My approach
Understanding what is going on for you at the moment
Whatever brings you here, I welcome you.
People seek therapy for many reasons at different points in their life. It can be specific events, issues in our relationships to others or ourselves, it can be dealing with the unexpected and the unknown.
You do not need to go through these times on your own.
I work with your needs in mind - therapy is open-ended, which means that you choose whether you would like to work together for a few sessions or longer-term.
Your process, collaboratively
I work with clients from the person-centred model. Your process means how you relate to and express your feelings, thoughts and experiences.
This means I see you as the expert on yourself. You have your own wishes, goals, preferences, desires and our work will be grounded in who you are as a person.
My role is to offer a safe and professional relationship in which you feel heard and accepted for who you are. In a space that offers you empathic understanding, you are well supported in continuing your healing and growth process.
I have worked with people who have come to therapy to explore their experiences of sexuality, depression, anxiety, bereavement, disability, stress, eating disorders, diversity, homelessness, substance and alcohol misuse, trauma, suicidality, intersectionality, family and relationship difficulties, self-esteem, managing anger, neurodiversity, self-harm, cultural and identity issues.
Our work will be highly individual. It will be based on the themes you want to bring in therapy, your pace of sharing in session, forming a connection and exploring your thoughts, feelings and experiences.
Relational and experiential aspects of work
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change”
- Carl Rogers
Working relationally is key to my approach.
This means the therapeutic relationship is a mirror ground for exploration - where we notice, look into and change patterns of how we relate to others and ourselves. Relational work is often focused on the here and now and at the heart of it are your individual experiences coming from your specific cultural and social context.
The person-centred approach fits well here because it invites us to see what it feels like to show ourselves empathy and accept the different parts of ourselves. Or if we struggle to do so, what stands in our way?
We could also look at the power dynamics within the therapeutic relationship and what that means to you. Working with the relational in mind, you would build new skills including communication, choosing and maintaining boundaries and connecting to feelings of compassion for yourself and others.
I also work experientially which offers a deeper exploration and processing of your emotions in the present with awareness of where you may experience them in your body and connecting with yourself. A lot of it involves what is going on for you right now and how you feel about it - is your tendency to judge yourself or to seek respite and escape from your feelings? How would you like to approach your emotions and experiences instead?