My Practice
I work with young people and adults supporting mental health and wellbeing, working with anxiety, depression and trauma. We hear these terms used frequently to encompass our deeply personal responses to a range of life events which cause distress and inner conflict.
Central to my work is creating safety and pacing sessions appropriately. I believe trauma work does not have to be re-traumatising and mindfulness and compassion-based exploration can help to build a safe base within.
I offer a different perspective and help you explore unconscious patterns in order to make conscious changes.
I will make suggestions and offer ideas to practice in between our sessions.
I am pro-active in my approach and endeavour to help you to get the most out of our work together.
Collaboratively we aim to develop: self-leadership, self-acceptance, groundedness, feeling more in control and to gain a deeper sense of self-awareness, clarity and inner peace.
Sometimes people describe feeling ‘bogged down’ and ‘tired’, emotionally and energetically burnt out and depleted.
Acknowledging that what is being suppressed or exiled can help free up energy in order to integrate past experiences, leading to a sense of wholeness.
“An integrative approach is flexible and adaptive for tailoring different therapeutic tools and insights to individual need. I support people to develop their own toolkit and resources to use and benefit from, long after therapy sessions end.”
My systemic approach goes beyond our human communities to the connection with the ‘other than human’: earth, trees, animals, sky, stars, moon and that which we do not see.
My fundamental belief is how we are all connected, even when we become disconnected. Working outdoors can support us connecting to the wisdom that surrounds and is within us.
Nature can bring a deeper connection to ourselves and to our environment.
When working outdoors, nature, the land, weather and elements take on the role of co-therapist in supporting you to make connections to your inner and outer worlds.
Wild Therapy
Grief & Trauma
Many of us hold deep grief and trauma. I believe collective grief and trauma within our communities can shut us down to life in order to block out more suffering but in doing so we can lock in hurt and pain and block out love, connection and wonder.
I support people to take steps - no matter how small they need to be - to learn to grieve, trust and open up to a deeper connection with themselves and relationships.
We often associate grief with the loss of a loved one or animal. Whilst this is very central to my work, loss and grief are in all aspects of our daily lives.
I welcome all grief, the living and disenfranchised losses that are not often shared or heard and rarely see the light of day.
Grief work is a process, a time scale that is very personal. Sometimes grief can feel unbearable and chaotic, and it is hard to find hope.
Acknowledging feelings, having space to share the loss and learning ways to centre yourself in the tidal waves of grief can help to put trust in the process of change and healing.
Young People
Supporting young people to make sense of some of the challenges and difficulties they are facing can help to develop self-awareness, inner resources and confidence.
This in turn will help in a holistic way in all areas of life. For example, friendships and finding out what feels right for themselves.
I understand that for a young person it can feel hard making the first step to talk to a stranger. I am aware of this when meeting young people for the first session.
I offer a kind and welcoming space and make use of creative and externalising techniques to help in exploring difficult experiences.
I can offer shorter sessions to young people if they find that one hour is too long.
As well as bereavement and loss I work with the following issues:
Stress and worry
Anxiety and depression
Feeling down and hopeless
Life transitions (adolescence/menopause)
Relationship breakdown/conflict and abuse
Trauma
Low self-esteem