I have always been really passionate about helping people, I noticed that I was always the listening ear at parties and social gatherings, people were drawn to me, and that made me feel good. So, I wanted to help people on a deeper level, I became really interested in people and I wanted to hear all those really difficult stories about your past and present and the impact this has had on the person you are today. The way your experiences have shaped the way you think, feel and behave in everyday life and the impact that it is having on you. 

I am also a firm believer in focusing on what’s inside your control and working on that, whilst also accepting that sometimes there are things outside of your control that you may need support with so you can let go of those things.  

Personally, I have been through a few challenges in my life, and I feel like I can often relate to the feelings my clients share with me. There have been times I have felt stuck in my personal life and reached out for support that wasn’t quite right for me and then felt worse because it didn’t help. What I have come to realise, and what I tell all of my clients is that, it’s about having the right therapist for you and your needs, finding somebody who really gets you, understands you and makes you feel comfortable sharing the really vulnerable sides of yourself because that’s where all the amazing work is done and that’s when we start to see changes. 

I hope to help you to understand yourself better so that you can manage your emotions and think, feel and behave in a way that is positive and healthy through understanding how what you have been through has an impact on the person you are today. Which might help you to improve their relationships with your friends, family and the wider social society. 

I hope to empower you by focusing on what’s important to you, what you think you need to feel better, what your hopes and dreams for the future are and then empower you to take action and be responsible and accountable for your own lives and reaching your goals. 

I hope to help you to process difficult experiences by offering a safe and non-judgemental space for you to be yourself and share parts of you that you might not have shared before. Through doing this I hope to help you learn how to validate your own feelings, realise what you have overcome, notice how things are different now and embrace change. 

I hope to offer a space where you don’t feel alone, a place where you feel supported and have a voice to express yourself freely without the fear of judgement, isolation and worry about how it might sound out loud. 

I tailor the therapy to meet the individual needs of the client and focus on first establishing a trusting relationship with my client. Therapy is a different journey for each person, so I feel it’s really important to find out what the client wants to work on, what they feel is important to them, and what they want to achieve through counselling. I aim to challenge negative thoughts and assumptions to allow the client to think about another perspective and see the bigger picture, where necessary, to allow them to explore this in a safe space. I work in an integrative way, which means that I use skills and tools from different counselling approaches to tailor the sessions to meet the client’s needs.

With Teenagers I ethically incorporate creativity into my therapy sessions to allow young people to understand their own mental health and help them to find useful tools and techniques to manage how they are feeling.

To support my practice, I am continuing to engage in courses and external studies to advance my work with clients and better understand my clients and their experience of the world. I actively engage in online learning in areas relating to child development, neurodiversity, Childrens mental health, Adverse Childhood Experiences and the impact on children and young people.

Within my role I manage risk and safety plan on a day-to-day basis, predominantly supporting young people and their families to cope with issues of self-harm and engagement in suicidal ideation. I engage in regular training in safeguarding for children, young people and vulnerable adults to ensure my skills and knowledge are up to date.

In addition to Private Practice I also work for a local charity called Talk Listen Change, in 2 different roles. In one role I work with children and young people in school settings on a 1-2-1 basis, offering counselling and support for their mental health. Additionally, I work directly with parents who have referred their children to Talk Listen Change Counselling Services, helping them to find the right level of support for their children through counselling and other exploring other avenues, providing advice and guidance to parents over the phone to help improve their wellbeing and overall family dynamics following traumatic life experiences.

WORKING WITH TEENAGERS 11+

I find working with Teenagers extremely rewarding. Teenagers might bring a range of issues to counselling such as bullying, gender and identity issues, anger, anxiety, depression, changes in family dynamics, domestic abuse, Autism and ADHD etc. 

I have experience in working with Teenagers who have been through trauma such as domestic abuse and are experiencing anxiety, anger, poor self esteem and feeling low as a result of adverse childhood experiences. 

I am very interested in young peoples’ mental health and finding ways to empower them to overcome obstacles and challenges from the past and present, also allowing them space to practice new tools and techniques that will help them in the future once the therapy has finished. The young people I have previously worked with describe me as a warm, friendly and caring person, who understands the issues they are facing and somebody who is non-judgmental and genuine. The parents I have previously worked with have provided me with positive feedback around the information, advice and guidance I provide them with, and the resources which have proven useful for them personally, enabling them to better understand their young people.