My approach
I am a Humanistic counsellor and I offer a warm, inclusive and non-judgemental space in which to explore your life in a way that suits you, safely and confidentially. I work relationally, which means that I will pay attention to how you and I are interacting together - our relationship - as part of the therapy.
Humanistic therapy focuses on self-development and growth and is a holistic approach: we will think about the whole of your life experience including your thoughts, feelings and past experiences. I believe in clients' abilities to grow, and your ability to recognise your strengths, creativity and choice. My training comprised of Person Centred, Transactional Analysis and Gestalt Counselling, and I draw on these and other approaches in the work that I do. You can read more about the Humanistic approach here, and more about counselling in general here.
Primarily though, my focus is on the relationship between you as a client and me as a therapist, as I believe that this is the greatest facilitator for change.
I am interested in the principles of mindfulness and sometimes integrate this into my counselling practice if this is something that clients might be interested in.
What will happen on our first session?
We can think of our first face to face session together as an informal assessment for both you and me - to work out if we are a right fit to work together, what our focus might be, as well as for how long we would be working together.
I would ask some questions about what you are hoping for from Counselling and what has brought you to this point.
All sessions last 50 minutes, including this first meeting. I offer the introductory session at a reduced rate - have a look on my fees page for more information.
Contact me by phone, email or on the online webform and we can work out a time that suits you to come and meet for the first session.
Who do I work with?
I work with people aged 18+.
I work with individuals. If you are looking for couples or family therapy, I can signpost you to a more appropriate service.
I work with a wide range of areas, issues and problems. I would be very happy to discuss with you at our initial session what you would like to focus on, whether this is a specific concern or a wider problem for you.