I first received counselling as a young person in school. I recall feeling safe and heard by my counsellor. Two things that were lacking for me at the time. I then returned to counselling later on in life when I was struggling with my mental health. Counselling has been a really important, valuable experience for me at times when I needed someone to lean on. That's why I chose to become a counsellor myself. To offer others what was offered to me.

You might feel a bit nervous or anxious about starting counselling and reaching out to someone you've never met. This is completely normal and something that most people feel prior to starting counselling.

What counselling does provide you with is a safe, confidential space to explore your thoughts, feelings, behaviours and experiences. So, whether it's making certain changes in your life, finding ways of coping, trying to understand the root of your struggles or wanting to be listened to counselling can be really helpful.

In my personal experience, people that feel listened to, understood, and allowed to be themselves can find relief from their pain, witness personal growth and make real positive changes in their lives.

I am able to work with anyone who is experiencing common mental health problems, such as anxiety, loneliness, low mood and sadness. But I'm not a big believer in labels telling the whole story. There are often multiple factors, often happening all at once that can cause someone to find themselves in a difficult place. What I do believe in is the value of a trusting therapeutic relationship, and seeing the whole person for who they are.

I'm a relational counsellor, which essentially means that our relationship is key to the outcome of our time together. I believe that my offering of trust, safety, attentiveness and warmth are the essential ingredients for you to feel safe enough to share things that you might not feel comfortable sharing with others.

Every counsellor tends to be trained within a specific way of working. My core ways of working are person-centred counselling and psychodynamic counselling. Here'a a brief summary of each approach.

Person-centred counselling is led by you but I will help to facilitate our discussion and listen to you, without judgment or interruption. Many people who start counselling aren't quite sure what they're feeling or why they're feeling the way they do. Person-centred counselling aims to help you make sense of this confusion or messiness, and grow your self-awareness and live a life that's true to your wants and needs, rather than the wants and needs of others. 

Psychodynamic counselling: Many of us have experienced turbulent and traumatic early-life experiences. We can then move through life finding certain things really hard, without quite knowing why. For example, finding it hard to trust others, or feel that we're worthy of being loved for who we are. Psychodynamic counselling aims to unpack how your early-life experiences might be impacting you in the here and now. Over time, my hope is that you begin to make more sense of what you're feeling, why you might be feeling that way and to understand yourself more so that you can make positive shifts.

Click here for a list of other counselling approaches.