About me
I am an EMDR therapist, a BACP qualified, accredited therapist I have many years experience of working with people in struggle and pain. Issues include abuse, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, gender and sexuality, relationships, low self-esteem, trauma and in particular, 15 years of specialising in working with alcohol and substance use issues in community programs, residential rehabs, and in counselling services.
I have witnessed countless people transform their lives, moving from addiction to the freedom of recovery, from grief to acceptance, from deep pain back into living life again. I am continually inspired by this process of change that as humans we are capable of – it works.
I have a background in yoga, dance, and meditation, which feeds my therapeutic work to become alive and embodied, and have additional training in embodied therapeutic work. I initially qualified as a Community and Youth worker many years ago, and now also hold a certificate in Counselling children and young people
Equality, inclusion and being an active ally when needed are core values to me. If you have any particular needs please let me know in advance.
I am d/Deaf aware and can sign (BSL).
Counselling sessions and EMDR – what to expect
Sessions can be in person in the bright beautiful room I hire in Clifton Village (Bristol), or can be on Zoom. During the first session you will tell me a little about yourself, why you are coming to counselling at this time and what support you are looking for. Therapy should have a beginning, a middle, and in end in sight. Although we may work long term together, we review regularly to ensure we are meeting what you need, aiming to have completed a useful piece of therapeutic work within an agreed timescale. If we feel we need to work together beyond 12 months, we will re-contract around this to support us to stay focussed.
My work is integrative, which means I am able to use a variety of approaches to meet you. Some people want to focus on behaviour change – for example changing their relationship with food, alcohol or substance use. We can work directly with that in session and with suggestions for work for you to do inbetween sessions. Some people need space for exploration of current struggles, pain and losses. You may like to try to make sense of what is happening in your life now by thinking about experiences in childhood - this work needs slow listening and a deep respect for your individual story and what you absorbed and learnt from this. It may be that as the story unfolds we find unresolved trauma and unhelpful beliefs that are blocking you from moving forwards, and here, EMDR would be a useful part of a therapeutic journey.
EMDR is an evidence-based, trauma-focussed therapy, a well researched treatment for PTSD, anxieties and phobias, as well as an excellent way to move through many of life's difficult experiences, coming out the other side with significantly reduced distress.
More information, including a video about EMDR can be found here: https://emdrassociation.org.uk/discover-emdr/the-basics/
What is important for me is that I follow what you need, I will be checking in with you about how the therapy is working for you as we go along – this process is very much co-created.
Although I draw from many theories and skills, the heart of my work will always be rooted in both humanistic values of empathy and acceptance entwined with a psychodynamic curiosity - what our words, actions and relationships may mean in the here and now, how they connect to and have evolved from our past experience, and how bringing the unconscious patterns into full conscious awareness empowers and frees us.
Fees:
Counselling sessions are 50 minutes in duration and cost £70.
EMDR: We allow up to 1 hour and a half for EMDR-processing sessions, and fees are £115 per session.
