“ I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.”
— Henry David Thoreau
Ethos
We all struggle at times, as we are all human. I take pride in delivering excellent psychological services guided by my values of compassion, trust, curiosity and nature. I can help you to understand yourself better, notice and step out of unhelpful patterns of coping, develop healthier ways of living and connect with the natural world.
How I can help you
As a clinical psychologist I am highly trained and skilled in integrating a variety of psychological models and theories. This enables me to deliver a bespoke, creative and holistic therapy to suit your individual needs. My therapy is based on developing a compassionate and non-judgemental therapeutic relationship, as I believe this is the most active ingredient for effective therapy.
My primary approach is Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), alongside other mindfulness-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approaches, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). I also have a special interest in taking therapy outdoors and involving nature in therapeutic work, whether this takes place indoors or outdoors (Nature Therapy / Ecotherapy).
I offer both short and long term therapy, typically between 5 to 24 sessions, in order to meet your individual wellbeing, development and financial needs. I offer weekly sessions, but can be flexible to meet your preferences and requirements.
I offer therapy for people privately funding their therapy, as well as those covered by the following insurance providers: BUPA and AVIVA
Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
CAT explores how people’s earliest experiences and relationships, informs how they think and feel and the things they do. It helps people to understand how these experiences lead them to develop patterns of coping and relating with others that were helpful in the moment, but which overtime and as life changes, lead them to feeling stuck, may be unhelpful and at times even harmful. The therapy in based on the development of an empathic and compassionate therapeutic relationship between the individual and therapist, which is used as the key ingredient for therapeutic change.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is a mindfulness based talking therapy. It supports people to adjust to living well with things that cannot be changed. It enables people to develop effective skills to cope with distressing thoughts and feelings, so that they have less impact and influence over them. ACT also supports people to live their lives in line with their own personal values. Values are people’s deepest desire for how they want to live, who they want to be and what they want to stand for. ACT encourages people to take committed action to do things that are guided by their values, despite the challenges that may stand before them.
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
CFT is a mindfulness based talking therapy that teaches people skills to regulate their emotions through being more compassionate towards themselves and other people. It helps people to work through feelings of shame and guilt and to step out of patterns of self-criticism, which keep them feeling stuck. It enables people to develop self-acceptance and a sense of comfort with who they are.
Nature therapy is a collective term used to describe various activities that involve nature with the aim of reducing suffering and enhancing wellbeing and health. It involves elements of ecopsychology, which means the work is guided by the idea that we are fundamentally connected to and influenced by the natural environment. It emphasises that human-nature connections can improve our emotional wellbeing and interpersonal relationships.
Nature can be used in therapy in a number of ways:
Simply providing a natural backdrop for therapy to take place.
Observing and interacting with things in nature using our 5 senses.
Using nature-based metaphor, to enhance understanding, convey meaning and guide therapeutic change.
Connecting with the body as we breath, feel and move through nature.
Using our movement through terrain and landscapes to view our experiences from different perspectives.