I am a qualified Family & Systemic Psychotherapist, Social Worker and Supervisor, with over 17 years’ experience, of working with children, adolescents, adults and families in the NHS, social care and third sector settings. My journey into therapy began during my first profession as a Social Worker. My working experience includes relationship difficulties individually and as a couple, family and parent work, gender identity, fostering and adoption and safeguarding children. The underpinning of my work is guided by ideas around social justice, empowerment, and advocacy. I also provide clinical supervision to trainee and qualified clinicians. How can therapy help? There are times in our lives when we are presented with difficulties such as feeling stressed or experiencing significant life changes. Sometimes we might not feel like our ordinary selves, and we just don’t know why. I can help think with you about particular feelings and/or experiences that might feel too big to manage alone. Through exploration of your previous and current relationships, patterns of behaviour and early experiences, we can create an understanding of your own narrative. We would then work together to think about how this has contributed, to how you feel about yourself and others. This would also include thinking about your relationships with those around you, with the aim of developing personal resources to help manage what is happening in your life. Therapeutic Approach My therapeutic approach is eclectic as I draw on different ideas from narrative and emotionally focused therapy. I like to widen the lens regarding what we talk about, so focusing on what is happening internally and also in your wider relationships. My style as a therapist is conversational and I prefer to be collaborative in our work. This means that during sessions I might offer ideas on what position my thinking and questions are coming from and why I am asking them. I work from a strengths based approach and think about the positives as well as the difficulties. When required I am able to utilise creative approaches and incorporate drawing, writing and play to ensure I am able to deliver therapy that suits all needs. My practice is informed by evidence-based interventions and my direct practice experience. Who do I work with? I provide both short and long-term therapeutic support for individuals, couples and families, experiencing a variety of mental health presentations and associated difficulties. These include anxiety, low mood, depression, trauma, self-harm, relationship difficulties, substance misuse, experiences of abuse and neglect, behavioural difficulties, anti-social behaviour, adoption and kinship care, neurodevelopmental conditions, loss, gender identity development, LGBTQ+ support. What to expect in the first session Our first meeting would be what I like to call a hello and let’s get to know one another session. The purpose of the first session is to build a rapport and introduce ourselves to one another. This will enable you to gain a sense of me as a therapist and for me to explore whether I might be able to help you. During the session we would gather information and build a picture regarding what lead you to therapy. I might be more directive than usual by asking questions around the presenting problem and exploring any hopes and ideas on what you might like to achieve out of coming to therapy. I then might offer some ideas on what could be useful and it would also be an opportunity for you to ask questions about me. You would then have a think about whether we would be a good match and could continue working together.