My experience

I have over 700 clinical hours and I have worked with over 50 clients.

I have experience working with:

• Anxiety – Anxiety is a normal, healthy emotion. It is normal to experience anxiety when you have to take a test, or go to a job interview. However, sometimes in life anxiety can become crippling to the point where you avoid doing certain activities. Through counselling you can think about what triggers your anxiety and explore strategies and coping mechanisms for managing this.
• Bereavement and loss – We don’t just experience grief when we suffer a bereavement, we can also experience grief when we undergo significant life changes, such as the breakup of a relationship, the loss of a job, diagnosis of an illness, etc. There are several stages of grief including denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, and the stages aren’t linear. Counselling can give us a space to explore the stages of grief. When we experience a loss it often reminds us of how we felt about previous losses, and sometimes we can discover that we haven’t actually processed those losses.
• Depression – Depression is exhausting. Small tasks which don’t take much time can feel like a mountain you have to climb. It can be difficult to have the energy to get out of bed. Depression can be caused by a multitude of reasons but if you are experiencing depression hopefully we can work together to lighten the emotional load and get you back to a place where you are able to gain pleasure from life again.
• Familial difficulties – I have experience of working with clients who are going through a separation or a divorce. Familial difficulties can also include challenges with siblings or with children. This can evoke feelings such as anxiety, depression, grief and anger, and counselling can be a helpful place to explore these issues.
• Mental health disorders – This includes disorders such as clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder.
• Neurodevelopmental disorders – This includes autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
• Relationship issues – I have experience of working with clients who are facing challenges in their relationships, this can be romantic relationships, collegial relationships or friendships.
• Self-harm/injury – Self-harm/injury is often a coping strategy for dealing with difficult emotions. Together in counselling we can think about the emotions which are behind the coping strategy and hopefully work towards finding alternative coping strategies.
• Sexual abuse and rape – I have extensive experience of working with survivors of sexual abuse and rape. I use a trauma informed approach when working with survivors, and I use psychoeducation and various coping techniques to manage flashbacks, triggers and nightmares.
• Suicidal thoughts and feelings – Experiencing suicidal thoughts and feelings is often scary and overwhelming and sharing these thoughts and feelings can feel like burdening the other person. I am highly risk aware and aim to create a safe environment where we can explore these thoughts and feelings without judgement.
• Trauma – I have extensive experience of working with those who have experienced trauma as I currently work within forensic mental health services. I use a trauma informed approach when working with those who have experienced trauma, and I use psychoeducation and various coping techniques to manage flashbacks, triggers and nightmares.
• Transitional periods – This can include moving countries, changing jobs, a change in personal circumstances, etc. Having a safe space to explore these changes can be really beneficial.
• Personality disorders – This includes antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, narcisstic personality disorder.
• Physical illness or disability – I have experience of working with clients who have autoimmune conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, ehlers-danos syndrome, fibromyaglia, etc. Physical health conditions can have a significant impact upon our mental health, and our mental health can also impact our physical health as the two are so intrinsically intertwined.

Annually I attend Continuing Professional Development (CPD) events to enhance my practice and develop my skills.