About My Approach
How I Work With My Clients
Ultimately, therapy with me is about helping you find a sense of freedom. The focus is always on what feels right for you in that moment.
My Style of Working
Choosing to start therapy is a brave step, and I believe the most important part of that process isn’t a theory or a technique — it’s the quality of the therapeutic relationship.
In my practice, I don’t see myself as an “expert” who is there to tell you who you are or how to live. Instead, I see us as two people sitting down to make sense of your world. My aim is to offer a space where you can let your guard down, speak your mind, and be truly heard — so that, in time, you can begin to understand and experience yourself more clearly.
As your experience and understanding of yourself deepen, your ‘horizon of meaning’ may evolve – opening up new perspectives, choices, and ways of relating to yourself and others.
Our Initial Chat
What to Expect from Your Consultation
Talking About What Brings You Here
You can share a little about what is going on for you right now and what kind of support you are looking for, in as much or as little detail as feels comfortable.
Asking Anything on Your Mind
You are welcome to ask about my person-centred approach, how sessions work in practice, or practical details such as fees, scheduling, and whether online or in-person therapy suits you best.
Deciding If We Are A Good Fit
The most important part of therapy is feeling comfortable with your therapist. We will talk through whether we feel like a good match to work together, with no pressure or obligation to book a full session afterwards.
What I Do
What Sessions Feel Like
I’m a big believer in being real in the room. I’m not a blank, silent face staring back at you. I’m active, engaged, and down-to-earth. While we’ll often sit with and focus on the difficult thoughts and emotions, there’s also space for moments of lightness. Insight and growth can also sometimes come through moments of shared humour and greater recognition of joy.
Ultimately, therapy with me is about helping you find a sense of freedom. Whether that’s freedom from an old habit, freedom from self-criticism, or the freedom to be more fully yourself, we will work toward it at a pace that feels safe for you.
This involves compassionate and active listening and includes making observations about what and how you are telling me things. This can include tone of voice, or body movements and posture. We’re not always aware of all of these aspects of our communication. When our attention is occasionally and gently drawn to them, it can help open us up more fully to understanding our own experience.
At times I will supportively share how I am experiencing you. This can bring things into greater awareness and available to work with. Occasionally I may share information about myself where this seems to be in the therapeutic interest of you, the client. This can, for example, help address and ease your feelings about an aspect of yourself that is in fact a commonly shared feature of being human.
This is a mantra drawn from gestalt therapy (another humanistic kind of therapy), and refers to being attuned to the ways we relate to each other. Quite often these patterns emerge within the therapeutic relationship, and the therapeutic space makes it possible to bring these into greater awareness and bring the possibility of change.
I believe ourselves to be fundamentally social in the sense that we are shaped by narratives and stories we tell about ourselves and which are drawn from family and broader cultural narratives available to us. At times I may facilitate exploration and critical reflection upon these narratives with you. Restrictive narratives (where they are present) tend to emerge spontaneously within the conversation of therapy, rather than through a concerted or highly conscious search for them.
Somatic-informed practice invites you to gently notice bodily sensations alongside talking therapy. It recognises that the body can offer valuable information about stress, emotion, and patterns of response, and may include practices such as grounding, orienting, and breath awareness.
Sometimes we may still feel ‘stuck’, overwhelmed, anxious or depressed, despite having understanding of what’s going on. This is when somatic practices can be particularly helpful.
Sometimes we can be in different places in terms of what we think and how we feel. We might at times think positively about ourselves, yet feel awful about ourselves. Where needed I can help you to become more deeply aware of your emotions and to work with them. An emotion focussed approach is particularly helpful when you have good insight yet still feel stuck.
The Process
A Journey to Support Your Mental Health
While everyone’s journey is different and outcomes can’t be guaranteed, the outline below offers a sense of how therapy with me may unfold, shaped by what you bring and at a pace that is right for you.
01
Start with a Free Consultation
Reaching out for therapy can feel like a big step, so I offer a free, no-pressure 15-minute video or phone consultation. This is an opportunity for us to have an informal chat about your current needs, and for you to see if my approach feels like a good fit. It’s also a chance for you to ask any questions you might have and get a sense of what working together could be like.
02
Sessions
I ensure you have a truly safe and confidential space. We work together to explore your unique challenges. I offer a thoughtful, collaborative approach that prioritises understanding and connection. As our work deepens, many people find they gain insight, self-trust and a stronger capacity to navigate life’s difficulties.
03
Outcomes
My aim is to support you in developing a deeper sense of emotional strength. Our work focuses on change that feels sustainable because it grows out of understanding your experience and relationships more fully. Over time, many people find they feel more secure in themselves and more at ease in their connections with others.
Person-Centred Approach
Working with the Whole You
Life is messy and rarely fits into neat boxes, so I don’t use a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, I work in a way that’s led by you and your needs in the moment. Sometimes, that might mean creating a safe space for you to express what’s on your mind and feel truly heard. Other times, we might explore the patterns in your life and how you make sense of your experiences.
My background is rooted in “person-centred” therapy. In plain English, that means I trust your ability to find your own way forward. My job is to provide the steady, honest, and compassionate environment that makes that growth possible. I’m there to walk alongside you, helping you unpack the heavy things you’ve been carrying so they feel a little more manageable.
My approach is focused on creating a collaborative and reflective space. We might look at how your past experiences shape your current thoughts and behaviours, or focus on practical strategies to help you manage modern-day stresses.
