Having trouble finding a counsellor? It’s completely understandable that you may feel overwhelmed if you have come here to find some help and are welcomed with many pictures of warm, smiling therapists offering you their services. Who do you choose and how do you know if they will be the right fit for you?

All the research on the effectiveness of therapy points to the strength of the relationship between you (the client) and the counsellor being the most important aspect in positive outcomes when seeking therapy. Do you feel accepted and heard by your counsellor? Are they genuinely interested in who you are? Do you feel they are ‘on your side’, even when they might be saying something challenging?

We all experience difficult times in our lives, times when we can't make sense and feel stuck.Sometimes that can be a life event such as bereavement, relationship break up or illness which has left you in need of support, or you may not be able to put your finger on what you feel is wrong. Often we have ways of coping with emotional distress that come from what happened in our childhood, and those ways of coping no longer serve us as adults. Sometimes it may feel like there are different ‘parts’ of ourselves that are in conflict with each other and this can cause us distress. By not rejecting but listening to and accepting those parts of ourselves we struggle with, we can become more self-compassionate and less judgemental of ourselves and others.

My aim is to work with you to uncover ways in which you might be keeping yourself stuck, to find out what might be blocking you from fully becoming who you want to be and supporting you in making different choices in your life. I work with clients to uncover what might be troubling them, as sometimes it might not be obvious what's going wrong for us. Having the space to explore allows us to work together to help you find a way forward. I have particular experience working with men, who are often underrepresented in both sides of the therapeutic relationship and who can often struggle to express emotion.

Having worked as a counsellor for a number of years, I can offer you a space where you will find compassion, openness, empathy and warmth.  It's ironic that in the 21st century we have never had as many ways to connect with other people, but more and more people experience feelings of disconnection, isolation and loneliness. I know from my own experience of counselling how it has helped me with aspects of my own life I have struggled with. It offered me the time and space with someone who focused on me without judgement, so I was able to explore who I was and what I wanted. My own counsellor didn’t give me the answers or tell me what they thought I should do, but they were alongside me offering compassion, empathy and acceptance whilst sharing their own reflections on what I was bringing.