Psycotherapy can be invaluable in a crisis and can enable us to greatly enhance our relationships [both with ourselves and others], our work and our experience of life. It can give us the opportunity to look at our lives, at what works and doesn’t work for us and consider changes we might like to make.

As young people we learn patterns of behaviour to deal with our circumstances. In adulthood, these patterns may no longer be working for us and we can feel stuck. Therapy can help us to identify these patterns and find new ways of responding [both to others and to our relationship to ourselves].

As an Integrative Psychotherapist I have been trained in, and have experience of offering a range of therapies which I can tailor to your individual needs and circumstances. Therapy may involve working on a clearly defined problem area and may be time-limited. Alternatively, it may be more helpful to work in an open-ended contract in which you can explore your issues further.
In open ended psychotherapy there is space to consider the dark aspects of our beings as much as those in the light. This can involve a process of trusting the wisdom of the psyche as revealed in symbolic and imaginal process. I value the place of imagination in the therapeutic process as it allows space for trusting images to unfold in their own rhythm rather than manipulating them. This process can allow a move away from the rational mind in order to access our own inner source of healing and wisdom and can be very useful when working with internal conflict.

My therapeutic approach draws on a range of theories including psychodynamic therapy, integrative psychosynthesis, Jungian, existential, developmental, CBT and systemic psychotherapy. I believe that therapy is not a one size fits all and during our initial sessions we can decide together which approach may be helpful for you. I work holistically, which means taking into consideration all aspects of the person’s life. In therapy this means being mindful of not only the emotional and psychological aspects but also the physiological and the wider social world, our relationships, history, culture and spirituality.

I have been working as a therapist since 2006 and have worked in a variety of contexts throughout the NHS, Local Authority [children and family services and youth offending services] and the voluntary sector [particularly around grief, loss, trauma and transition]. In addition to my private practise I also currently work for Local Authority services as a psychotherapist and provide training to professional staff around therapeutic approaches to engaging and working with their clients.