Philosophy

It can be daunting sometimes to pursue what you really feel will bring you well-being; to take a risk and override fear of the unknown – particularly if things in your past haven’t always gone to plan. It can be easy to lose faith in your abilities, and you may find it almost impossible to believe that life work out for the best.It might seem more sensible to stick in your present situation for the sake of stability or safety, even if it makes you unhappy.

Sometimes life rocks its own boat, with chance events resulting in change and opportunity. But most of the time it’s up to us to instigate the changes we want to make. That’s a tough call at the best of times, but particularly when your thoughts are clouded by emotion, or you feel totally stuck in a rut. It’s not always something you can do alone . . . which is where therapy comes in.

Approach

Therapy is not something that is done ‘to’ you: it is a shared collaborative experience between the therapist, who can provide an objective and empathic perspective, and the client, who holds expert status on their own experience. I have trained in a number of approaches which can be helpful for different people, particularly Psychodynamic and Family Systems approaches, as well as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This allows me to adapt the psychotherapy experience to meet your particular needs and emotional concerns. Rather than trying to match the client to a therapy, I would much rather match the psychotherapy to the client.

My skills lie in developing and tailoring the therapy—or combination of therapies—that work best for you. Whether I’m working with individuals or couples, I try to put my true self into the therapeutic relationship, sharing my own life experience and insights where appropriate. Ultimately though, this is your space to recognise and overcome the barriers that are preventing you from making the best of the opportunities available to you.

I tend to be more interactive, and our work together will likely entail other activities during therapy than just talking about your particular issue. These activities may include role-playing during the session, or exercises to try out at home or out in the real world. This allows you to apply some of the new skills you have been learning in therapy.

Motivation

I trained as a therapist later in life, after realising that I needed to do something with more meaning, to be my best self and support others to do so, too. That’s what drew me to psychology as a profession, and is what keeps me doing it today.

I cherish the opportunity to get to know my clients, to share in the intricacies of their lives and the experiences that they bring to each session. To me it’s both fascinating and exciting to witness someone begin to see the world from a different perspective, and then to start effecting real changes in their life.