糖心官网

I have availability on Tuesday's daytime and evening and on Thursday evening.  

If you are looking on here I鈥檓 going to hazard a guess that you're struggling in one way or another with emotions, in yourself or in your relationship. Emotions can feel big, overwhelming, hard to predict and understand. How we relate to our emotions, and why we end up relating to them in the way we do, can feel like a mystery. It can feel unsafe to allow our emotions to be there, so we find ways of coping with them that end up making them feel worse in the long run.

Emotions are information about our needs, wants and boundaries. Many of us are not taught how to understand our emotions, how they affect us and how to receive the information they鈥檙e giving us.

We have a lot of needs growing up, we need safety, for our needs to feel attuned to, consistent connection and our basic needs consistently met. Meeting these needs as a parent is hard, but when these needs aren't met it can create difficult feelings inside, we can feel very alone with those feelings, it can feel like there鈥檚 something wrong with us. If you also add into that the big feelings that come with being neuro diverse, or painful childhood experiences like neglect, abuse, bullying, parents struggling in their own ways, or any of the many other struggles we can face growing up, it can feel like so much has stacked up, opening the floodgates will overwhelm you.

We often then take all of these needs, fears and feelings into our relationships. At first it might feel like it鈥檚 taking the pain away, but overtime the relationship can become a source of pain too. We are expected to know how to have a healthy relationship, even though no one taught us how, but relating is hard, there are so many hidden emotions that get in the way of safe connection, and when we don鈥檛 feel connected to our partner it hurts.

Taking time to unpack our emotions, either together in couples therapy, or individually, learning ways to cope, communicate and regulate, changes our connection to ourselves and each other. 

I鈥檓 trained in integrative approach. This means I鈥檓 trained to work with various approaches, allowing me to get a sense of the approaches that might work best for you. Whether coming as an individual or as a couple, I will start by taking some time to get to know you. I will explore your history and needs to build a picture of who you are, the ways you are struggling, and what techniques might feel right for you to support the changes you are looking for. The approaches I favour are trauma informed/somatic techniques including, Felt sense meditation, Self-compassion, EFT tapping, Emotion Focused, Inner child work, Exploration of parts of self, Nervous system regulation. With couples I work with Emotion Focused Communication, understanding attachment and bring in various, well researched, tools and information to supporting building a relationship that thrives. Feel free to visit my website for more information.

I work online only. I welcome diversity including all body sizes, abilities, races, sexualities, genders, working inclusively with GSDR, religious and political values. 

I have personal experience with Neuro Diversity; I welcome clients curious/questioning/diagnosed neurodiverse

I offer a free 15 minute phone call. This gives a chance for you, or you and your partner, to get to know me, share a little of what you鈥檙e going through and for me to answer any questions you might have about how I can support you.

My rates are:

 拢50 for individual therapy

拢65 for couple therapy 

If you are happy to go ahead, I will book a first session where I will run through a short assessment, have time to learn in depth what you are seeking support for. 

If risks are identified in the assessment, for example abuse in the relationship or active suicidal feelings, I will do a longer assessment over the first few sessions so see if I'm the right support for you, and if not explore what would be best next steps.

It is important that you feel held and understood by me: I will gladly invite any thoughts or feelings on how I am supporting you and if there is anything that you would like to change or explore. 

Couple Therapy 

I have availability on Tuesdays afternoon and evening, and Thursdays in the evening. 

Does your relationship feel painful, stressful or overwhelming? Do you feel like you鈥檙e having the same arguments over and over, like you can鈥檛 talk about important things without emotions escalating? Or do you feel unable to share how you feel inside, the things that don鈥檛 feel ok, or that you would like to change. Does this leave you feeling that you鈥檙e holding things in, bottling things up, or trying to sweep them under the carpet so you don鈥檛 rock the boat?

Or are you in the early days of a relationship and looking for support to have foundational conversations, smooth out dynamics and get great tools, tips and advice on how to create a relationship that is nurturing, safe and able to weather the storms of life?

We all come into our relationships carrying messages and coping mechanisms from our experiences in life. Many of us haven鈥檛 been given safe or helpful examples on how to relate to others, or cope with our own emotions. This affects how we show up in our romantic relationships. 

When working with couples I work with Emotion Focused Communication, understanding attachment styles, and learning the dynamics that have formed within the relationship, to help break negative cycles and create positive, safe and rewarding connection. I use somatic tools (working with your emotions in your body) to regulate emotions, supporting more effective communication and emotional connection. I bring in tools, information and worksheets from the Gottman Institute to guide reconnection at home supporting you to build a relationship that thrives.

Relationships need nurture and consistency to take them from surviving to thriving. Small things often make all the difference. Creating positive cycles, noticing and meeting our partners bids for connection, regular affection, sharing our needs and boundaries with kindness, and taking time to dream, explore and delight in each other, all go a long way towards building a deeper bond.

If you would like to know more I offer a free 15 minute phone call. This gives a chance for you and your partner to get to know me, share a little of what you鈥檙e going through and for me to answer any questions you might have about how I can support you. 

If you are happy to go ahead, I will book a first session where I will run through a short assessment, have time to learn in depth what you are struggling with.

It is important that you feel held and understood by me: I will gladly invite any thoughts or feelings on how I am supporting you and if there is anything that you would like to change or explore. 

It is important to note that it is not safe to work with domestic abuse in relationship therapy. It is a model that requires equal balance of power in the relationship, and the desire for both parties to be working towards creating a safe, healthy relationship. If I identify issues of abuse I will look to support each party to seek individual therapy that will support what they need. I won't always be able to validate abuse, for reasons of safety for the abused person, but I will endeavour to point you in the direction of those who will. If you come to me seeking support with abuse, I will do an extended assessment and support seeking the appropriate help. 

Individual Therapy 

I have availability on Tuesday afternoon and evening, and Thursday evening. 

Do your emotions feel frightening, confusing, overwhelming, like they engulf? Or do they feel shut down, inaccessible or numb, like if you were to go there you might be flooded, open pandora鈥檚 box, see things you can鈥檛 unsee? Do you feel anxious a lot of the time? Or depressed and devoid of feelings? Emotions can feel frightening, either like they鈥檙e too much and need to be shut down and avoided, or they cascade over us and feel uncontrollable.

Emotions are information about our needs, wants and boundaries. Many of us are not taught how to understand our emotions, how they affect us and how to receive the information they鈥檙e giving us. I'm here to support you to understand, and reconnect to, your emotional self. From understanding unmet attachment needs, childhood trauma, relational trauma, narcissistic abuse, neuro diverse emotions, anxiety, overwhelm, and more. Guiding you in how you can feel safer and more confident in supporting your emotional needs.

I can explore how you felt growing up, the coping mechanisms you developed, even if your childhood wasn鈥檛 traumatic or didn鈥檛 feel problematic. Learning to understand, without judgement or blame, can positively shift our relationship with ourself, our emotions and our loved ones.  

As a relationship therapist I work supporting clients individually through relationship issues and recovery from domestic abuse. From relationships with partners, parents and friends. It can be hard to know if difficult behaviours are attachment issues, emotional immaturity, difficult dynamics we are also contributing to, or narcissistic abuse. It can be difficult to understand our own feelings, why we say or do things we don't want to, that hurt ourselves or others. I help bring clarity and understanding, and heal pain with safety and connection.

When working with individuals I use a trained, integrated response where a client鈥檚 history and needs are explored. This results in a sense of what works best for each individual.

I work with clients to connect with and process emotions using various trauma informed/somatic techniques including:

Felt Sense

Learning to connect with our emotions in our body. Our emotions begin in our body and our experiences are stored in our body. Shame might feel like a rush through the body, or like a sinking in the gut. Fear might leave you feeling frozen, or like a tight grip in your chest. These feelings are our emotions. Trauma can cause them to feel overwhelming, meaning we either shut down, or feel overwhelmed. Felt sense meditation allows you to slow down and feel safer in your emotions. 

Self Compassion

Building compassion towards ourself creates new neural pathways in our brain. Learning, over time, to support critical parts of ourself with kindness and validation soothes anxiety, relieves depression and repairs our relationship to ourself.

Inner Child Work

When we experience trauma, younger parts of ourself can feel stuck, trapped, alone or rejected within us. Connecting with our inner child, noticing, listening and nurturing can help to free us from overwhelm, fear, anxiety and self loathing.

EFT Tapping

EFT combines tapping on specific acupressure points on the face and body with fingertips, while acknowledging a negative emotion or physical issue, aiming to calm the nervous system and lower cortisol. 

Exploration of Parts

According to Internal Family Systems (IFS) the mind consists of a core 鈥淪elf鈥� and multiple 鈥淧arts鈥� that interact like a family system. Parts hold distinct thoughts, emotions, and motivations. Every part has a positive intention, often aiming to protect the individual, even if their actions are harmful. Exploring and working with parts is a helpful way to bring more understanding to complex emotions.

Nervous System Regulation

Prolonged trauma and CPTSD leaves us feeling stuck in fight/flight, fawn/freeze, struggling to feel able to relax or feel safe. Using various regulation tools daily helps reduce anxiety. 

I offer a free 15 minute phone call. This gives a chance for you to get to know me, share a little of what you鈥檙e going through and for me to answer any questions you might have about how I can support you.

If you are happy to go ahead, I will book a first session where I will run through a short assessment, have time to learn in depth what you are struggling with, and bring in a moment to slow down and regulate, using any tool you are interested in if that feels right for you. 

It is important that you feel held and understood by me: I will gladly invite any thoughts or feelings on how I am supporting you and if there is anything that you would like to change or explore.