I am an experienced counsellor and psychotherapist seeing individuals and couples for both long and short-term work. I work with the whole spectrum that this human condition may present us with, which may include distress of many kinds. At various points in our life we all face times of difficulty or confusion. We may have an idea of what’s causing this, but it can also feel mystifying. It may be current circumstances like relationship difficulties, work stress or bereavement; it could be past issues that lie unresolved. We can feel lost, stuck, caught in a pattern, at a crossroads or in a crisis. Low self-esteem or lack of confidence may be interfering with our lives. We may feel taken over by particular emotions e.g. sadness, jealousy, anger or anxiety. Our relationship to alcohol, drugs, food or sex may feel out of balance or linked to certain emotions. Maybe your body finds ways to express things you are not yet able to process or communicate in other ways. Our true nature is to express freely but through troubling experiences our smart systems shut down to get us through, to protect us and we contract. Our instincts and relating then send mixed messages and impulses.

We know life could be lived more fully, better managed; relationships could be more satisfying including those with ourselves. And maybe something else is calling from deep within us that wants to be heard. Untapped qualities and skills, unexpressed parts that have not yet had what they need to emerge may be being felt. Symbolically this can be thought of as entering into what may feel like a dark place where unwanted and difficult feelings reside, maybe long abandoned parts of us lie in the dirt. We may not even be aware they are in there. Through choosing to make a journey within, which may be both scary and exciting, discovery and recovery of our worth and meaning, our ‘gold’ may be achieved.

I offer a safe space away from the rest of your life in which any concerns and difficulties can be explored and the strands of what has brought you along untangled. Clarity and awareness can develop and space for the new, the creative and the unexpected may emerge.

I view each person as a whole, considering context, background and life events related to any issue you might bring. I have experience of working with a wide range of clients with all issues in a variety of settings. This includes many types of diversity and I not only welcome this but am committed to increasing my own understanding and appreciation of impact that this has. I consider the context within which any individual lives and of our identity in it vital and I aim to provide a space for you to bring all aspects of yourself to be present and explored safely.

Ah, not to be cut off,
not through the slightest partition
shut out from the law of the stars
The inner — what is it?
if not intensified sky,
hurled through with birds and deep
with the winds of homecoming

– Rainer Maria Rilke

Counselling is generally considered shorter term, more about focussing on a specific issue or problem, a difficult decision, or some support with skills you need to develop e.g. dealing with anxiety symptoms. Counselling is sometimes considered more goal oriented.

Psychotherapy is generally considered longer term, focussing on unravelling, and clarifying issues, and underlying patterns that repeatedly crop up despite attempts to change. It will involve deeper exploration about how the inner world is managed and the unconscious processes that are influencing you.

I am currently offering sessions in South-east London, online, and outdoors in Hastings.

I have particular interests in:

  • how things get lodged in our body, things that may not have been able to yet be processed, possibly chronic trauma from the past. How our nervous systems can seemingly get stuck in an ‘on’ position leading to hypervigilance, not feeling safe or bouts of shut down. I work with that tension between the desire to feel free to express our fullest selves, to expand and the pull to keep safe, protect ourselves and thus contract.
  • all things connected to relating and relationship issues: between different aspects of ourselves e.g. the inner critic and the criticized, perhaps vulnerable or sensitive parts; or between the driven and the chilled parts. We often have exiled parts of us that had to go into hiding at times in our lives when it didn’t feel safe for them. Also, relationships to others; partner, family, boss, friends, significant others, colleagues etc. Our desires for connection/closeness versus need for space/distance and the contortions we can get into, in the dance of human connection or avoidance of it. This may include affairs, betrayal or separation. I also work with couples and other pair configurations. See couples page for more information.
  • our relationship to our ‘wild’ nature and the one between the wilder and more domesticated aspects of us. I do offer sessions outdoors which could support this. However, it is not something that ever needs to happen if not appropriate. I also offer one off, 2-hour sessions to explore for example being stuck, change of direction, or inspiration for some aspect of your life. See Wild Therapy page for more details