I am an experienced and registered adult psychotherapist (UKCP, BACP). I completed an in-depth and rigorous four year clinical training and qualified as an attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapist at the Bowlby Centre, London. I am now a training therapist and supervisor, teacher and acting chair of the Clinical Training Committee at the Bowlby Centre. I am also qualified and registered as a psychoanalytic supervisor (UKCP).

I worked for five years as an honorary psychodynamic psychotherapist and mentalization based therapist in the NHS, South London and Maudsley Trust. Over the past ten years, I have built up a thriving private practice.

I am an experienced teacher and trainer in psychotherapy, and have developed, written and taught a two year diploma course in Attachment-based counselling at the Wimbledon Guild.

I think it’s also important to add that I have gone through my own extensive experience of therapy, and know what it’s like to be a ‘therapee’, and how life changing and profound it can be.

We are all individuals dealing with our own personal struggles and each of us has our own unique strengths and potential for growth.

It may be that you are suffering from debilitating anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the legacies of childhood or adult trauma, abuse, bereavement or loss. You may be dealing with difficulties in your current relationships or career, or facing major life transitions. You might be feeling stuck, having lost the capacity to feel joy and creativity, optimism and hope. Perhaps you’re struggling with self-confidence, your sense of your place in the world, your sexuality or gender identity.

Sometimes it can be harder to put your finger on what’s troubling you. Maybe you’re feeling a bit flat, and want to be able to live in a fuller and freer way. You may come to therapy because you want to know and understand yourself more deeply.

We all share the profoundly human need for relationship, to be recognized, understood and accepted for being ourselves.

I have a passion for my work; helping my clients make these longed-for changes. In developing greater self understanding and self acceptance, and crucially, letting go of negative, self-punishing thoughts and behaviours, the freedom to reach their full potential becomes possible.

Understanding the impact of early life and relationships and how we learnt to adapt is a fundamental part of this process. Recognising and understanding how strategies developed in childhood to survive can leave us stuck in unhealthy repetitive patterns, is the first step to freeing ourselves from them. Working together to learn new ways to manage anxiety and stress, and greater self-acceptance, may be key aspects of therapy.

As we explore together, you may become aware of parts of yourself you knew little about, the legacy of experiences you perhaps hadn’t allowed yourself to feel or recognise the impact of. Over time, this can allow you to experience and manage a much fuller range of emotions. This can lead to you feeling more alive and creative, more connected to yourself and to those around you. You may feel more able to make more positive, conscious choices, leading to meaningful and lasting changes in your life and in your relationships.

I work with a wide variety of clients from a diverse range of backgrounds, presenting symptoms and challenges. I see each client as an individual engaged in their own personal struggle with what it means to be human in a particular situation, body, family, culture, sexual and gender identity, society and time.

I am informed by the following theoretical approaches:

ATTACHMENT THEORY

Attachment theory understands the enduring lifelong human need for relationships ‘from cradle to grave’. Our early attachments with our caregivers shape our adult selves, our relationships, and our sense of security in the world.

An attachment informed approach to therapy uses these understandings to create a new attachment environment where these relational knots can begin to be untangled and worked through.

AN UNDERSTANDING OF TRAUMA

Psychological trauma happens when an event, or repeated experiences are so overwhelming that the ability to process them is compromised. It is at the root of human suffering, and its impact can manifest in anxiety, depression, flashbacks, dissociation, PTSD, addiction, disordered eating, anger issues, self harm and suicidality. A trauma informed approach understands the enduring effects that being overwhelmed has on the nervous system, the mind, and the body, particularly when the experience was severe, when it was repeated and especially when it happened in childhood.

Experiences such as not having your emotional needs met, being neglected, rejected, hurt and abused can lead to ways of self-protection that serve to perpetuate suffering.

Processing trauma can be a profound and life changing experience. We may not be able to change how trauma affected our past lives but we can begin to change how it impacts on our present and future.

PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVES

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a therapeutic process which helps us understand and resolve our difficulties by increasing awareness of our ‘inner world’, our unconscious patterns of relating, laid down early in life, and how these influence our past and current relationships and our sense of ourselves.

A psychoanalytic approach aims to help people to understand and change complex, deep-rooted and often unconsciously based emotional and relationship difficulties and inner conflicts, working through painful experiences to alleviate suffering and bring about deep and lasting change.

Put simply, the more we understand and accept our unconscious patterns and feelings, the less we are likely to be constrained by them, and the greater freedom we can have to make choices and be open to new experiences.

RELATIONAL APPROACH

One of the greatest benefits of therapy can be the positive change in how we relate to the significant people in our lives, and most importantly, how we relate to ourselves.

Research clearly shows that the most important ingredient in a successful psychotherapy, far more influential than the type of therapy, is the quality of the therapeutic relationship. This very much fits with my experience, and I see the therapy relationship itself as the foundation of positive change. To this end I aim to approach each client with honesty, openness, respect, kindness and sensitivity.

I respect and value equality, diversity, and inclusion, and I aim to have an accepting and unbiased attitude in engaging with areas of difference such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, class, ability, culture and nationality.

WHAT WILL THE FIRST SESSION BE LIKE?

I will offer you an initial 50 minute consultation, which gives us the opportunity to begin to get to know each other, and for you to have a sense of how it is to work with me.

In this first meeting, I’d like to learn what brings you to therapy, what you'd like to gain from it, and any hopes and worries you may have about your past, present, or future. I'd like to know something about your family history and your current situation. At the end of the consultation, if you decide you’d like to continue, we’ll agree to meet for ongoing sessions.

HOW DO FUTURE SESSIONS WORK?

Sessions last for 50 minutes and are arranged at the same time and day of the week, and are usually once, twice or three times a week.

HOW LONG WILL THERAPY LAST?

There isn’t a fixed answer to this question, as it will very much depend on the issues you want to address.

Therapy may last for months or for a number of years, depending on your individual needs and what you are hoping to gain from it. Shorter term therapy may be more appropriate to deal with a specific issue or situation. However, many clients have experienced challenges over many years and value a long-term approach, which gives us the opportunity to work at depth, and for long lasting changes to take hold.

WILL SESSIONS BE CONFIDENTIAL?

Sessions will be in the strictest confidence, subject to the ethics of my profession. An exception to this is that I am obliged by law to report current abuse of children, threats of deliberate harm to life, or threats to commit terrorist acts.

I am required by my professional organisation, the UKCP, to regularly discuss my work with a supervisor, to ensure safe and ethical practice, and to maintain high standards. In these discussions I don’t reveal names or personal details.

Any personal information I hold about you (eg. email address, phone number) is in accordance with GDPR (data protection) legislation.

HOW DO I KNOW YOU ARE AN ACCREDITED PSYCHOTHERAPIST?

I am registered with the UKCP (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy) and am an accredited member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy). I am also on the UKCP’s list of registered supervisors. I hold appropriate professional insurance.