About counselling

For most of us, there comes a time  in  our lives when we have an emotional or behavioural problem that we can't resolve without professional help. At times like this, talking to a counsellor or psychotherapist who is  impartial, understanding and caring, can help change the way things are going. 

The relationship between you and  your counsellor or psychotherapist is a major factor in the success of therapy. In order to achieve a successful relationship you  need to feel safe and comfortable; you need to  feel  listened to, understood, and not judged; you need to know  that your feelings are genuinely shared, and that all you say is held in the strictest confidence. You also need to feel confident in the ability of your therapist to help you.

The therapy process also relies on you being committed, actively involved, and ready to make the changes necessary to get what you want, or where you want to be - changes that may not be easy, and may even feel a bit scary.  

How I work
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I am an ‘integrative’ psychotherapist, which means I believe that a single therapy approach will not help you with all issues that arise for you, and that there are many different therapeutic ways for problems to be explored and worked on. Consequently, I draw techniques and ideas from different ‘schools’ of therapy, depending on the needs of the people I see.

At the heart of my work is helping you see that your emotions aren't a problem, but your defences against them are. As long as you avoid the healthy expression of your emotions, you will feel anxious and employ cognitive and behavioural defences that will create problems for you. Our therapeutic task is to help you see and let go of these defences. 

If you would like to arrange an initial  assessment appointment (charged at half my usual session rate), please contact me by email, contact form, or mobile.