Counselling provides an opportunity to talk about the issues you are struggling with in a safe and confidential space with someone who is experienced and trained to listen to you. We are all individuals and people come to counselling for a variety of different reasons. It can be helpful to share your thoughts and feelings with a counsellor who is non-judgemental and will work with you to think together about the problems you are facing or the issues that you are trying to make sense of.

I mainly use a psychodynamic approach to counselling but will also use a person-centred approach when working with survivors of sexual abuse. Psychodynamic counselling looks at unconscious processes, the beliefs we hold about ourselves, our defences and the motivations that drive us that we may not be aware of, which sometimes emerge in dreams. I believe that past experiences, particularly those of childhood, influence how we feel about ourselves and the patterns that we repeat in our relationships with other people. Looking at experiences from the past can help us to understand our present difficulties and explain why we behave and feel the way that we do.

When working with survivors of sexual abuse I use a person-centred approach which focuses on building an empathic relationship to help empower and support survivors to regain control over their lives. I work from a trauma-informed perspective and put safety and wellbeing at the forefront of the counselling work. I have extensive experience in working with the symptoms of trauma including panic attacks, flashbacks, PTSD and dissociation.

Some of the reasons for seeking counselling and issues that I can work with include:

• Low self esteem and self confidence
• Anxiety and depression
• Bereavement and loss
• Suicidal feelings and self harm
• Trauma and sexual abuse
• Relationship difficulties
• Stress at work
• Bullying
• Anger
• Loneliness and emptiness
• Eating disorders
• Domestic abuse and coercive control