How do I work?

I am a fully qualified integrative counsellor and psychotherapist which means that my support is flexible, holistic and personalised to you. I believe in being accepting, compassionate, gentle, open-minded, honest, hopeful, and non-judgemental. Primarily, I draw on person-centred, psychodynamic and relational approaches:

• Person-centred therapy is a humanistic approach that focuses on you rather than the counsellor being the expert on yourself, and it aims to help you address issues and reach your full potential. In the sessions, I help you achieve this by listening to you, valuing you, being honest and transparent with you and offering you unconditional positive regard (read more).
• Psychodynamic therapy aims to bring the unconscious into consciousness. Influenced by the work of Freud, Klein, Winnicott and others, it focuses on unconscious processes and how they manifest in the client’s present behaviour. I encourage the client to develop self-awareness and a greater understanding of the influence of childhood development and the past on present behaviour. In its brief form, a psychodynamic approach helps you examine unresolved conflicts, emotional blind spots, symptoms and defences (such as denial and projection) that arise from past dysfunctional relationships or traumatic experiences and that often manifest themselves in unhelpful behaviours or the need and desire to use substances (read more).
• Relational therapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on the counsellor-client relationship to work through emotional and relationship difficulties. It is the idea that mutually satisfying, authentic relationships with others are necessary for one’s emotional well-being. This type of psychotherapy considers how social and familial factors relate to the relationships in a person’s life. In this way, I can help you learn new, healthier, more fulfilling ways of relating and being (read more).

If appropriate for you, I might also bring in elements of other approaches:

• Jungian therapy utilises a holistic approach with spiritual elements to cultivate wellness in the entire personality. Treatment is unique to the individual being treated. It aims to have the client explore and integrate the deeper, sometimes darker (shadow work) elements of their mind to find their authentic self (what Jung called ‘individuation’) rather than who they present to the world (‘persona’). This can involve creative approaches such as art, dream or narrative analysis and interpretation (read more).
• Buddhism-informed therapy is a type of psychotherapy that combines Buddhist teachings with traditional counseling methods. It's based on the idea that people are inherently good and have the ability to heal themselves. Buddhist-informed therapy often includes mindfulness and meditation practices to help clients develop effective listening, self-awareness, be more present, explore inner experiences and cultivate compassion, acceptance and non-judgment. I have published several articles on this topic (see here).
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) aims to help you change the way you think (cognitive) and what you do (behaviour). CBT is a solution-based therapy that focuses on current problems and practical solutions, rather than past causes, to help you feel better now. This might involve me helping you identify and challenge negative thinking or avoidance strategies so that you think and behave more positively (read more).