About
I will not tell you what to do.
That is the first thing most people need to hear. The second is that I will not sit in silence nodding either.
How I work
I trained in the person-centred approach, which rests on a simple idea: given the right conditions, people move towards what is good for them. The conditions are a relationship where you are accepted as you are, understood from the inside and met by someone who is being real with you. My work is to offer those, consistently, week after week.
In practice it is a conversation. You lead. I follow closely, reflect back what I hear, notice what seems to matter and sometimes say what I see. I will not give you homework or a diagnosis. If something more structured would help, I will say so and we will decide together.
Who I see
Adults from eighteen upwards, in Reading, Berkshire and online across the UK. The things people bring most often: anxiety that will not switch off, grief in all its shapes, low mood, the end or the strain of a relationship, work that has taken over, carrying everyone else, and the feeling of having lost yourself somewhere along the way.
I also see people who cannot name it. That is not a problem. Naming it is often what the first few sessions are for.
Training and registration
- Registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I work within its Ethical Framework.
- Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling.
- Further training in bereavement, trauma-informed practice and working online.
- Monthly clinical supervision, enhanced DBS check and professional indemnity insurance.
Before counselling
I spent fifteen years in busy workplaces, the last few managing people. I noticed that the ones who were struggling most were usually the ones holding everything together for everyone else. I retrained because I wanted to be the person who asked them how they actually were, and had time to hear the answer.