Hi, I'm Kate, and thank you for looking at my profile.  I am a UKCP accredited psychotherapist and Supervisor. I offer both short term counselling and longer-term psychotherapy, depending on your needs and interests, working both online and in my welcoming consulting room in Ilkley.  I also offer supervision.  I am passionate about helping people grow and connect with themselves, and I know from my own experience of therapy that this is both a wonderful and difficult journey.

I have helped people work through issues such as

Loss and bereavement

Anxiety and depression

Loneliness and relationship issues

Sexuality and identity

Life purpose and direction

Why might you come to counselling or therapy?  Some people come because they feel stuck, things are going wrong, or something has happened that is deeply upsetting or hard to cope with.  Other people may be drawn to seek support for feelings that are much less clear, where there seems little reason to feel that life is a struggle, but something is not quite right. Others come to find out more about themselves and to find a new direction in their lives.

You do not have to have a clear reason for coming, nor a particular idea of what you would like to gain from therapy: part of our work together can be to help you clarify this.

My aim in working with you is to help you explore what you are really feeling, to understand more of your life, events that have happened, and the choices you make, so that you have more space to make choices that are positive and constructive. Many of us are restricted by beliefs that other people have instilled in us, and many people use therapy to assess these and their continued relevance, and to select the beliefs about themselves that they wish to take forward. 

You may be wondering if there is any difference between therapy and counselling. I offer both a short term problem focused approach, which I would term counselling, and longer term, open ended work allowing deeper long standing change, which I would call therapy.   I am happy to work with you in what ever form you need, and to start with a short term focus to address immediate problems before deciding whether to work further together.

Research shows that psychotherapy is highly effective in addressing many forms of mental distress and illness including severe depression.  

My practice is based in Ilkley and is easy to reach by train and road from Leeds, Bradford, Bingley, Balidon, Guiseley, Saltaire, Menston, Skipton, Harrogate and much of West Yorkshire.  I also work online, usually after at least one face to face meeting. 

I am fully insured and receive regular supervision from a highly experienced psychotherapist and trainer. In addition to my private practice, I currently work with refugee children as a psychotherapist for Solace Surviving Exile and Persecution, a charity that provides psychotherapy and support to refugees and asylum seekers suffering mental ill health in Leeds and Bradford.

Before training in psychotherapy I worked in the voluntary sector for nearly twenty years, in a varied career that took me to many countries, including living in Kenya and Ethiopia. I have learnt a great deal from these experiences and bring this learning to my practice.

I love being outside and attempt each year to grow vegetables, some with more success than others.