Welcome
Alongside listening to your background and what has led you to me, I like to view my clients (adults and young people) through a holistic lens and have a very keen interest in how the likes of screens, sleep, exercise, connecting to nature, nutrition, toxicity, the breath, and gut /oral health affects us emotionally. I have close links with practitioners locally (or further afield) who specialise in supporting people’s physical and emotional health naturally either through yoga, herbalism, homeopathy, massage, breathwork and kinesiology to name but a few. It can often be very helpful to combine the therapy sessions with support from one or several of these other modalities or we can just spend some time considering how your emotions may be being affected by other lifestyle/ environmental factors.
In 2013 I set up a service for families affected by Domestic Abuse for a local, Cornwall wide charity and ran it for nearly 4 years. This means I have very specialist experience in working with the effects of Abuse, Neglect and Childhood Trauma.
My most recent training was in a family therapy called Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP). It was developed by an American psychologist called Dan Hughes and I became certified in this approach in 2023. DDP is for adults who have relationship difficulties with their children and my work with Parents/Carers alone, with their child together (Dyadic) or in Therapeutic Group Work Programmes is informed by this therapy. A broader term for the dyadic word is Attachment Focused Family Therapy (AFFT) and it is suitable for birth, adoptive or foster parents and for special guardians.
In my 15 years of practice, I’ve found that my therapy clients are generally experiencing one or more of the below, so if you are too, you are far from alone.
...the human psyche, like human bones, is strongly inclined towards self-healing.
The psychotherapist’s job, like that of the orthopaedic surgeon, is to provide the conditions in which self-healing can best take place.
John Bowlby
FEELING AFRAID, PANICKY AND STRESSED
EXPERIENCING ANXIETY, DEPRESSION OR SUICIDAL FEELINGS
FEELING HELD BACK OR STUCK IN LIFE
ADDICTIONS, PHOBIAS AND OBSESSIONS, EATING PROBLEMS, SELF-HARM
FEELING EMPTY, LONELY, ABANDONED, UNABLE TO MAKE LASTING RELATIONSHIPS
THE IMPACT OF VIOLENCE, ABUSE & TRAUMA – ON THEMSELVES AND/OR THEIR CHILDREN
LOSS, BEREAVEMENT, RELATIONSHIP BREAKDOWN
DIFFICULTIES IN FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
FEELING IN CRISIS OR IN A STATE OF BREAKDOWN
CONFUSION ABOUT WHO THEY ARE, PROBLEMS WITH THEIR IDENTITY
I’m an experienced, approachable therapist who started retraining as a Person-Centred counsellor in 2004. I now offer long term psychotherapy or shorter term, more goal-oriented counselling – integrating a knowledge of other approaches and theories into my work. The main one I draw on is Attachment Theory which emphasises the impact our early months and years has on our emotional (and physical) health and well-being. I’m also very interested in the Transpersonal which acknowledges the spiritual aspect of ourselves and seeks to provide harmony between the mind, body, and spirit.
I do believe however (and the research backs this up) that it’s the quality of the relationship between the client and therapist that contributes the most towards a positive therapeutic outcome, despite how many letters you have after your name or what approach you’re trained in! I therefor place great emphasis on creating a safe, comfortable, relaxed environment for our sessions together – a place where you can hopefully feel really listened to and respected – without being told what to do.
