Welcome

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance life feels difficult right now. Maybe you’ve spent years looking after everyone else and aren’t quite sure how to look after yourself. Maybe you’ve always felt different, without really knowing why. Maybe you’re carrying grief,  anxiety or experiences you’ve never felt able to share. Maybe you’re questioning your identity, your relationships, your faith, or simply wondering why life seems to feel harder for you than it does for everyone else. Or you’ve just reached the point where you’ve thought, ‘I don’t think I can keep doing this on my own’. Whatever has brought you here, I’m really glad you’ve found your way here.

People often arrive in therapy believing there’s something wrong with them. They apologise for crying. They tell me they’re ‘too much’, ‘too sensitive’, ‘too emotional’ or ‘too complicated’. I rarely see it that way. One of the things I believe most strongly is this: I don’t think you’re broken. I’m usually much more interested in understanding how you’ve become the person you are. You can come as you are, because that’s where we’ll begin.

I don’t believe therapy is about ‘fixing’ people. Every one of us has adapted to our experiences in ways that helped us survive, belong or protect ourselves. Because every one of us adapts to our experiences. We find ways to survive. We learn what keeps us safe, what helps us belong, what protects us from being hurt again. Those adaptations make sense. Sometimes they continue to serve us, and sometimes they begin to get in the way. Therapy isn’t about judging those parts of ourselves or trying to get rid of them. It’s about becoming curious enough to understand them.

I value curiosity before judgement, compassion before criticism, and authenticity over perfection. I believe diversity makes us richer and that difference isn’t something to fix; it’s something to understand, valuing the courage it takes to live authentically in a world that often asks us to conform. I believe every person deserves a therapeutic space where they don’t have to explain or defend who they are before they can begin healing.

About me:

Through my own life experiences I’ve learned the benefits of having a space where you can explore safely and confidentially. I have a lived experience of neurodivergence and am dyslexic, AuDHD. This helps me to sit with empathy and understanding of the ways in which people sometimes feel different or like they don’t belong.

I work in a Trauma-Informed & Neurodivergent-Affirmative Approach with Individuals, Relationships & Couples, as well as Trainee and Qualified Supervisees.

I work online, by phone and face to face in Banbury depending on what would suit you best. If you’d like to know more about what to expect and how I work, there is more information on the Counselling page.

Qualifications:

I have a level 4 diploma in integrative therapeutic counselling (TA, Gestalt, and Person-Centred theory), a certificate in relationship counselling, a certificate in online therapy, an MA in counselling and psychotherapeutic practice, a Level 6 qualification in clinical supervision and have done training in order to offer ND affirmative practice.  I am currently a trainee working with EMDR. I am a senior accredited Member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy and abide by their ethical framework.