Therapies
Humanistic - Integrative Therapy
My core therapeutic approach is humanistic-integrative. Being humanistic means I take a 'whole person', mind-body approach to your mental, physical and emotional wellbeing, and champion your self-awareness, growth and development. As a humanistic practitioner I believe that a consistent, respectful therapeutic relationship is key to the successful outcome of therapy, so I will support you to find a sense agency and relational safety. Our sessions will favour a non-directive approach, but I will direct them if you need me to. This helps you to develop a healthier sense of self, and find meaning and purpose in life. Being an integrative therapist means that I will draw from a broad range of different counselling and psychotherapy approaches (see below), bringing these into sessions according to your individual needs, circumstances and preferences. In general, unless we have agreed to focus on a specific area, we will work with whatever is present in the room. Think of me as a 'sat nav' helping you navigate life's journey, but with you very much in the driving seat. Together, we will find out what works for you and which route to take.
Talking Therapy (Counselling)
Talking is incredibly therapeutic and underpins all my general practice. Having an empathetic, impartial, supportive other sitting with you, human to human, can be the difference that makes the difference. Someone really hearing you - without judgement or trying to distract or ‘fix’ you - can be hugely healing, whilst helping you to understand your thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and work through the emotional burden, stress, worries, anxieties, even trauma, that you carry and the challenges you face. Talking therapy can also support deeper understanding of how past experiences may have created unconscious defences and behaviours that still play out in present-day relationships. As we work together to understand these presenting patterns, I may draw from other relational approaches, such as Transactional Analysis, Psychodynamic Theory or Inner Child Therapy. Talking therapy can help with a range of difficulties, including anxiety, depression, grief, relationship problems and low-self esteem. My role is not to advise you, but to sit alongside, facilitate exploration and reflection, invite curiosity around different perspectives, and help you find your way forward towards choice, growth and a healthier relationship with yourself and others.
Somatic-Informed Trauma Therapy
The word somatic comes from the Greek word ‘soma’, meaning 'body.' We are born embodied - to live and experience the world through our body - yet most of us live in our minds. We want to feel alive in our bodies yet can become out of touch with them – and hence life, too. Trauma severs the mind-body connection further. The body may hold traumatic memories as physical sensations, tension, posture, energy and breath patterns. We may respond to life from a more fearful, overwhelmed and rigid place, rather than one of resilience and tolerance. Our capacity for joy, wisdom, creativity, aliveness and connection narrows. In my experience, talking alone cannot bring about full healing and resolution. Indeed, for many, trauma is too hard to articulate - a physical shift and release is needed. As such, I integrate somatic techniques to harness the innate, natural resources of the body, breath and felt sense within a proven three-stage trauma approach. I will help you to re-establish connection to an internal sense of grounding and safety. This supports the processing of your experiences and emotions and releasing of physical responses, sensations and tensions trapped in the body in a safe and contained way. Respecting the pace and complexity of trauma recovery, we will work together to move beyond trauma and anxiety, reconnecting you with life, relationships, meaning and purpose. It will take time, patience and commitment, but I will remain alongside, guiding and supporting your post-traumatic recovery.
Parts Work Therapy
Parts work therapy supports working with the complexity of human psychology. Even in short term work it can give insight into your emotions, behaviours and actions, and address negative, critical or self-sabotaging thoughts and actions. Parts therapy has its origins in Jungian philosophy and centres around the concept that as we navigate life, relationships and society we begin to form and operate from different parts or ‘subpersonalities'. These parts can often develop as coping mechanisms in life, particularly following trauma, and their energies create our inner world. Perhaps you sometimes refer to ‘a part’ of you? Maybe you struggle with a self-critical part? Is there a perfect or procrastinating part? Do ‘anxious’ parts get consumed by worry? If you have a history of trauma or abuse, you may be aware of vigilant, fearful parts. Each has a distinct purpose, energy, and behaviour, usually operating just outside of conscious awareness. These patterns, which may once have offered strength and resilience, can present challenges and conflicts keeping you stuck. Parts work can therefore support inner exploration and understanding, whilst fostering self-compassion and empowering you with a sense of choice and agency. It is also a powerful toolkit for working with trauma, and can lead to profound transformation. To support exploration of your inner experience I am able to draw from a mix of approaches -Internal Family Systems (IFS), Psychology of Selves (Voice Dialogue), the Structural Dissociation Model and Jungian philosophy.
Creative Therapy
The use of creative and non-verbal activities in therapy greatly supports self-exploration and the expression of feelings where words and cognitive processes may not be enough. It can help us to access our inner wisdom and understanding of what may be sitting just outside of conscious awareness. As Carl Jung once said, “Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain." You may be coming to therapy struggling to know where to begin, or how to communicate your experiences. This can be the impact of trauma, shame or guilt, or might be low self-esteem, worry around saying too much or too little, or simply not having the right language to do justice to what is felt within. Creative therapy offers a way to support this, whilst working safely at a deeper level to explore, understand and process your feelings, and make positive changes. Studies have also shown that creative expression activates the brain areas related to emotional regulation and healing, and can help reduce stress. I use a variety of creative approaches to support understanding of your experiences and relationships. Creative therapy does not require any kind of artistic ability. In my experience it proves incredibly beneficial whether or not people have difficulty expressing themselves artistically or verbally. We all have a creative spark within us somewhere - that creativity we had as a child but perhaps got buried in life. If you are uncertain, my invitation is to be courageous about reconnecting to something you are both capable and worthy of, and that can support you to find inner peace calm and meaning.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is an effective, non-invasive psychotherapy which helps process emotionally distressing life experiences. Research has validated it as a key treatment for trauma and other adverse life experiences. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and World Health Organisation (WHO) now recommend EMDR as the therapy of choice for trauma. It is also used for anxiety, depression, phobias, grief, and other emotional problems. When the body is in a state of distress, normal memory processing within the brain becomes comprised. Traumatic events can become locked - as though frozen in time in both mind and body - with all the associated traumatic sensory experience attached. This 'blockage' can manifest itself as panic attacks, flashbacks and PTSD symptoms. Until recently, it could take sufferers years of painful therapy to work traumatic experiences through to healthy resolution. EMDR changes this. It uses an 8-stage process whereby a traumatic or troubling memory or physical sensation is recalled whilst using bilateral stimulation - usually guided eye movements or tapping. This supports reducing the emotional charge of the memory, so enabling the brain to reprocess and integrate the experience more healthily. EMDR is an incredibly powerful tool which I prefer to integrate into longer term work for complex trauma, rather than offer as a standalone therapy. This ensures you are adequately prepared, resourced and supported. However, it can be very effective within short-term work for a specifically targeted problem or single event trauma, with results often achieved within 12 sessions. EMDR is not suitable for everyone but, if it might be an option for you we will assess and discuss this together.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
How you think about situations (the cognitive) affects how you feel and what you do (the behaviour). For example, if you think that something is going to go badly you may experience negative emotions and feelings. You might then avoid the situation or behave in a way to make it worse. You end up stuck in a negative loop. This is where CBT can help. CBT is a structured therapeutic approach which helps identify, understand and challenge unhelpful, disruptive or distressing patterns of thought and behaviour, and support changing these. It is a short-term, goal-led therapy (usually between 6-20 sessions), focused on developing coping skills, problem solving and finding practical solutions for current difficulties. Weekly therapy is supported with worksheets, role play and between session tasks.
CBT works with the present rather than looking at past causes, and can be very be helpful for anxiety, stress, phobias, depression, compulsive behaviour and managing long term conditions. It isn't always easy and requires commitment, but may suit if you do not wish to, or are not ready to undertake deeper exploration into your difficulties, but would like help with coping strategies, changing negative thinking and problem solving. CBT approaches can also be a great starting point for longer term clients to support understanding and resourcefulness. I integrate elements of both Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Hypnotherapy into sessions.
Hypnotherapy & Hypno-psychotherapy
Did you know that we go into a natural trance state about eight times an hour? Healing in this normal state has occurred for many centuries across all cultures and is arguably the foundation for modern day psychotherapy. Modern clinical hypnotherapy safely works with your subconscious mind to support self-exploration, healing and resourcing. Hypnotherapy is not a 'magic wand' or something that is 'done' to you, but an approach we work with together. I made the decision some time back to no longer offer hypnotherapy as a stand-alone therapy. I now organically integrate it into general practice. Hypnotherapy based interventions can aid your relaxation, nervous system regulation and self-exploration. Solution-focused interventions are also very effective when working with stress, anxiety, phobias and behavioural change within short term work. With longer term clients, perhaps an adaptation of analytical hypnotherapy, parts therapy or inner child work might help to get to the roots of difficulties. Interventions can be executed eyes open or closed, based on your preference, and with or without hypnotic induction. In my experience, a trusting client-therapist relationship and an open, curious mind is all that is needed for positive change to happen. Hypnotherapy is not suitable for everyone, but if you are interested in its benefits we will assess and agree this together.
Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)
NLP is a set of therapeutic goal-oriented techniques which will help you understand and positively change patterns of thinking, feeling, behaviour and communication. It is an empowering ‘toolkit’ for modelling success. As the name implies, NLP is broken down into three parts: The 'neuro' is about understanding your mind and the internal behavioural strategies you use, both consciously and unconsciously. 'Linguistic' is about understanding the language you use and the results this gives. 'Programming' is about the choices this gives around what you do and how you do it, and putting the learning into practice. In essence NLP is about discovering the best versions of ourselves. I often use NLP in both a coaching and therapeutic context because of the fast and positive results it produces, and how this motivates for further change. As a Master NLP Practitioner, I am also trained in the Rewind Technique (also known as the Fast Phobia Cure or Theatre Screen Technique). This is based on a technique originally developed by Richard Bandler, one of the co-founders of NLP in the 1970s who has personally endorsed my practitioner licence. The technique is helpful for working with trauma, PTSD and phobias. I have also undertaken masterclasses in rapid change methodologies with Ali Campbell, one of the modern world's leading coaches, hypnotherapists and NLP practitioners. In short, I have a toolkit of refined, modernised and effective NLP change techniques that can be integrated into your sessions.
Thought Field Therapy (TFT)
Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is a specialised tapping technique for the reduction of emotional distress, particularly anxiety, panic, phobias and trauma. It works in a similar way to acupressure by stimulating the body’s energy meridians through tapping on different parts of the body. It is the original tapping therapy - Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) was derived from it. In my experience, TFT is most successfully used for helping to eliminate negative emotions and anxiety when used in conjunction with other therapies to support the overall change work. The process is simple: You'll be asked to think about whatever your specific problem is, quantify your feelings on a scale of 1 to 10, and then tap on your body's specific energy points in a certain order. For most clients the standard tapping sequences are suffice, but as a Diagnostic Practitioner I am trained to work with you, if needed, to identify a personalised tapping sequence for the presenting problem.
Breathwork Coaching
How many of us take our breath for granted? Yet the breath is a powerful tool that can alert you to your physical and emotional states, and can positively transform your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. The breath is the only bodily system that we can control, so learning to harness it and breathe to your fullest capacity can be life changing. The breath can both calm and soothe, and invigorate and energise. In short, the breath offers a life-long tool for self-regulation, balancing emotions, managing stress, improving focus and softening your inner experience. Leaders in the field of trauma therapy are now recognising its mental health benefits too: It can be used as both a resource for autonomic nervous system regulation, and to support the processing of distressful feelings and traumatic events. As a functional breathwork coach I am trained in over 20 simple, safe and effective breathing techniques for nervous system regulation, drawn from ancient yogic philosophy and underpinned by science. These practices can help with general wellbeing, anxiety, depression, trauma, sleep issues, digestive issues, pain management, reduction in blood pressure, posture, weight loss and ageing to name just a few benefits. Given the innate power of the breath, I integrate breathwork into almost all client work. I have also delivered standalone individual, group and corporate breathwork coaching sessions for physical and emotional balance and wellbeing, and teach breathwork to other therapists.
Coaching & Personal Development
Coaching helps achieve greater self-awareness, self-management, peak performance and personal growth, usually in preparation for a specific goal. Maybe you are stuck in a rut and want to break out of a pattern. A relationship breakdown may have set you back and you are seeking a new start. Maybe you are looking to return to work but have lost your confidence. Perhaps your children have left home and you have lost your direction in life. Or you would like help to improve a specific skill such as public speaking. The applications are endless. Whatever the case, coaching focuses on the 'here and now' rather than delving into the past. It's a collaborative, forward-looking approach and tends to be more structured than counselling, with between session tasks and feedback around your agreed goal. Coaching supports skills development, confidence and performance levels to help you step into a new, improved future self. I use a mix of NLP coaching, CBT skills and guided imagery. For
ladies, I can also offer my skills as a Style Coach™ combining life coaching with personal style and colour consultations. The result is a tangible difference to your confidence and self-esteem, both inside and out. These are individually tailored packages so please ask for details if interested.
The Human Toolbox™
Humans have a brilliant set of inner tools and resources, developed over thousands of years, to ensure we stay safe, happy, self-regulated and emotionally balanced. Nowadays, however, few of us really understand or fully use them and our mental well-being is severely suffering in the stress of modern times. Simply knowing about the natural resources that you inherently possess is enough to start the process of positive change - anxiety drops, energy and curiosity increase, and life begins to look and feel a lot better. Like all tools, you first need to learn how to access them, understand how and why they work and then become skilled at using them in your daily life. The Human Toolbox™ was originally designed as a structured mental wellbeing educational programme to help young people understand their big feelings and stay mentally and emotionally well and engaged with life. Created by an experienced Suffolk counsellor, Lindy Wheeler, it features ‘Bodd’, a typical human – both unique yet similar to the emotional and physical needs and traits of all other humans, whether child or adult. As an authorised Human Toolbox™ Practitioner, although I no longer deliver the full programme, we may dip into Bodd's therapeutic toolkit together within sessions to support improvements in wellbeing, resourcefulness and resilience - and help you master the art of using your innate natural resources (your Human Tools).
