How I work

Originally trained in the person-centred approach this remains at the heart of my practice and I believe we are all our own experts. As a result of my experience and further training I now work eclectically, drawing on different theoretical models, sharing information and bringing in tools if or when we decide together this may be helpful.

I place great sense of importance on the client/counsellor relationship and work at a relational level to create that deep felt understanding between us and psychological connection. For change to happen we need to build trust within the therapeutic relationship, to feel safe enough to speak openly and honestly without fear of judgement, to feel heard and understood. I will be myself and encourage you to be yourself, to bring all parts of self, even the ones at times you may want to hide. I will ask ‘what happened’ not ‘whats wrong’. I will see you the person.

In my practice I integrate polyvagal theory using a polyvagal lens, this can help to provide a framework to help us understand how any traumatic events may have become stuck in our nervous system which can lead to a persistent state of anxiety, anger, defense or shutdown even after the threat has passed.

This can help us to start seeing our responses as a survival strategy, our brains way of trying to keep us safe, helping us to befriend our nervous system instead of negatively judging ourselves further reinforcing feelings of shame or not being good enough.

When we start to do this we can start to regulate our nervous system, helping us to create a sense of safety, to feel safe enough in our bodies to reconnect with ourselves. We move away from a state of anxiety or shutdown and start to experience life from a place of calm connectedness and not from a place of fear and threat.

When we work together I offer compassion and kindness, empathy not sympathy and throughout the counselling process you will naturally build resilience, nurture and pull on the strengths you already have that have helped you to get where you are today.

Who I work with

I work with adults aged 18 years and older who seek out counselling for a variety of different reasons. I have worked alongside people to support nervous system regulation, manage anxiety, build self-compassion, improve low mood, start to see self in a positive way as well as navigating the way to accept all parts of self, even the parts that we don’t like.

I am experienced in working with people who have been impacted by domestic abuse and/or sexual violence and have a special interest in how trauma impacts the body, for example the co-occurring of chronic long term health conditions such as PTSD, CFS/ME, FND, Fibromyalgia, IBS, Ulcerative Colitis and other auto immune conditions and working alongside others to process the trauma in order to reduce the impact of this on the body and how we think and feel about ourselves.

Experienced in working alongside parents and carers whose children may have SEN or have been through difficult and/or traumatic experiences and as a result of this they may be finding daily life hard to navigate with seemingly unexplained strong reactions to things that leave us feeling confused, they may struggle with daily tasks, brushing their teeth or getting a shower without becoming overwhelmed or appearing like they have zoned out. I have extensive experience in working alongside adults who identify with and or have ben diagnosed with neurodivergence.

We work together to see beyond the behaviour which may show up, maybe angrily shouting at us or refusing to do as asked, maybe sensitivities around clothes or certain food textures, struggling to sit still, fidgeting or appearing spaced out appearing to not be listening, using the polyvagal lens we can start to see our children are doing their best, none of their actions are intentional or malicious, their nervous systems also stuck in the survival response.

When we take time for ourselves and start to talk openly we create a space to breathe, maybe for the first time in a long time, to breathe without guilt, to put our own oxygen mask on, let go of any shame and self-judgement we may be carrying, to say out loud how tough it is, we start to notice we start to feel better, things feel less heavy and lonely, we become more grounded, our nervous systems regulated, we build trust in ourselves and can develop self-compassion.

We are then able to let our children know we aren’t scared of their big feelings, reassure them and as they start to feel more grounded, our regulated nervous system talking to our childrens, they will more able to hear us, become less defensive, to be open to us being alongside them, to letting us in, to find different ways of managing big feelings and exploring new coping strategies that may lessen angry outbursts or zoning out lessening and most importantly maintaining the connection and letting them know they are loved, all parts of them are loved.

We all as humans make mistakes, react in the heat of the moment, say things we dont mean, but using the polyvagal lens we can see where this is coming from, reframe how we view it, develop self-compassion and repair the ruptures that we as parents will almost certainly have with our children.

Experience

I have extensive experience of working within mental health, domestic abuse and sexual violence settings. I have experience of face to face, telephone and online counselling.

Qualifications

ABC Awards Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
ABC Awards Advanced Counselling Skills
NCFE Accredited Child Sexual Exploitation Practitioner
Own my life course facilitator training

I am committed to continuing my professional development and regularly attend training.

I adhere to the strict code of ethics laid out by the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP).