Isabella Watson

Sometimes in our lives things feel “off” but we don’t really know why. We might feel anxious or low and not understand how to shift these feelings. Too often it can feel like something we don’t understand or can’t control is preventing us from living the lives we truly want, that it is something inside us. I specialise in working with anxiety and low mood when these experiences feel confusing and outside of your control. I help my clients understand what’s happening beneath the surface and find ways to feel more grounded, compassionate towards themselves, and able to move forwards. I mainly practise psychodynamic therapy, which focuses on bringing unconscious patterns and dynamics into conscious awareness. Throughout our lives we develop coping mechanisms and defences to protect the vulnerable parts of us, and, over time, these become second nature to the extent that we are not fully aware of them and their impact on our lives. Often our distress is caused because these protective mechanisms are now not serving us in the way we would like. Together, my clients and I work to bring these coping mechanisms into conscious awareness, so that the parts of you that haven’t been able to speak can begin to find a voice. This will involve exploring family and relationship dynamics developed in childhood because this is where we learn the “rules” that we internalise and then take for granted later in life. In our 50 minute, weekly sessions we will explore whatever is on your mind, building up a picture of who you are and seeking to understand the wider connections. It is through exploring your mind with curiosity and care that we can begin to relieve your symptoms and move you towards how you would like to experience the world. My work is informed by intersectional thinking, acknowledging how the messaging we have internalised from society can adversely affect our wellbeing. My work is affirmative of gender, sexuality and relationship diversity. I am a fully qualified and experienced therapist and am a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. I regularly undertake further professional development training. The most important thing about finding a therapist is finding someone who you feel you might be able to begin opening up to, who you feel you could come to trust. If that sounds like something you would be interested in exploring please send me an email and we can set up an initial consultation. You can also read more about what therapy is like with me on my website. I wish you all the best with beginning therapy.