INFORMATION ABOUT THERAPY
QUICK LINKS
THE FIRST SESSION
We will think about what has brought you to therapy and what change you are hoping for.
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You are welcome to ask questions that we can think about together. You will want to decide whether I am the right therapist for you and get a sense of what working together would be like.
TYPES OF THERAPY
I have been trained to work with a range of approaches.
For shorter therapies where you have specific goals, I may make use of ideas from CBT. CBT gives us strategies that can help with issues like OCD, depression or sleep. I can share these strategies and ideas with you where they apply to your situation.
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My primary orientation is psychodynamic. This therapy approach emphasizes listening carefully to your experience. We commit to exploring complicated or unresolved feelings, some of which may be partly unconscious or difficult to get in touch with. We can think about how current issues relate to earlier experiences, or pay attention to patterns in your relationships. We might use thinking about "attachment" and relationships. You can find out more about on this website, including your "attachment styles".
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Central to all therapy is helping you deepen your self-knowledge, make meaningful changes, and cultivate compassionate acceptance.
OCD AND ANXIETY
OCD and body dysmorphia involve repeated compulsions or obsessions. Other anxiety issues like worry or panic can also result in distressing patterns that interfere with home, work and relationships. It is possible to find new ways of coping and build a different relationship with our anxiety.
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Though it promises to protect us, anxiety's influence can grow over time until it significantly limits our freedom. Checking and avoidance can come to influence daily routines. Tension can leave us exhausted, while sleep can be disrupted.
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Many people keep their struggles secret for a long time out of embarrassment or uncertainty about how to change. I am experienced in making a safe place for you to discuss your routines, or explore and learn about your anxiety.
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I may make use of evidence-based treatments like CBT. We can map out the ways in which your problem limits you, set goals, and figure out how to move forwards with measured steps. We might use CBT to help you get into feared situations and drop time-consuming habits.
You may also want time to understand the root causes of your difficulties in earlier experiences, or how patterns of anxiety can repeat in relationships.
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If you want to find out more about working together on this issue, write to me using the contact form.
LOW SELF-ESTEEM, ISOLATION AND DEPRESSION
Several difficulties can result from underlying low self-esteem, including depressions, over-working, social anxieties, substance use or difficulties with intimate relationships. I work integratively with these issues to help you build freedom in thought and find new experiences.
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Low self-esteem tends to result in repetitive and totalizing negative judgements about ourselves. In work, it can lead to cycles of exhaustion and a sense of never being “good enough”. In relationships, it can cause us to cling to people, to jump between partners and friends, or to keep people at a distance to avoid being hurt.
If you’re over-worked, sad or feeling isolated, there are a number of ways we might work on this.
We might examine the roots of your difficulties in previous experiences (as an adult or child). We can learn the skills of self-compassion to soothe uncomfortable feelings and validate your strengths. We can schedule in the activities you need to find contentment or purpose. We might overcome social anxieties or insecurities to help you build more satisfying relationships in work, friendships or with intimate partners.
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If you want to find out more about working together on this issue, you can write to me using the contact form​.
TRAUMA AND PTSD
What is traumatic varies greatly from person to person. A safe space to make sense of what has happened is the cornerstone of any therapy.
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Traumas are exceptionally distressing experiences. Common examples include assault, abuse (whether sexual, emotional or physical), serious accidents or health problems, and childbirth. But what is traumatic depends very much on the individual, context and timing. A repeated small wound can result in a trauma over time.
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Some traumas can result in the flashbacks or nightmares that we call "PTSD". They might manifest in other ways as feeling ashamed, irritated or dissociated. For many, it takes time to be able to speak about what has happened. Often there has been disruption to relationships and the ability to trust.
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I am experienced in providing a safe space for people to recover from the effects of trauma. This often involves discussing and processing memories together, dismantling any unhelpful ideas they have left you with. We might look for ways that you can engage with meaningful activities again or find new relationships that are nourishing and fulfilling for you, to break out of more fearful or shame-based cycles.
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If you want to find out more about working together on this issue, you can write to me using the contact form.
Illustration by Anna Antipina from Ouch!
LENGTH OF THERAPY
I offer both time-limited and open-ended approaches. When we meet to speak about your issues, I will give you an opinion on how long you might want to come for to help you plan ahead.
POSITIVE ABOUT DIFFERENCE
I aim to provide therapy that is affirmative of your experience of your race, gender, sexuality and ability, and that recognises the need for justice for discriminated groups.
I welcome discussions about difference, including where there is a difference between my identity and yours. I aim to make space for us to think together if experiences of discrimination have contributed to your current struggles, or you need space to reconnect with your sense of identity.