How I work

Anxiety, overthinking, self-doubt, people-pleasing, shutdown, procrastination, or a harsh inner critic may not be who you are. They may be old emotional rules your body learned before your adult mind had a say.

I do not see anxiety, perfectionism, overworking or the inability to rest as faults to be fixed. I see them as the most honest way your mind and body found, often very early, to survive an environment that asked too much of you. I try to read your patterns as one reads a text, with curiosity about what they are saying, rather than as mistakes to be put right.

When the same difficulties keep showing up, in relationships, at work, in the way you see yourself or in how you respond to pressure, there is often more going on than the problem you can see on the surface.

In our work, we look at what keeps repeating and begin to understand where those responses come from, what has shaped them and why they may still be affecting you today.

I also pay attention to what is happening in your body. Stress and emotional experiences can become familiar physical responses: tension, restlessness, shutting down, feeling constantly on edge or finding it difficult to slow down.

Rather than treating these responses as separate from what you are feeling, we include them in the work.

This allows us to work with both what you understand about yourself and the responses that have become deeply familiar over time, so that change is not only something you can explain, but something you begin to experience differently in your everyday life.

I work with a free 30-minute initial consultation over the phone, which is an opportunity for us to meet and discuss you, your past, your present and what has brought you into therapy.

Within this session we will discuss fees, the therapeutic frame and the practicalities of our work. We will then agree on a time and date for our weekly session, and the agreed fee, time and place.

I tailor my work to the individual, so these sessions have no set agenda. They are for me to hear what is happening with you and what you need help with. They form an opportunity for me to hear from you about your life, and you can get a feel for how I work.

Sessions last 50 minutes and take place weekly at a regular, agreed time. After your free initial consultation, if we both feel that working together is a good fit, we agree a weekly time that then becomes your ongoing slot for the duration of the therapy.

I work this way because weekly sessions give the work the continuity and the steadiness it needs, even when the therapy itself is short. When the space between sessions becomes too large, it is much harder to hold the depth and momentum of the work, and its effect is reduced. For that reason I work with clients on a weekly basis only, and do not offer fortnightly, monthly or ad hoc sessions.

Therapy works best when there is stability and commitment. Our work remains confidential and respectful. My role is to provide a steady, reflective presence, someone who helps you think, feel and understand without judgement.

Some women want a defined stretch of work with a clear beginning and end. Others want the freedom to stay with something for as long as it takes. Both are possible here, and we would talk about which feels right rather than decide it in advance.

Open-ended therapy

Length

Long-term work on a weekly basis, with no end date agreed at the start.

How it ends

We continue until a point when you feel you would like to bring our work to a close. That conversation belongs to you, and we can look at it together when it arrives.

Short-term therapy

Length

16 weekly sessions, with a set and agreed ending.

Best suited to

A particular issue, difficulty or area of your life that you would like us to focus on together.

Alongside the focus

We can still explore the thoughts, feelings, relationships, patterns and dreams that arise within the work, while keeping the agreed focus in mind throughout the 16 sessions.

For full details about session fees, block payments and policies, please visit the Fees page. Payment is by bank transfer or debit or credit card, with invoices issued through Carepatron. If you have questions before beginning, you are welcome to get in touch.

Health insurance

I do not work directly with private health insurance providers. However, invoices can be provided for clients who wish to seek reimbursement from their insurer.

If you plan to claim through insurance, I recommend confirming your coverage details in advance.

If you would like to read more about the approach behind my work, or are wondering how psychotherapy and counselling relate, there is space to explore both here.