploma High Intensity Psychological Therapies (CBT)
Basic Certificate EMDR (Parts 1-4)

Member of UKCP and accredited with UKCP as an Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counsellor
Member of EMDR Association UK and Ireland
Member of BACP

Current aims:
To become EMDR Consultant

Experience:
Learning is of little use without experience. Firstly, I know what it is like to undergo therapy myself as this was a fundamental part of my training course. I understand that turning up for that first session with a stranger is a courageous step to take. I also know how difficult and rewarding the subsequent sessions can be, whether you come for 2, 20 or longer. Secondly, as therapist, I have worked with adolescents for Action for Children and currently work with adults in Employee Assistance and Primary Care settings. Some of the work I have done has been with the aid of interpreters. I am comfortable with short- and long-term work.

I work with

• Individuals

Types of Therapies Offered

• Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counsellor