My approach to counselling

I offer a safe, confidential, supportive space for you to talk freely about whatever difficulties you are experiencing.  I aim to build a relationship in which you feel heard, understood and accepted and will listen without judgement to whatever you choose to explore and encourage you to develop a compassionate curiosity towards yourself.  You will guide the direction of our work together; I will support you in this journey of self-discovery.  Together we can explore your unique experience, the thoughts and feelings driving your behaviour so that you can build the self-awareness that will allow you to identify what needs to change in your life.

I use a person centred approach which I adapt to meet your unique needs by drawing on various counselling theories to help you understand yourself, overcome your challenges, and find your way to a more authentic and satisfying life. 

How many sessions

Every counselling journey is unique; I will adapt my approach to meet your needs. You may want a few sessions to help manage a specific issue or to spend longer exploring and making sense of your experience, it’s up to you how long you would like to work together.  We will review our work together regularly to ensure that we continue to meet your needs. 

Areas I work with

I have experience of supporting adults who are experiencing a range of issues including

Anxiety

I work with anxious clients to help them break the cycle between the arousal in their body and the anxious thoughts in their mind by focussing on the present moment and tolerating the discomfort in their body using breathing and grounding techniques. Having calmed their nervous system we can explore the environmental triggers that cause them to become anxious and identify and challenge the beliefs that might be contributing to their anxiety. This article explains how counselling can help with anxiety.   

Bereavement and loss

I give bereaved clients the space to talk about their loss allowing them to explore and make sense of their emotions.  We talk about whoever they have lost, their relationship with them, the grief process and how best to cope with the impact of this loss.  This article explains a bit more about how counselling can help with grief.  

ADHD and autism

I provide a non-judgemental space for those struggling with ADHD or autism to understand how the difference in the way their brain processes information impacts on their sensitivity to their environment, thinking patterns, social relationships, ability to focus, and emotional regulation.  We explore how struggling to cope in a neurotypical dominated world has impacted on their beliefs about themselves and help to develop the self-compassion to counteract this self-critical mindset.  I help these clients to develop a life in which they can be authentic, capitalising on their strengths and managing their limitations. 

Low self-esteem

I help those who struggle with deep seated negative beliefs about themselves to understand how these beliefs impact on their behaviour leading to outcomes that reinforce their negative evaluation of themselves and how giving themselves the opportunity to have experiences that are inconsistent with these beliefs can help to change them.  By behaving differently and challenging their negative view of themselves these clients can develop a more balanced view of themselves with realistic expectations of what they can achieve.

Addictive behaviour

I provide a non-judgemental space for those struggling with addictive behaviours.  Helping them to  understanding that these behaviours are protective strategies providing temporary relief from emotional pain allows them to develop a more compassionate view of themselves.  Together we can explore the pain underlying this behaviour and then work on increasing their awareness of the  triggers and the process driving their behaviour allowing them to overcome the urge to use these behaviours to soothe their pain.

I also have experience of supporting adults experiencing a range of other issues including relationship struggles, co-dependency, people pleasing, stressful work situations, perfectionism, procrastination, low mood, depression, OCD and trauma