Counselling

I have worked in the mental health field my entire career. I was fortunate to gain a lot of experience in a variety of settings including; hospitals, prisons, courts, police stations, community services and within my private practice. I worked with a range of difficulties including; depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, life transitions, bereavement, chronic mental health issues, substance misuse, relationship difficulties, trauma, cultural difficulties and sexuality.

I work in an integrative way, and my work is underpinned by Person Centred Therapy to create a strong relationship.

Alongside this, I am also trauma informed in my work and ensure that it is accounted for. The client’s trauma history will aid how I choose interventions, ways of working and ensuring that I build a safe and effective therapeutic relationship.

Throughout the therapeutic work, I utilise psychodynamic approaches alongside my person-centred approach as I also hold the belief that early relationships with significant others are crucial and that becoming conscious of unconscious internal conflicts can lead to recovery. The approaches I use include the inner child concept, attachment theory and transactional analysis. I am creative in my approach in finding the right intervention, and therefore also work with metaphors, dreams and have a commitment for deeper work and exploration to aid growth and understanding of relational history and its impact. I choose these interventions if it aligns with the client’s goals and presenting issues, such as a desire to work on healthier relationships, and the exploration of the past.

Furthermore, I utilise cognitive behavioural techniques to support my clients in understanding how their thoughts and beliefs affect them physically, emotionally, and behaviourally. I look to identify negative schemas, cognitive distortions, challenge thinking patterns and core beliefs. This may involve psychoeducation and homework (journaling, recording). I may use these to alleviate anxiety, by building an internal toolkit and increase of self-awareness and change maladaptive thinking patterns.

Finally, as my work includes a coaching and more solution focused element (generating stage), I utilise coaching models such as the GROW model and solution focused therapy to empower clients to resolve life problems, and re-focus on building solutions once the internal conflict has shifted.