STARTING THE PROCESS

You can reach out via email, text, WhatsApp, or phone. We’ll arrange a brief call at no charge—especially welcoming if you’re nervous about taking the leap into therapy. I can answer any questions you may have around therapy and any practicalities. Then, should you want to move forward, we will arrange a more in-depth consultation.

Most people are happy to move straight to a stand-alone consultation where we meet for approximately 1 hour which will give us a chance to get to know each other, and for me to understand what you are looking for and determine how I might be able to help. It will also be a chance for us to determine that all important "chemistry" necessary for a good therapeutic relationship. You will be assessing me as much as I am assessing you. 

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If you are unsure what you are looking for, this meeting could function as a one-off consultation to help guide you to find the right support. This could include referral to another specialist, psychiatric referrals, group therapy or more practical support. I might also refer you to a colleague should I/we feel it might be a better fit.

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I will then give you some time to digest the session and ask you to get in touch when you've decided whether or not you'd like to work together.

Therapy can be as short as 4 sessions, where the focus might be on a specific acute issue, or as long as a year or more where chronic or historic issues may need some space to work at a deeper level. I usually suggest 4 sessions in the first instance to get a feel for the work.

Therapists come from many different theoretical schools, which can be quite confusing when you are just looking for someone to talk to. It's worth looking up "therapy approaches" online to see which speaks to you. My core training was psychodynamic, which provides a foundation to my way of working, but I would now consider myself more of an integrative therapist, drawing on a variety of therapeutic approaches, depending on your needs. I’m particularly drawn to existential therapy, attachment work, group analysis, and Jungian psychology—together often called ‘depth’ approaches. These invite us to explore how present challenges connect to our pasts or parts of ourselves operating beyond conscious awareness.

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Psychodynamic psychotherapy

aims to increase awareness of your inner unconscious world and its influence over your relationships, moods, and behaviours in the present.

Existential therapy

places emphasis on the human condition, our fear of death and dying and our search for meaning. It is a positive approach that applauds human capacities and aspirations while simultaneously acknowledging human limitations.

An attachment approach

describes four attachment styles: Secure, Anxious/preoccupied, Dismissive/avoidant, and Fearful-avoidant which can be very useful lenses through which to work on issues of intimacy, sex, commitment and conflict.

My group analytic

trainings also place importance on the familial, cultural, social and political world in which we live and how we make sense of the human desire to both belong or fit in and to be an individual and unique. 

Jungian psychology

places emphasis on those shadowy aspects of us that might be unknown to us, but that contains a vital and creative part necessary for our lifelong process of becoming who we truly are. Bringing your dreams to therapy can sometimes be a useful way of exploring that part of you. Generally speaking, dynamic therapies aim for a more balanced understanding of the self through an assimilation of our conscious and unconscious parts.

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My view is that therapy can help most people - from work stress, anxiety, depression or relationship issues, those with diagnosed mental health conditions, to those who might be experiencing a loss of meaning in their lives or who are seeking a greater sense of fulfilment or creative potential. Research points to the relationship between the client and therapist being the main vehicle for change in successful therapy. I can offer a safe, collaborative and confidential space, free from judgement but challenging where necessary, to help you to understand yourself better and feel more comfortable in your skin.

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