What is counselling/psychotherapy?

Counselling and psychotherapy offer a safe, confidential space where you can talk openly about what’s going on in your life — without judgement, pressure, or expectation.

Life can feel overwhelming at times. You might be struggling with your emotions, relationships, past experiences, or simply feeling stuck without fully knowing why. Therapy gives you the time and space to explore this at your own pace, with support.

What’s the Difference?

The terms counselling and psychotherapy are often used interchangeably, and both aim to support your wellbeing.

• Counselling often focuses on current difficulties, helping you manage specific challenges or life situations.

• Psychotherapy tends to explore deeper patterns, including how past experiences may be influencing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours today.

In practice, many therapists (including myself) integrate both approaches depending on what you need.

How Can It Help?

Therapy can support you to:

• Better understand your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours

• Process difficult or painful experiences

• Improve relationships and communication

• Build healthier coping strategies

• Increase self-awareness, confidence, and emotional resilience

What to Expect

Sessions are tailored to you. There is no “one size fits all” approach — we work together to understand what’s bringing you to therapy and what you would like to change or explore.

You set the pace, and you are always in control of what you choose to share. The relationship between therapist and client is at the heart of the work, creating a space where you feel heard, understood, and supported.

A Compassionate, Trauma-Informed Approach

I work in a way that is sensitive to your experiences, particularly if you have been through trauma or difficult life events. This means prioritising safety, trust, and emotional regulation, rather than pushing you to talk about anything before you feel ready.

Therapy is not about being “fixed.” It’s about understanding yourself more deeply, finding new ways of coping, and creating meaningful, lasting change in your life.

What is embodied DBT?

Embodied DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy) is an approach that combines traditional DBT skills with body-based (somatic) techniques. It recognises that emotional distress isn’t just experienced in the mind — it’s also held in the body.

By working with both thoughts and physical sensations, embodied DBT helps you regulate emotions more effectively, feel safer within yourself, and respond to challenges in a more balanced way.

How Does It Work?

Embodied DBT brings together practical coping strategies with gentle awareness of the body. Rather than only talking about emotions, we also explore how they show up physically — such as tension, restlessness, or shutdown.

Sessions may include:

• Mindfulness that includes body awareness

• Grounding and nervous system regulation techniques

• Breathwork to support emotional balance

• Movement or posture-based exercises (where appropriate)

• Traditional DBT skills such as distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness

This integrated approach supports both immediate coping and deeper, longer-term change.

What Can It Help With?

Embodied DBT can be particularly helpful for:

• Intense or overwhelming emotions

• Anxiety and stress

• Trauma and emotional dysregulation

• Difficulties in relationships

• Feeling disconnected from your body or emotions

A Trauma-Informed Approach

Embodied DBT is always delivered in a safe, paced, and collaborative way. There is no pressure to engage with anything that feels too much. The focus is on helping you build a sense of safety in your body, develop practical tools, and feel more in control of your emotional responses.

Why Work with the Body?

When we experience stress or trauma, the body’s nervous system can stay on high alert or shut down. Talking alone doesn’t always reach these deeper responses.

By gently including the body in therapy, we can:

• Reduce emotional overwhelm more effectively

• Increase feelings of safety and stability

• Strengthen your ability to stay present

• Support lasting change, not just short-term coping

What is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing)

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a powerful, evidence-based therapy designed to help people process and heal from distressing or traumatic experiences.

When something overwhelming happens, the brain can struggle to fully process it. This can leave memories feeling “stuck,” meaning they continue to affect how you think, feel, and respond in the present. EMDR helps the brain reprocess these experiences so they no longer feel as intense or intrusive.

How Does EMDR Work?

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (often guided eye movements, tapping, or sounds) while you briefly focus on a distressing memory.

This process helps the brain:

• Safely process unresolved experiences

• Reduce the emotional intensity linked to memories

• Shift negative beliefs (e.g. “I’m not safe” or “It was my fault”)

• Build more adaptive, balanced perspectives

Over time, the memory becomes less distressing and feels more like something that happened in the past — rather than something you are still reliving.

What Can EMDR Help With?

EMDR is widely used to support:

• Trauma and PTSD

• Anxiety and panic

• Childhood experiences and attachment wounds

• Phobias

• Low self-esteem and negative core beliefs

What to Expect

EMDR is a structured therapy, but it is always tailored to you. We begin by building safety and stabilisation, ensuring you have the tools to manage any difficult emotions that may arise.

You will not be forced to go into anything before you feel ready. The process is collaborative, paced carefully, and focused on helping you feel safe and in control throughout.

A Compassionate, Trauma-Informed Approach

EMDR is not about reliving trauma in detail. It’s about helping your brain do what it was unable to do at the time — process the experience in a way that allows healing to take place.

Many people find that EMDR helps them feel lighter, more grounded, and less affected by the past, allowing them to move forward with greater ease.

What is Exposure therapy?

Exposure therapy is a structured, evidence-based approach that helps people gradually face the thoughts, feelings, or situations they may have been avoiding due to fear, anxiety, or past experiences.

Avoidance can feel helpful in the short term, but over time it often keeps anxiety or distress going. Exposure therapy works by gently and safely supporting you to approach what feels difficult — at a pace that feels manageable and with the right level of support.

How Does It Work?

Together, we identify the situations, memories, or triggers that feel overwhelming. From there, we create a step-by-step plan, starting with what feels most manageable and gradually building confidence over time.

This might involve:

• Talking through feared situations or memories

• Visualising scenarios in a safe, controlled way

• Gradually facing real-life situations with support

• Learning grounding and regulation techniques to manage distress

You are always in control of the process — nothing is rushed or forced.

What Can It Help With?

Exposure therapy can be helpful for:

• Anxiety and panic

• Phobias

• Trauma and PTSD

• Obsessive-compulsive patterns

• Social anxiety

A Gentle, Trauma-Informed Approach

In a trauma-informed setting, exposure therapy is not about “pushing through” distress. Instead, it’s about building safety, trust, and resilience — helping your mind and body learn that what once felt overwhelming can become manageable.

The aim is not to remove discomfort completely, but to help you feel more in control, less restricted by fear, and more able to live your life fully.