About counselling

My approach to counselling

It is always a bold and courageous step to want to make changes in our lives and to understand ourselves more fully, and I always deeply respect anyone who takes this step and will do my best to work with you on your goals and in making changes.

I work in a person-centred way, where I respect your wishes and I will be directed by you and the pace you want to work at. I am an Integrative Counsellor, so I draw on different counselling theories and approaches to best suit your needs.

I use tools such as mindfulness, self-compassion and creativity (sand tray, writing, metaphors) to help my clients experience a deeper sense of self-worth, a renewed self-image and to help them feel less ‘stuck.’

I believe that our thought patterns and behaviours as adults can be as a result of learning to survive difficult experiences in younger years. Childhood traumas, whether with a big ‘T’ or a little ‘t’ can lead to adaptive behaviour, which we learn at the time in order to survive. But although these adaptations may have worked for us then and kept us safe, they may no longer be working for us now. We can feel ‘stuck’ in cycles of behaviour and repeated patterns in relationships and feel we have no way out, or no choices. We can feel a ‘victim’ in circumstances and life, living with a constant sense of shame.

Sometimes we can re-enact roles and relationships from childhood, because this feels familiar, but also in the hopes of putting things right. But this can lead to further suffering and unfulfillment and feelings of being stuck.

It is by recognising these repeating patterns that we can start to break cycles and live in a more balanced and rounded way. Our inner child can still have unmet needs and by working with these needs in the counselling room, this can help bring comfort and empowerment to our adult self.

It is by making these connections through the counselling process that we can feel we have more choices available to us in our relationships.

I am here to support clients through this process in a non-judgemental and compassionate way. As part of the counselling training, we undertake counselling ourselves – this has helped me to be familiar with the challenges of the counselling process, and to understand that counselling can feel daunting at times. This is a natural response to taking the brave step towards counselling, which, if embraced, can lead to growth, self-awareness and positive change.