A therapist is a generalised term for a professional that is trained in dealing with physical or mental concerns. A psychotherapist is a trained mental health professional with specialised training. They use talking therapies to help people with a range of mental health, cognitive and emotional challenges. This term is often used interchangeably with a counsellor, and the use of the term can be a matter of preference. Often people come to counsellors deal with more immediate level concerns whereas psychotherapists work more long term and in-depth. However, long term and deep work is also done in counselling. This is often dependent on the training of the practitioner. Neither psychotherapists nor counsellors can diagnose mental health conditions or prescribe medication.

A psychologist is a more specialised form of therapist that has studied in one or more facets of psychology, this role can take place in academic, clinical and forensic settings. Psychologists are able to deal with and diagnose severe mental health conditions. Psychological practitioners and art therapists are protected and regulated terms. However counsellors and psychotherapists are not, which means technically anyone can call themselves these terms. This is why it is important that whichever practitioner you see, they are transparent about their qualifications and are a member of a regulating body in their field.

Integrative therapy is a modality of psychotherapy that draws from many different theories and schools of thought. Integrative therapy is pluralistic in nature and values a range of approaches to understand the psyche and how best to help people. An integrative therapist believes that there is more than one therapeutic approach that can help their clients and so they use what they believe will be helpful for the client. The beauty of this approach is that it is holistic and considers the client as whole person and allows therapy to be uniquely tailored to the client.

Integrative therapy can utilise wide and varied modalities which I use in my practice such as, person centred therapy, attachment theory, polyvagal theory, CBT, Emotion-focused therapy, Gestalt, and transactional analysis. I also enjoy using creative techniques such working with cards, stones, and crafts.

Talking therapy is a verbally communicative therapy where you talk to a trained mental health professional about your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. It is a safe and non-judgemental space to talk and think about what you feel is important to bring. Talking therapy is a means of support and can work to alleviate the distress, discomfort and difficulty you may be feeling.

Counselling is valuable, rewarding and often a life-changing undertaking. Successful counselling requires a willingness to endure the process which can difficult. Counselling is right for everyone when you are ready to look at and work on what is troubling you. Being ready or willing doesn’t stop the process of counselling feeling scary, or feeling too vulnerable or difficult, however with the right counsellor you will feel safe, supported and comfortable. When choosing a therapist it is important that it feels right for you, that you feel seen and heard, and at ease.

Counselling is rewarding for a number of reason. It gives you space to truly be yourself and speak your mind, even speak of things you have not verbalised before. This is a liberating experience. The work you do during counselling can offer you deep and new insights into yourself that strengthens the relationship with yourself and allows you to improve the relationships you have with others. This can enable you to live the healthier and happier life you deserve.

I have a wide range of experience and have helped my clients navigate life’s complex challenges. I often work with, relationship issues, anxiety, depression, OCD, panic attacks, stress, family dysfunction/issues, emotional and sexual abuse, self-esteem, stress, identity, sexuality, grief/bereavement, hopelessness, isolation, fear, loneliness, work stress, social anxiety. 

In your first session I will introduce myself and the way I work. I will send you a contract before our first session and in the session I will discuss the contract with you and any points you wish to discuss. Each session is 50 minutes and that is your time to bring what you feel is important. It can be quite daunting to start therapy and suddenly start talking about yourself. I can guide and prompt you through these first steps, however the session is led by you. You have the agency to talk about what you feel is important. There may be assessment forms to fill out during our time together, this is to see and monitor if necessary where your levels of anxiety, stress and mood are.

Sessions can be brief, short term or long term. This will be dependent on what you feel you need and what type of work we are doing in session.

If we have online remote sessions I will send out the video link ahead of the session date. It is expected and important that where you take the call is a confidential space where you can talk freely without being overheard. It is also important to have your video camera on during the entirety of the session.

With in-person session we will meet at the same place each week and that space will be confidential.

Your counsellor should be able to provide you with a confidential and safe space to talk. You should feel listened to and heard. Counselling is not advice giving and your counsellor usually should not give you advice on what to do in a given situation. The role of the counsellor is to facilitate you to explore what you are going through. You should expect a level of competency from your counsellor, and also for them to be transparent if they feel the issues you are bringing are outside of their professional competency. The relationship between counsellor and client is vital for therapy to be successful, you should expect a relationship that is close but that has stringent boundaries. Boundaries can include, time keeping of sessions, the form of communication you have outside of sessions, discussion around gift-giving, your counsellor should not talk about their issues in a way that makes the session about them. These are just a few, ultimately the relationship ought to remain professional at all times.

The cost of counselling varies. Generally sessions cost from £50-60.

I offer a sliding scale where your income is taken into consideration. Counselling can be costly which can then be a barrier to people being able to access help. If you want to be considered for the sliding scale fee, please contact me to discuss this further.

My general fee structure is as follows:

Online remote sessions: £40 per session
In-person sessions: £47 per session
Counselling students: £30 per session

There is no central register that shows you what qualifications counsellors have. One way to know if they meet the requirements to call themselves qualified is to ask them. You should feel comfortable enough with your counsellor to be able to ask them. Another way to know if they meet the accepted standard is to see if they are registered with a governing professional body. This is voluntary, so if they are registered with a body you know they are committing to codes of practice, ethical frameworks and continued professional development. There are several bodies in the UK and one is not necessarily better than the other, they are just different organisations. There will be a directory on the website of the regulatory body where you can search for your counsellor.

I am registered with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and my registration number is: 00981501

As a client certain personal details maybe taken from you. I handle all personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act and GDPR. Your data is never held for longer than necessary and once our sessions have concluded your data is destroyed. Your data is not held on any online or cloud services and the device used is protected and encrypted, and only accessible by me. In some cases I might take notes on our sessions, you will never be identifiable in these notes and they are held securely. I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office – the independent supervisory authority for data protection in the UK.