About Therapy
The aim of therapy is not to have someone provide the solutions to your problems. Instead of someone else making decisions for you, you learn to become more empowered, take ownership of your life, gain clarity about what is best for you, and then start to make intentional, positive changes to create the life you want.
I will actively listen and offer you my time, skills, compassion and understanding to talk about your particular issues, with the aim of reducing negative feelings and confusion and increase your ability to cope with challenges. In the sessions you explore your own experiences, and so you need to be open to self-exploration and to identifying what factors in your personal history and current life are maintaining and/or are causing your current issues.
It is important that the therapeutic relationship is one of trust and respect. I will be impartial and non-judgemental, providing a safe and confidential environment for you to explore and make sense of who you are, your life and your experiences. My role is to support you to explore your thought and behaviour patterns, and this may involve me challenging your beliefs and thought processes in order to help you see things from different perspectives.
Helping one person might not change the whole world, but it could change the world for one person
How I Work
There are many ways of working, or 'modalities', in therapy. I work in an integrative way, which as the name suggests is a combined approach that brings together different elements of specific therapies. Integrative therapy takes the view that there is no single approach that can treat every client in all situations. Rather, each person deserves to be considered as an individual with a unique set of problems, and techniques need to be tailored to your personal needs and circumstances. I therefore offer a bespoke, safe space that allows you to take responsibility for your life, your growth and your transformation. I work in a trauma-informed way with clients who have experienced trauma in their lives.
The different styles I incorporate are:
Person Centred - An approach that aims to understand your experience from your unique perspective, focusing on developing a sense of personal power, identifying how you want to live your life and working towards achieving your goals.
Psychodynamic - An approach that helps to unravel and understand your deep-rooted feelings in order to resolve them by looking at past experiences and relationships and how they influence you in the present.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) - An approach that looks at your thought, feeling and behaviour patterns, working together in sessions to change some of these to manage your problems.
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) - An approach that helps with shame and self-criticism, which can often be behind issues like anxiety and depression. CFT helps cultivate self-compassion and compassion for others, to help regulate mood and foster self-acceptance.
