I offer therapy over three different settings; online, in person at my practice and outdoor nature therapy (see my ‘Nature Therapy’ page for more information).

Sessions are for 50 minutes and work best if we can meet weekly and at the same time each week.  If however this is difficult due to other work committments I am flexible in terms of times and days.  We can explore whether your issue/s will be helped more effectively with a short course of counselling or longer term psychotherapy.  Regular reviews are also an important part of the process and give you the chance to monitor how therapy is working for you.

I am trained in a number of approaches so after discussing what you would like to get from therapy I will suggest an approach which I think will work best for you.  This however is not set in stone and I am flexible in meeting your needs throughout the process.

Psychotherapy vs Counselling 

The difference between them is that generally counselling is shorter term for more specific issues such as a bereavement or something that is not rooted in the past. Psychotherapy is longer term and can be a more in depth way of working.  For example it might be for something that you have been struggling with for a while such as depression and anxiety or relationship patterns which keep repeating.  Understanding more about your internal world, your unconscious process’s and the ways in which you hold yourself back or unconsciously sabotage yourself can be uncovered during a course of psychotherapy.

Counselling

Approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) provide useful tools and strategies which you can practice to manage anxious feelings or low mood.  If you are generally in good mental health but have come across a difficult situation which is affecting your life this is a good approach to use and can be effective in managing negative thoughts and behaviours.

Psychotherapy

Is more in depth in that it helps you to uncover unconscious patterns developed in childhood which can be really helpful in understanding more about what is holding you back and giving you the chance to make long term changes.

I might suggest Compassionate Inquiry (see below) or if you are open to working creatively I may invite you to use imagery or sandtray in order to access your unconscious world.  Alternatively we will take the time to simply explore your thoughts and feelings in a gentle and curious way. I might challenge any stories or beliefs you have about yourself, bringing attention to how these might be affecting you in a negative way and how you can start to challenge these for yourself and replace them with something more realistic and kind.

Compassionate Inquiry

Having trained in this approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and having experienced it for myself  I believe that it is a highly effective way of getting to the root of any trauma and healing this part of you.  Whether this is ‘big T’ trauma such as being involved in an accident or sexual assault or ‘small t’ trauma which is simply not having your needs met as a child by your main caregivers.  It will involve me inviting you to connect with your body to discover where your feelings originate and encouraging you to be curious about this along with uncovering unconscious limiting beliefs or old stories that you are telling yourself which are holding you back.  Making this conscious means that you have now the choice to change them and move towards living the life you want and feeling more in control.

“The purpose of the Compassionate Inquiry is to drill down to the core stories people tell themselves – to get them to see what story they are telling themselves unconsciously; what those beliefs are, where they came from; and guide them to the possibility of letting go of those stories, or letting go of the hold those stories have on them …

That’s what Compassionate Inquiry is.”

~ Dr. Gabor Maté

If you are curious about these ways of working and would like to find out more I offer a complimentary 15 minute Zoom call to help you decide on a way forward (no obligation to continue!) Just a chance to meet me and find out more.