WELCOME

Whatever has bought you here today, a warm welcome to you.

Choosing a psychotherapist can feel a bit daunting, especially if you have never had therapy before. I hope I can answer some of your questions about me and how I work, and give you a sense of whether we might be a good therapeutic 'fit'.

When making the decision to invest in weekly or fortnightly therapy, it is important that you feel informed about what I can offer and how I work. The best therapeutic outcomes tend to come from a good working relationship where you feel safe to explore your thoughts and feelings free from judgement, where you feel genuinely supported, and truly heard.

Get to Know me

I was 'born and bred' in Melbourne, Australia and I moved to the UK in 2001 with my job as a product manager in a software company. Here I am, over 25 years later, having raised a family and retrained as a psychotherapist. You will find that along with a hint of an accent, I retain some Aussie traits - I am warm, encouraging, and open.

I have experience in supporting a wide variety of clients and therapeutic themes, in particular, those who are bereaved, including pregnancy and baby loss.

I love the countryside and walks with my dog, no matter the weather. Walking every day is the cornerstone of my wellbeing and helps me to manage life's inevitable challenges.

When I am in Australia, there is nothing that beats a good swim and a walk along the beach. I also love TV and film, and am always on the look out for a good podcast recommendation. Maybe one day I will fall in love with gardening but I'm yet to be convinced...

Therapeutic Approach

I am a Person-Centred psychotherapist, which means I believe that when you are given the right support and therapeutic conditions, you possess the ability to find the answers in your own way, at a pace that suits you. Working along side you, I aim to offer you a confidential, non-judgmental and supportive space to help you explore and connect more fully with your thoughts and feelings.

Therapy can be short-term to support you through difficult life events, or longer-term to help you understand yourself better; perhaps to explore that feeling that things aren't 'quite right', or to work through difficulties that have burdened you for many years.

Life can get so busy and demanding and often we put others needs before our own. Taking some time to put yourself first, understand your needs and even to celebrate and acknowledge all the good stuff that makes you 'you', can expand our capacity to cope with the inevitable life stresses that come our way.

I believe we are ultimately the expert on our own lives, but sometimes we need some extra support to connect with that inner wisdom. Whether that be a space that's just for you, much-needed time to pause and reflect, or a desire to gain deeper insight - perhaps even a different perspective - therapy can help you increase your capacity to face life's challenges, build self-awareness and hopefully learn to value and accept yourself.

therapeutic themes

Bereavement
Pregnancy & baby loss
Work-related worries
Peri-menopause
Disordered eating (moderate not severe)
Low mood
Anxiety
Stress & burnout
Feelings of low self-worth & confidence
Feeling that you're not quite yourself - exploring identity
Relationships
Abuse
Exploring neurodiversity
Chronic health conditions
Family estrangement

MY TRAINING

I have a Post Graduate Diploma from the Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute and I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

As part of my rigorous training, I have completed over 420 clinical placement hours, 85 hours of supervision with highly trained UKCP and BACP supervisors, and completed 120 hours of my own therapy.

I have additional training and experience in bereavement, including pregnancy and baby loss, and child bereavement.

I regularly take part in additional training as part of my Continued Professional Development to ensure the highest ethical standards and meet BACP registration criteria.

how i work

free initial online session

I offer an initial free 15-minute phone call to discuss your concerns and get to know you a little.

If we agree to work together, I will send you my contract for you to review and I will offer you a regular time and date for sessions.

Individual Therapy

I offer one-on-one weekly sessions in person in Quorn, Loughborough. I only work with adults (over 18) and unfortunately, I am unable to offer a wheelchair accessible room in this location.

I am expanding my practice to Ruddington soon - please get in touch if you would like to be put on my waiting list.

Sessions are £55 for a 50 minute session.

Online Therapy

I prefer to get to know you in-person first, if possible. However, sometimes life's circumstances make it easier to switch to online sessions, which I am happy to offer if you have a quiet, disruption-free and confidential space from which to hold our sessions.

Online sessions are charged at the same rate

(see above).

FAQs

What is Psychotherapy?

Talking to a therapist is different to speaking with friends or family. I am separate from the rest of your life, so you can tell your story and explore your feelings in a confidential space, with the knowledge that I am only focused on you. As a psychotherapist, I am trained to notice patterns and have an awareness of how your beliefs about yourself, your nervous system and your relationships might be shaping and influencing the way you feel about your life. As I get to know you, I can help you explore your thoughts and feelings at greater depth. Psychotherapy is not about telling you what to do next or rush to make you feel better. Therapy is working with you to help you understand what is happening and work out what you want at your pace. There are some aspects of our life that we cannot change. We cannot avoid difficult life events or control the behaviour of those around us. However, therapy can help us to increase our capacity to hold those ‘life happens’ moments. We can learn to notice our physical and mental responses to situations and work towards more healthy ways of being. Sometimes, therapy can help us see what we need when we are in the habit of focusing on the needs of others. Sometimes, therapy can be about helping us find our voice. Sometimes, what we need most is to just let it out and offload to someone neutral – like letting the gas out of the fizzy bottle so you have a bit more room to make it through the next week without feeling like you might explode. I am bound by ethical obligations around confidentiality and are only legally required to break this in extreme circumstances (please see my contract). Psychotherapists cannot diagnose a psychiatric condition or neurotype (eg. ADHD or Autism) or prescribe medication.

Is counselling different?

Counselling and psychotherapy are interchangeable terms, but most people consider counselling to be more short-term or focused on a specific life event, such as a bereavement or break-down of a relationship. Psychotherapy is usually used to describe a more open-ended therapeutic alliance to help you develop a better understanding of past events, childhood experiences, relationship patterns, or what makes you ‘You’. I offer both short-term and long-term therapy – whatever feels like the right ‘fit’ for you.

The Person-centred approach

My aim is to offer you a safe therapeutic relationship where you feel able to speak freely, feel validated in your experience and to help you to understand your story and how it impacts you in the present. Being person-centred means I will accept and value you as you are and not push to change you or label you. I believe you are the expert on your own life, but sometimes we need some support to ‘untangle’ or explore our thoughts and feelings so we can find clarity. I do not believe in striving for some perfect version of you but will work with you towards developing self-compassion, self-acceptance and self-awareness, so you have the resources and capacity to decide what you want to change and what you want to celebrate about yourself. I aim to be non-judgmental, caring and supportive. I don’t ever want to rush you or push you to talk about something that you don’t want to – sessions are yours and you can use them in a way that feels right for you.

How do I work?

In our first session, I will contract with you around confidentiality and answer any questions you have about sessions or my contract. Hopefully, I will make you feel at ease. You are welcome to sit where you like – even on the floor if that helps. Move about if you need to, hug a cushion – or not – whatever feels helpful for you. Please let me know if you’re too hot or cold, you need a bathroom break or a drink, or you need to stop for a moment. Each session will be unique as I aim to meet you where you are in that moment. Sometimes we might talk about what happened that morning and others you may wish to tell me about something from your childhood. These are your sessions and I hope you will gain the confidence to use them in a way that works best for you. I will regularly check-in with you about how you feel about our work together, usually at the start of a session. I may also ask you to complete a weekly questionnaire to monitor your wellbeing, or occasional questionnaire to help me understand the aspects of our sessions that you find helpful and unhelpful. I encourage you to let me know in a session if at any time you do not feel safe – therapy can be difficult, but I aim to always keep our sessions feeling respectful and paced appropriately to you.