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I currently have some availability on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and evenings.

I am a trained integrative counsellor. 'Integrative' means that I am able to combine different counselling methods to suit your needs and preferences. These different methods include:

- person-centred counselling (where the focus in on working with you in the way you want to be worked with using methods you can identify with). Empathy and validation are key concepts in person-centred counselling

- psychodynamic methods, where the focus is on exploring experiences, difficulties and events in the past that, if not yet resolved, may be adding to the problems you are experiencing now

- cognitive behavioural methods (CBT) that help you take a different perspective on your issues. CBT may enable you to move forward and feel a little better quite early in therapy.

I will listen carefully to you and I will not judge you. I will use my natural warmth and empathy to build a positive working relationship with you, to enable you to feel trust and confidence in the therapeutic process. My web site includes some feedback from people who have found this process helpful. 

Sessions can be structured around your availability and do not have to be on the same day each week. I am happy to work with you if you want occasional sessions, or if you need to fit therapy around variable working hours, shifts etc.

My web site has further information on how I use an integrative approach in my work. It describes how this blending of different counselling methods can help you begin to feel better and more in control of the problems you are dealing with.

Most people have the solutions to their problems within themselves. I cannot solve the problems you are grappling with for you. But I will listen to you, ask you the right questions, and make some constructive links to help you find the solutions you are looking for.

In our first session, I will invite you to tell me what has made you decide to have counselling and this is an opportunity, if you feel ready, to start telling me about the problems you are dealing with. 

If you like, you can tell me a little about your upbringing, family situation, currently living arrangements and relationships. 

There will be time for you to ask me questions about how I think I may be able to help you, and what you can expect from future sessions. I will not be asking you to complete complicated questionnaires or assessment forms, as I think it is better to let things unfold naturally and at your pace.

I offer a free 30 minute consultation by phone or Zoom that might help you decide if I am the best fit for your needs and preferences. There is no obligation.

I currently have availability for on-line sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, including Wednesday and Thursday evenings. There may also be some availability at other times. I try to be flexible with appointments, so your counselling sessions do not necessarily have to take place on the same day of the week each time.

While most of us can find solutions to our problems ourselves, when things are very difficult it can feel impossible to resolve our issues without skilled help. Or sometimes, we might just need someone to talk things through with. I will listen to you carefully, and I will not make assumptions about you or judge you. Using a person-centred approach combined with my natural warmth and empathy, I can gently enable you to unpack the issues you are struggling with. As an integrative counsellor, I combine person-centred methods with psychodynamic insights to help you understand where problems might have originated and how they can be eased. I also use Gestalt, transactional analysis and cognitive-behavioural techniques to help you manage difficult emotions. Some people learn to use these skills themselves and continue to use them long after counselling has ended. 

I work online only, with 50 minute sessions using Zoom. Recognising that life often makes unpredictable demands, I like to be flexible about appointment dates and times. This can be helpful for people who cannot commit to an appointment on the same day every week. It is usually best to have weekly sessions for the first few weeks at least, but these do not necessarily have to be on the same day each week.

You may just want to talk - to be heard, and understood. Or if you like creative activity, we can make use of writing, drawing, or other creative techniques to help focus on the issues with which you want help. Some people find it helpful to do some written work between sessions for us to review together next time. Our work together will be guided by whatever suits you best and I will never try to impose my preferences upon you. 

I am happy to offer a phone conversation or Zoom session of up to 30 minutes, free of charge, to help you decide if you would like me to work with you. If you want to go ahead, in our first session I will ask you to sign a counselling agreement that sets out what I will provide for you, and what we can expect from each other in our work together. From that point onwards, the content of sessions depends very much on what you want from therapy and on your preferences about how we work together.