Why might you come to counselling or therapy? Some people come because they feel stuck, things are going wrong, or something has happened that is deeply upsetting or hard to cope with. Other people may be drawn to seek support for feelings that are much less clear, where there seems little reason to feel that life is a struggle, but something is not quite right. Others come to find out more about themselves and to find a new direction in their lives.

You do not have to have a clear reason for coming, nor a particular idea of what you would like to gain from therapy: part of our work together can be to help you clarify this.

My aim in working with you is to help you explore what you are really feeling, to understand more of your life, events that have happened, and the choices you make, so that you have more space to make choices that are positive and constructive. Many of us are restricted by beliefs that other people have instilled in us, and many people use therapy to assess these and their continued relevance, and to select the beliefs about themselves that they wish to take forward. 

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I offer both a short term problem focused approach, which I would term counselling, and longer term, open ended work allowing deeper long standing change, which I would call therapy. I am happy to work with you in what ever form you need, and to start with a short term focus to address immediate problems before deciding whether to work further together.

Research shows that psychotherapy is highly effective in addressing many forms of mental distress and illness including severe depression. There is plenty of research available on the web: this is an interesting report by the University of Ontario (PDF) into the efficacy and effectiveness of psychological treatments here.

My practice is currently available to anyone aged 16 or over and I work with individuals and couples.

I charge £60 per hour. Online payments can be made via BACS, or for face to face clients by card or cash. Couples sessions are generally 90 minutes and charged proportionately.

I am registered with the following insurance companies: Aviva, Aetna Global Benefits, Vitality Health and AXA/PPP.