Therapy can offer so much when we need it the most: warmth, empathy, compassion, guidance, support, even wisdom.
Most importantly, it is relational. It is about the real connection we build, so that you can have better relationships with yourself and the people in your life.
Welcome!
My therapeutic style is grounded in person-centred principles, which means I value empathy, authenticity and unconditional acceptance enormously.
I will aim to build a strong, trusting relationship with you so we can truly work together, drawing on both my knowledge and your potential and insight into your own inner world. While my personal experience tells me that being in such a therapeutic relationship is affirmative and feels great, scientific evidence also shows that it is transformative.
I believe that we all have the power within us not just to cope with difficulties but to thrive. Therapy is about discovering this power through a shared exploration of any issues you want to bring.
Finding the right therapist for you
It’s important to work with a therapist who you feel is a good fit.Therapy is an enormously rewarding but challenging journey and you’ll want to have someone you can trust accompanying and supporting you. To find out if we could work well together, I offer a brief initial video chat at no cost and we can discuss whether to make an appointment. If we agree that therapy with me is not the best option for you, I will do my best to direct you to alternative sources of help, and to recommend another therapist if you wish.
What does a session look like?
A therapy session with me lasts 50 minutes and one session per week is a good place to start. Sometimes as the work progresses we can move to fortnightly sessions or monthly check-ins, depending on individual circumstances and needs, but regularity can make a big difference, especially at the start. You can book one session at a time or sign up a block of four sessions per months; details are available here.
In your first session I’ll ask you what’s brought you here and we will work from there. I will listen really carefully to whatever you have to say and try to put myself in your shoes and understand what it’s like to be you. I won’t set an agenda for us but work collaboratively with you. You may have heard the expression ‘safe space’: for me, it means somewhere I can be myself without fear of being judged or rejected, including the parts of me that I don’t like, that feel icky, that I’m ashamed of. That’s what I will aim to create for you. Carl Rogers said it best when he wrote,
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”
Because therapy is so personal, I will also check with you from time to time if you feel we are doing things the right way for you. Not everyone needs exactly the same thing so we’ll need to work out what you need.
What will change?
Since every therapy journey is unique, we can’t know for sure what will happen for you, but we can certainly think about what may happen. For example, you may start to feel more compassion towards yourself. You may realise that the past’s hold on you has loosened and past experiences no longer define you. You may find yourself accepting some parts of you despite not liking them, and changing others. You may notice a shift in your relationships with the people around you. You may become more attuned to your own thoughts and feelings and to others’, discover new meanings, or find new goals. You may have a clearer idea of what’s important to you, and make changes to create a life that serves you better.
If you would like to know more, scroll down for frequently asked questions, send me an email, or click here to book a consultation.
A bit about me
I started my practice in 2020, and have worked with several mental health charities, a university counselling service, and The Priory Hospital in Glasgow. My clients and I have addressed a wide range of difficulties including, but not limited to, problems with family and romantic relationships, stress, bereavement, sexual issues, anxiety, depression, trauma and dissociation. I have also worked as a consultant and trainer at various organisations, delivering workshops and nurturing and developing the next generation of therapists. I have a special interest in mindfulness, yoga, and other practices that have been scientifically proven to enhance wellbeing. I love learning and I’m constantly looking for new areas to explore and opportunities for personal and professional growth. You can read more about me here.
Supervision
I’m a qualified supervisor and offer one-to-one clinical supervision for counsellors, psychotherapists, and anyone working therapeutically in an adjacent profession.
My supervision work is aligned with person-centred principles and informed by my counselling and training experience and, more broadly, by my previous pursuits in the Arts and Humanities as well as my yoga practice and teaching.
Please feel free to reach out to book an initial consultation and/or ask any questions you might have about working with me.
FAQs
What’s the difference between therapy, counselling and psychotherapy?
In brief, not much! When I say ‘therapy’ I mean psychotherapy, although there are, of course, other types of therapy, not all of which involve talking. I also tend to use the words ‘counselling’, ‘therapy’ and ‘psychotherapy’ interchangeably. Sometimes counselling is thought of as short-term and psychotherapy as long-term, or counselling as solution-focused and psychotherapy as ‘digging deeper.’ In some countries you need a higher-level qualification to call yourself a psychotherapist (though not in the UK). But it is difficult to draw these lines in practice, or to pinpoint any real difference in attitudes, goals and techniques between counsellors and psychotherapists.
Who is therapy for?
Therapy has the potential to help anyone struggling with difficult emotions, thoughts and behaviours. You may have a medical diagnosis, such as depression or anxiety. Or you may have noticed patterns in your life that you would like to change, such as romantic relationships ending badly, or strong and persistent self-critical thoughts. It may be that, even though you are normally happy and healthy, a recent experience such as a bereavement, job loss or trauma has left you struggling to return to your ‘normal’ self. In other words, there is a wide range of circumstances in which therapy can be beneficial – even life-saving.
How long does therapy last?
Ideally as long as you need it to. It’s difficult to answer that question because we all come to counselling with different problems and goals. It is possible to benefit from one session, although single-session therapy requires a specific approach and is not the same as presenting for counselling and dropping out after one session. My own therapy lasted just over a year and ended naturally. Organisations often offer time-limited therapy usually lasting between four and 12 sessions.
It’s wonderful when you can stay in therapy as long as you need to (for you and me both). It’s important to note, however, that circumstances are rarely ideal. Cost may be an issue for you, or life changes might cut your therapy short. The best thing we can do is communicate openly about your evolving needs as well as any barriers you might be facing.
What kinds of therapy are there?
There are many different kinds of therapy (these are called modalities), but they can be divided into three categories. Psychodynamic therapy focuses on unconscious processes and the link between early experiences and our present thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is based on identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts and behaviours so our feelings can change. It is quite structured and relies on tools and exercises you can do in between sessions. The aim of person-centred therapy is to create a safe space where we can access our inner resources. In other words, it’s about developing a strong relationship – a therapeutic alliance – with another (trained) person so we can hear and understand ourselves better, see the world more clearly, and accept ourselves as we are so that we can change.
What is your approach?
I’m a person-centred therapist, but I take a pluralistic approach: I believe that different people may benefit from different types of therapy at different points in their lives. This means three things in practice: 1., That I try to be as flexible in my work as I can, prioritising your needs. So if you tell me that you would like to do an exercise to help you confront one of your fears, I will do my best to accommodate your request. 2. I aim to be open and honest about what I can and cannot offer you. So if you have specific needs that I feel I cannot meet, I may suggest that you turn to a professional working in a different modality. 3. I will invite you to reflect on and express what is and isn’t working for you so that we can make changes if required, and make sure you’re getting what you need from your therapy.
As Irvin Yalom wrote in The Gift of Therapy, “The therapist must strive to create a new therapy for each patient.” I do think that’s the best way.