Everyone. Absolutely everyone.

Whilst counselling is an extremely effective, and proven treatment for emotional difficulties and mental health challenges, you don’t have to be suffering or have hit rock bottom to come to counselling. Counselling is an investment in yourself, and a brilliant way to achieve personal growth, development and enrichment.

I work with people aged 18+ from all walks of life, background, heritage, sexuality or identity. I provide a welcoming, non judgemental and inclusive service so that all of my clients feel safe to bring their authentic selves to our sessions.

Some people come to counselling looking for support in coping with difficult feelings like anxiety or depression, or difficult relationships.

Other people come looking for help to overcome an immediate crisis in their life, or to work through past events that still affect them in a negative way.

Some people are seeking to understand themselves better or find a different perspective as they enter a new phase of life. 

People come to me for a variety of reasons, and often discover unexpected ways to make use of counselling once they have started.

I see people at an agreed time and day, once a week. Sessions last for 50 minutes, and the length of counselling is as unique as each individual is. Some people find that they only need a few sessions to help move forward around a specific issue, and others work in a more open-ended fashion giving us the space to explore at a pace that unfolds over time.

People often feel a great sense of relief after one session. Acknowledging and acting on your needs, especially a need for help, can be extremely impactful. 

Progress in counselling is unique, but often requires lots of new thinking and understanding. At times therapeutic work can be demanding and may bring up challenges that lead you to feel worse before you start to feel better. Feedback from you is therefore really important and we will review how you feel the work is going on a regular basis.

A counselling session costs £50 per session.

I offer a free initial consultation on the phone (20 minutes), and then a further assessment and consultation session (50 minutes) which is also £50.

Contact me! And that is the start of your counselling journey.

I will then be in touch to arrange the first, free, consultation phone call where we can think more about what you’d like to achieve through your counselling.

I have a limited number of counselling sessions available in the evenings (between 7pm and 9pm). 

I do not offer counselling sessions at the weekends. 

Absolutely. I don’t believe that effective counselling can happen if it is not bound by a commitment to confidentiality. 

However, there are certain legal and ethical exceptions to this confidentiality, as outlined in the BACP Ethical Framework, and detailed in my counselling agreements.

No. you are free to refer yourself. 

It can be useful for your GP to know that you are receiving counselling, but that is up to you to decide if you wish them to know. Counselling with me does not get entered onto any healthcare or medical records unless this is something you request via your GP.

I cannot prescribe medication, and would always encourage you to discuss any medication needs with your GP. 

I regularly work with people who have been prescribed with various medications and understand how medication and counselling can work together and be extremely effective. We would think about this further during our second consultation and assessment session.

You may be very concerned about someone’s wellbeing and would like to see them have counselling. But it really is best if the person in question can reach out for support themselves. I welcome enquiries from you on behalf of someone else, but you should have their full consent.

We explore, together, who you are today, how you got here, and where you want to go to. 

We think carefully about your feelings, behaviours, previous experiences and relationships, and we form new understandings and perspectives on these. 

We get curious together about how these experiences and relationships might have shaped you as a person, and how they might, unconsciously, be influencing your current experiences and relationships. 

We work with empathy, kindness and compassion. We hang judgements up at the door. We acknowledge and respect defences and boundaries. We recognise and name emotions, exploring your experience of them, in their multitude of shades. 

We create meaning, understanding and a sense of aliveness. We help to bring something to life in you, through connection.

Counselling won’t change your life, but I do believe that it will change you, and you will change your life.

Psychodynamic counselling does this by:

• Helping you to discover new aspects, understandings, and perspectives about your life

• Supporting you with difficult emotional experiences such as depression and anxiety

• Working through previous experiences and relationships and gaining new understanding about these

• Exploring how you relate to yourself and others

• Increasing your self-understanding and awareness

• Increasing your emotional literacy and resilience

As a counsellor, I will never advise or tell you what to do. That is not my job. My job is to help you find your own path, your own answers, and make your own choices.

Research on the effectiveness of dynamic therapies is still in its infancy, complex and nuanced. However, many researchers have attempted to answer the seemingly simple question often asked: does it work? (Roth & Fonagy: 2005, Cooper: 2008, Norcross: 2011, Walpold & Imel: 2015, Cozolino: 2016).

A key study by Jonathon Shedler (2010) who evaluated 8 meta-analyses demonstrating the efficacy of dynamic therapies concluded the following:

• Psychodynamic therapies were as effective or more effective that CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy);

• Psychodynamic therapies resulted in an improvement maintained after the therapy ended; and

• The therapeutic relationship is vital.

Shedler’s research went further: he posited that incorporating psychodynamic techniques bolstered the effectiveness of other therapies.