Working with me

Understand what's happening and why

Mental health struggles don't come out of nowhere; together we'll work to understand what is at the root of your experiences.

Make changes

Manage and reduce symptoms

If you are experiencing distress, difficult emotions or other symptoms, we'll work together to identify how to reduce these.

I privilege my clients and value every moment of our time together. I work to create a therapy context that works for you, so that you can utilise sessions to focus on your needs. I offer sessions in the evening, as well as during regular working hours. I work in my own office in Northern Renaissance Studios, Chorlton, and also online and by telephone.

I am a humanistic therapist, and work from an existentially-informed person-centred perspective. This means that I’m not here to analyse you, or tell you what you’re doing wrong. I am here to support you in a safe and caring relationship so that you can begin to unravel and untangle your thoughts, feelings and experiences. We can work to respond to your distress and suffering in a confidential space where you can be certain of a non-judgemental and compassionate response. Together we can make sense of what has happened, and is happening, to you in a way that fosters change. Therapy isn’t a straight road, but speaking to a professional can help you better understand yourself, your relationships, thoughts and feelings and from there develop a different relationship with, and experience of, your life.

With understanding comes the opportunity to do things differently, cope with trauma or distress in new ways, and challenge old patterns in relationships that might be holding you back.

I see people as individuals, and each therapeutic relationship I develop is unique and tailored to the person’s needs. I have worked with people from 10 to 90 years of age, from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds and experiences, genders and sexualities and I have always focused on fostering a deep and safe enough connection to facilitate real exploration. I’m open to short and long term work, and to taking things at the pace and consistency that works for you.

Qualifications

PgDip Humanistic Therapeutic Counselling, University of Brighton
NCFE Level 2&3
Phd, MSc and BA in Archaeology

Additional Training

Creative and expressive therapies
Bereavement Care
Counselling Children and Young People
Gender, Sexuality and Relationship Diversity competence
Working with racism and anti-racist practice in therapy
Working with self-harm and suicidal thought

Professional Standards Registered

BACP Registered and Accredited Psychotherapist
Fully insured and DBS checked

Archaeology

Before I became a therapist I had a career as an archaeology, working in local councils, English Heritage and teaching at Univeristy. It might seem like a jump to retrain as a therapist, but one of the famous originators of talking therapy, Sigmund Freud found the metaphor of archaeology to be powerful in his therapeutic work.

Whilst I don’t work in a Freudian way, human developmental theory shows us that our childhood experience of our guardians and people who cared for us influences the way we behave in relationships today. Sometimes my work does focus on helping people understand their pasts, particularly the way their parents treated them, but my focus is always on how this can help us in the present day to do things differently.