Who and How I Can Help

General Psychotherapy & Counselling

Sometimes life throws us curveballs and issues come up whether they be past or present or anxiety about the future.

Sometimes it is about us as individuals or connected to our partners, family, friends, colleagues and the wider community and society generally.

Psychotherapy and Counselling can help you explore these issues and have a better understanding of yourself and others in order to lead a more fulfilling life.

Some problems are within our control internally and externally, whilst others are not and are affected by our own thoughts, feelings and behaviour or that of other people. You might be looking for either short term or long-term therapy and this is something that can be discussed in our consultation session.

In addition to the sessions, I am able to recommend things to read, watch and listen to in order to support the therapeutic work between sessions.

I can offer general psychotherapy and counselling as well as something more specialised, particularly Psychosexual and Relationship therapy, and you can read about these specialisms throughout the website.

If you would like to book a session with me, please feel free to reach out and start your journey to a better life.

Individual Therapy

Individual psychotherapy is working together on a one-to-one basis to improve your wellbeing and work through any presenting issues together.

The first session will establish why you have come to therapy and what you are hoping to get from it.

It is also a great opportunity to decide if I would be the right therapist for you and there is no obligation to return, but if you feel you would like to work with me, then we can book in some further sessions.

No matter how big or small your issue is, together we can work through it.

Sessions are 50 minutes and will initially also involve some information gathering, history taking and assessment.

Further information can be found in other sections of the website and please feel free to contact me to arrange your first appointment.

Couples/Partnerships/Other Relationship Structures Therapy

Whatever your relationship status, sexuality, gender and structure dynamic, this is the opportunity for you and the other person/people in your life to work on any physical, mental, emotional or behavioural issues that come up for you individually and in the context of your relationship(s).

I am able to offer you the opportunity to have sessions where you are seen together and seen individually to get a wider perspective of the presenting issues.

I ensure that everyone is treated equally, I don’t take sides nor keep secrets from the other person/people and everybody has the chance to speak and be heard in the session.

There may be times when the focus will be on one person more than the other, but this will be managed to ensure future sessions provide a balance.

This type of therapy gives you the safe space to work through any concerns, conflict or differences of opinion and to navigate any difficulties that arise within the relationship dynamics or give space for proposals to try a new and different type of relationship dynamic.

Single session/ad hoc therapy

This can be a one-off session to see how you find therapy if it is your first time and to ensure that I am the right therapist for you.

Alternatively, sometimes there is a pressing and immediate issue that just needs airing out and can be looked at in one session.

After some short-term or long-term therapy, people may wish to return for a top up session(s) to review what has happened since ending therapy and/or to maintain the therapeutic work done.

Some people come back to therapy for ad hoc sessions as a preventative measure to avoid returning to old habits and patterns to keep up the momentum.

There is flexibility with these sessions; please contact me to arrange one.

Family/Systemic Therapy

Family Systemic therapy enables individuals to resolve problems within their family context where some of their problems may have actually begun.

The process involves each family member understanding themselves and how their personalities, emotions and behaviours have had an effect on the whole family dynamic.

It looks at how everyone may be affected but in different ways depending on the situation and circumstances. Its purpose is to try to understand the impact and effects the dynamics have had on the individuals involved.

Problems may be physical, sexual, mental, emotional, financial, cultural, communication, conflict, etc. in nature.

Each family member has the opportunity to express their own experiences and explore their individual role within the family and work towards rebuilding healthy relationships.

Please note that I have had experience of working with pairs e.g., mother/daughter, father/daughter, mother/son, father/son, brother/sister, so can currently offer this smaller scale service due to my training as a relationship therapist.

I am hoping to train further in the future to be able to offer specialised family/systemic therapy.

Group Therapy

Group therapy is a form of therapy which involves one or more therapists working with a group of several people at the same time. It can be in a variety of venues and locations and participants can meet once or twice weekly or over longer periods.

The purpose and the topic of the groups can be generic or specific depending on the needs of the attendees.

Some areas groups may focus on are:

- Identifying and changing thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
- Personal relationships and social interactions.
- Personal development of skills, knowledge and understanding.
- Psychoeducational groups to educate on disorders and/or addictions and ways to cope with them.

Support groups to meet with like-minded people who may be going through similar life experiences.

Group therapy will offer time for receiving information, discussions, ability to ask questions, tasks and exercises and the understanding of group dynamics e.g., forming, norming, storming.

Some groups have a core group of members, whilst others encourage people to join open sessions at any time.

I am not currently offering group therapy but happy to refer you on to other suitable therapists.

Trauma Therapy

Trauma is a distressing experience past or present that can cause an emotional response.

Trauma cab be sudden or unpredictable and often beyond the person’s control.

Some traumas can involve a serious threat to life and create catastrophe as the person may feel a reoccurrence may happen.

Trauma responses and reactions can be instant but also delayed and manifest later on in life.

Some of the most common traumas are: death and loss, physical violence, sexual assault, abuse, crimes, bullying, accidents, injury, domestic violence, military combat and natural disasters.

Whilst I currently work with people who have been through traumatic experiences and have the knowledge and understanding in certain areas.

I am hoping to train more fully to be able to offer specialised trauma therapy.