ÌÇÐĹÙÍø

I am a qualified counsellor providing workplace counselling and organisational mental health support to employees and organisations across a range of sectors. Prior to working in counselling, I spent 25 years in the corporate world, which informs my understanding of workplace pressures, organisational culture, leadership dynamics, and the real-world impact of stress on performance and wellbeing. 

I support employees experiencing work-related stress, burnout, anxiety, low mood, workplace conflict, bullying, role pressure, and adjustment to organisational change. I also work with difficulties relating to performance pressure, interpersonal dynamics, and maintaining healthy boundaries between work and personal life. 

My therapeutic approach is integrative, combining person-centred foundations with cognitive-behavioural and solution-focused techniques. This allows me to provide a contained, supportive space while also helping clients develop practical strategies to manage stress, improve resilience, and function more effectively within their working environment.

I am experienced in working within Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and organisational frameworks, including triadic relationships between employee, employer, and provider. I understand the importance of clear ethical boundaries in workplace counselling and maintain strict confidentiality. 

Alongside individual counselling, I provide organisational support in relation to employee wellbeing, stress-related absence, workplace adjustment, and periods of organisational change such as restructuring or role transition. I also offer short-term, goal-focused interventions and return-to-work support where required.

My aim is to deliver effective workplace counselling that supports individual wellbeing while also contributing to healthier, more sustainable organisational outcomes such as reduced absence, improved engagement, and enhanced employee resilience.

I offer a confidential, supportive counselling space where you can talk openly about whatever is affecting you, including work-related stress, anxiety, burnout, low mood, workplace conflict, or difficulties managing change. Many clients come to counselling when pressures at work begin to impact sleep, confidence, relationships, or day-to-day functioning.

Sessions are collaborative and led by your needs. We will begin by exploring what has brought you to counselling and what you would like to be different. Some people prefer a focused, practical approach to help them manage immediate workplace pressures, while others use the space to explore deeper emotional patterns and experiences over time.

My way of working is integrative, drawing on person-centred counselling alongside cognitive-behavioural and solution-focused approaches. This means I aim to provide a safe, non-judgemental space where you feel heard and understood, while also supporting you to develop practical strategies for coping with stress, managing difficult workplace situations, and strengthening resilience.

We may explore how work pressures, relationships, expectations, and personal factors interact, and how these influence how you are feeling and coping. Where helpful, we can focus on practical areas such as boundaries, communication, decision-making, and managing workload pressures in a sustainable way.

I have experience working within Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and workplace counselling frameworks. Confidentiality is central to my practice. What you share in sessions remains private unless there is a risk of harm or a legal requirement to share information. Any communication with employers or third parties would only take place with your informed consent.

My aim is to provide a safe, grounded space where you can make sense of what you are experiencing, feel supported, and find ways forward that feel realistic within your working and personal life.

The first session is a structured initial appointment designed to establish the employee’s presenting issues, clarify needs, and determine suitability for ongoing counselling within the workplace or EAP framework.

The session begins with a brief review of the current situation, including work-related pressures, emotional or psychological concerns, and the impact these are having on wellbeing, attendance, performance, or day-to-day functioning. The focus is on gaining a clear, relevant understanding of the presenting issue in context.

Initial goals for support are then identified. These may include managing work-related stress, addressing burnout or anxiety, improving coping strategies, supporting adjustment to workplace change, or navigating interpersonal or role-related difficulties.

I will also outline how the service operates within a workplace counselling context, including confidentiality, boundaries, and the parameters for any third-party involvement. Clear explanation is provided regarding what information remains confidential and any limited circumstances under which information may be shared with a referring organisation. Any such communication would only take place with the client’s informed consent and in line with agreed protocols.

The first session also functions as a suitability and risk-informed assessment for ongoing work, ensuring that the level and type of support offered is appropriate to the individual’s needs and the organisational framework in which the referral has been made.

There is opportunity for the employee to ask questions about the process, structure of sessions, and expectations of engagement. This ensures clarity and supports informed participation in the counselling process.

By the end of the session, a clear plan will usually be agreed regarding next steps, which may include short-term focused work, time-limited intervention, or longer-term counselling depending on need, presenting complexity, and organisational parameters.

Who I am

I am a qualified integrative counsellor offering a confidential and supportive space for adults experiencing emotional, psychological, and behavioural difficulties.

What I work with

I support clients with a wide range of issues, including:

Anxiety, stress, depression and burnout

Addiction and compulsive behaviours

Low self-esteem and identity difficulties

Relationship and interpersonal issues

Workplace stress and pressure

Many clients also come to therapy when they feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure how to move forward.

Addiction and compulsive behaviours

I work with addiction and compulsive patterns including:

Alcohol and drug use

Gambling

Pornography and gaming

Compulsive spending and behaviours

These patterns are often linked to underlying emotional experiences such as stress, trauma, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm.

My professional background

Alongside my counselling work, I bring 25 years’ experience in the corporate world. This informs my understanding of workplace culture, performance pressure, organisational change, and the impact of sustained stress on mental health.

My approach

My approach is integrative, combining:

Person-centred counselling

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Solution-focused techniques

This allows us to work both reflectively and practically — exploring your experiences while also developing coping strategies and ways to support change.

How I work with clients

I work collaboratively and at your pace. Some clients come with specific concerns such as addiction, anxiety, or workplace stress, while others use therapy to explore longer-term patterns and emotional difficulties.

What you can expect

I aim to offer a calm, consistent, and non-judgemental therapeutic space where you can talk openly, make sense of your experiences, and begin to move towards meaningful change.

I work with adults experiencing a range of emotional, psychological, and behavioural difficulties, including:

Anxiety, stress, depression and burnout

Addiction and compulsive behaviours

Workplace stress and performance pressure

Relationship difficulties

Emotional overwhelm and low self-esteem

Many clients come to therapy when they feel stuck in patterns that are difficult to change or when coping strategies no longer feel effective.

Addiction and compulsive behaviours

I offer support for addiction and compulsive patterns including:

Alcohol and drug use

Gambling

Pornography and gaming

Compulsive spending and behaviours

These difficulties are often linked to underlying issues such as stress, trauma, anxiety, emotional pain, or long-term overwhelm. In therapy, we can explore these patterns and what is maintaining them.

Workplace stress and pressure

Alongside addiction work, I support clients experiencing workplace-related difficulties such as:

Burnout and exhaustion

High performance pressure

Workplace conflict or role strain

Difficulty maintaining boundaries between work and personal life

How therapy can help

Therapy provides space to understand what is happening beneath the surface of these difficulties and how different experiences connect. Together we can explore triggers, patterns, and cycles that may be keeping things stuck.

Work may include:

Identifying emotional and behavioural patterns

Understanding triggers and maintaining factors

Reducing shame and self-criticism

Developing healthier coping strategies

My approach

My approach is integrative, combining:

Person-centred counselling

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Solution-focused techniques

This allows us to work both reflectively and practically, focusing on emotional understanding as well as day-to-day coping and change.

Session focus

Sessions are tailored to your needs and may be short-term or longer-term depending on what you want to focus on. Some clients come with specific goals such as reducing addiction or managing workplace stress.

What the first session is for

The first session is an opportunity to understand what has brought you to therapy and what you would like support with. This may include anxiety, stress, depression, addiction, compulsive behaviours, or workplace-related difficulties.

Talking about your situation

We will explore your current situation and the impact it is having on your life, including relationships, work, emotional wellbeing, and coping strategies. You can share as much or as little as feels comfortable - there is no expectation to go into everything at once.

Understanding your needs

I will ask some initial questions to help build a clearer picture of your needs. This may include your background, current difficulties, and any relevant personal or mental health history. This helps ensure that the support offered is appropriate and tailored to you.

What you want from therapy

We will begin to explore what you would like to achieve from therapy. This may include:

Reducing or stopping addictive or compulsive behaviours

Managing stress, anxiety, or burnout

Improving coping strategies

Understanding emotional patterns

Gaining clarity and direction

How I work

I will explain how I work as an integrative counsellor, including person-centred counselling, CBT, and solution-focused approaches. You will also have the opportunity to ask any questions about therapy, confidentiality, or how sessions work.

Choosing to continue

The first session is also an opportunity for you to decide whether you feel comfortable working with me. There is no obligation to continue, and if you choose to proceed, we will agree a way of working that reflects your needs and goals.

I am a qualified integrative counsellor offering a confidential and supportive space for adults experiencing emotional, psychological, and behavioural difficulties, including anxiety, stress, depression, low mood, burnout, addiction, and compulsive behaviours.

I work with clients facing a wide range of challenges, including alcohol and drug use, gambling, pornography, gaming, compulsive spending, workplace stress, relationship difficulties, and issues relating to self-esteem, identity, and emotional regulation. Many people I work with are also navigating periods of transition, pressure, or feeling stuck in patterns that are difficult to change alone.

Alongside my counselling practice, I bring 25 years’ experience in the corporate world. This gives me a grounded understanding of workplace stress, performance pressure, organisational culture. 

My approach is integrative, drawing on person-centred counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and solution-focused techniques. This allows us to work both reflectively and practically - creating space to explore underlying emotional experiences while also identifying patterns, triggers, and strategies that support meaningful and sustainable change.

Addiction and compulsive behaviours are often not the core problem, but a way of coping with underlying distress, trauma, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm. In therapy, we can work together to understand what is driving these patterns, reduce shame and self-criticism, and develop healthier ways of managing thoughts, feelings, and urges.

I have experience working within Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) frameworks and understand the importance of confidentiality, clarity, and professional boundaries.

My aim is to provide a consistent, safe, and non-judgemental therapeutic relationship where you can speak openly, make sense of your experiences, and develop more stable and sustainable ways of coping.

I work with adults experiencing a wide range of emotional, psychological, and behavioural difficulties, including anxiety, stress, depression, burnout, addiction, and compulsive behaviours.

Many clients seek support when they feel stuck in patterns that are difficult to change alone. This may include alcohol or drug use, gambling, pornography, gaming, compulsive spending, or other behaviours that are beginning to impact daily life, relationships, work, or wellbeing. Others come to therapy when they are affected by someone else’s addiction and are trying to make sense of the emotional impact.

I also support clients experiencing workplace-related stress, including burnout, performance pressure, workplace conflict, high demands, and difficulty maintaining boundaries between work and personal life. These pressures can often contribute to emotional overwhelm and unhelpful coping strategies.

Therapy can provide space to understand what is driving these experiences and why certain patterns may have developed over time. This may include exploring stress, anxiety, trauma, low self-esteem, grief, or difficult life experiences, and how these connect to current thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

In our work together, we can focus on identifying triggers, understanding cycles of behaviour, and developing more helpful ways of responding to emotional and situational stress. This may include building coping strategies, improving emotional regulation, and supporting change that feels realistic and sustainable.

Sessions are collaborative and shaped around your needs. Some clients prefer focused, short-term work around specific issues such as addiction, anxiety, or workplace stress, while others use therapy to explore longer-standing emotional patterns in greater depth.

The aim is to create a safe and consistent space where you can speak openly, make sense of your experiences, and begin to develop healthier and more stable ways of coping.

In the first session, we will focus on what has brought you to counselling and what you would like support with. This may include difficulties such as anxiety, stress, depression, burnout, addiction, compulsive behaviours, or workplace-related pressures.

The session is an opportunity to talk through your current situation in as much detail as feels comfortable for you. There is no expectation to share everything at once, and we can go at a pace that feels manageable.

We will look at how these difficulties are affecting your day-to-day life, including your relationships, work, emotional wellbeing, and coping strategies. This helps build a shared understanding of what you are experiencing and what you would like to change or work towards.

I will ask some initial assessment questions about your background, current concerns, and any relevant personal or mental health history. This helps ensure that the support offered is appropriate and tailored to your needs.

We will also begin to identify what you would like from therapy. For some people this may involve reducing or stopping addictive or compulsive behaviours, managing workplace stress, or improving emotional wellbeing. For others, it may be about understanding patterns, gaining clarity, or finding more effective ways of coping.

I will explain how I work and answer any questions you may have about the counselling process, confidentiality, and how sessions are structured.

The first session is also an opportunity for you to decide whether you feel comfortable working with me. If you choose to continue, we will agree a way of working that reflects your needs and goals.

ABOUT

Counselling and Psychotherapy in-person and Online

Essential Minds 

My Background

I worked in the corporate sector for 25 years including running my own recruitment business and deriving great satisfaction from the challenge of this industry. However, over time, I noticed how people can end up feeling trapped, overburdened by mental health issues that they didn’t feel they could communicate to others. I also struggled in my own way, which is what led me to learning as much as possible about personal development – a journey that begun in 1993. Since then, I have always wanted to dedicate myself to educating those experiencing the same issues and supporting them manage their wellbeing more effectively.

As a counsellor, psychotherapist, and coach, I am always taking care to improve the quality of my service for clients, which is why I continue to expand my knowledge of modalities to this day. This includes spending time working for a men’s mental health charity and qualifying as a hypnotherapist in 2018.

Qualifications

- Registered with the ÌÇÐĹÙÍø

- Registered Addiction professionals

- MsC in Addiction Psychology and Counselling

- Qualified Hypnotherapist

I help as a counsellor and psychotherapist in- person and online. 

Essential Minds

Effective Safe Confidential Counselling & Psychotherapy solutions.

In-person/online, we have solutions for overwhelming feelings, being stuck, emotional exhaustion, repeating life difficulties, anxiety, depression, addiction, low self-esteem, grief & the deep impact these have on you in your life and of those you love.

Anxiety & Stress

Anxiety feels constant and exhausting, presenting worry, overthinking, restlessness, sleep issues, panic/pressure.

Therapy understands what drives these patterns, reduce their intensity to develop calmer, more effective management.

Depression & Low Mood

Feeling drained, disconnected, and hopeless, affecting motivation, relationships, and self-worth?

Together, we will explore contributing factors, process emotional difficulties and rebuild hope, energy, and connection.

Addiction & Compulsive Behaviours

Addiction identifies as a way of dealing with emotional pain/stress using alcohol, drugs, gambling, food, or other negative behaviours.

I offer a non-judgemental space to explore underlying causes and support recovery to get stability.

Trauma & Childhood Experiences

Overwhelming painful experiences affect how you think, feel, and relate in the present.

Make sense of these experiences, reduce their impact to overcome with safe emotional healing.

Grief, Loss & Bereavement

Bereavement, relationship loss, health changes & other life transitions, feel disorientating and often hit in waves.

There is no magic formula with grief, it requires a steady space to process loss and carry it with understanding, to manage it.

Confidence, Self-Esteem & Personal Growth

Lacking confidence, unsure of your direction?

Explore limiting patterns and gain greater clarity, confidence, and self-understanding.

Hypnotherapy

I offer hypnotherapy (when appropriate) helping access deeper patterns of thought and behaviour.

A powerful tool supporting anxiety, trauma, confidence, and addictive behaviours.

My First Session

The first session is an opportunity for us to begin understanding what has brought you to therapy and what you would like to change or gain from it. We will explore your current situation, any relevant background, and what feels most important for you to focus on. You are not expected to prepare anything in advance or to share more than you feel comfortable with.

This session also gives you space to ask questions and get a sense of how I work, so you can decide whether you feel comfortable continuing. At the end, we will briefly reflect on how it felt and whether working together feels right for you.

Sessions are 45 minutes and take place in a safe, confidential, and supportive environment where you can talk at your own pace.

I am a qualified counsellor offering support to individuals affected by addiction and compulsive behaviours. I provide a confidential and non-judgemental space where you can explore your relationship with substances or behaviours and the impact they may be having on your life, relationships, wellbeing, and sense of self.

I work with a range of addiction-related difficulties including alcohol misuse, drug use, gambling, pornography, gaming, compulsive spending, and other repetitive behaviours that may feel difficult to control. I also support clients who are affected by a loved one's addiction and those seeking to maintain recovery or prevent relapse.

My approach is integrative, combining person-centred counselling with cognitive-behavioural and solution-focused techniques. This allows us to explore not only the addictive behaviour itself but also the underlying emotional, psychological, and relational factors that may contribute to it. Together, we can identify patterns, recognise triggers, and develop healthier ways of coping with difficult thoughts, feelings, and life circumstances.

Many people struggling with addiction also experience anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, trauma, grief, stress, or relationship difficulties. Therapy can provide an opportunity to understand these experiences in greater depth and work towards meaningful and sustainable change.

I recognise that reaching out for support can feel challenging, particularly when feelings of shame, guilt, or fear are present. My aim is to offer a safe and supportive environment where you can speak openly without judgement and work at a pace that feels comfortable for you.

Sessions are tailored to your individual needs and goals. Whether you are questioning your relationship with a substance or behaviour, seeking support in recovery, or looking to better understand the role addiction plays in your life, I will work collaboratively with you to help you move towards lasting change and improved wellbeing.

I offer counselling and addiction therapy to individuals experiencing difficulties with alcohol, drug use, gambling, pornography, gaming, compulsive spending, and other addictive or compulsive behaviours. I provide a confidential, non-judgemental space where you can explore your relationship with addiction and the impact it is having on your mental health, relationships, work, and daily life.

You may be looking for support with reducing or stopping a behaviour, maintaining recovery, preventing relapse, or understanding patterns that feel difficult to change. I also work with clients affected by someone else’s addiction, offering support to make sense of the emotional impact and develop healthier coping strategies.

My approach to addiction counselling is integrative, combining person-centred therapy with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and solution-focused techniques. This allows us to work both reflectively and practically, exploring underlying causes such as stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, low self-esteem, or life transitions, while also developing practical tools to support change.

Addictive behaviours often develop as coping strategies for emotional pain or overwhelm. In therapy, we can work together to understand these patterns and build alternative ways of managing thoughts, feelings, and triggers. This may include identifying high-risk situations, strengthening emotional regulation, and supporting relapse prevention where relevant.

Sessions are tailored to your individual needs and can be short-term or longer-term depending on your goals.

I understand that seeking addiction support can feel challenging, particularly where shame, guilt, or fear of judgement is present. I aim to provide a safe, supportive, and professional counselling relationship where you can speak openly and work at a pace that feels right for you.

In our first session, we will focus on what has brought you to counselling and what you would like support with. This may include alcohol use, drug use, gambling, pornography, gaming, or other compulsive behaviours that are causing concern.

We will explore the impact these behaviours are having on your life, including your relationships, work, wellbeing, and day-to-day functioning. You will not be expected to share anything you are not ready to discuss, and we will work at a pace that feels comfortable for you.

I will ask some initial assessment questions to understand your background, current difficulties, and any relevant personal or mental health history. This helps ensure that counselling is appropriate and tailored to your needs.

We will begin to identify your goals for therapy, which may include reducing or stopping a behaviour, maintaining recovery, preventing relapse, or understanding underlying emotional triggers. Where helpful, we may also discuss immediate coping strategies.

I will explain how I work as an integrative counsellor, drawing on person-centred counselling, CBT, and solution-focused approaches. You will have space to ask questions about therapy, confidentiality, and how sessions work.

The first session is also an opportunity for you to decide whether you feel comfortable working with me. There is no obligation to continue, and if you choose to proceed, we will agree a way of working that suits your needs.