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SERVICES I OFFER
Individuals
I offer assessment and therapy to individuals, either face-to-face or via video link. Individual Therapy costs £120 per hour. Letter and report writing can be provided if required. Please ask for a quotation. I am registered with a number of private healthcare insurance providers including BUPA and WPA. Please kindly contact your provider to gain authorisation before booking your first session.
If you wish to contact me we can have a brief telephone conversation when you will have the opportunity to tell me a little about yourself, your difficulties and what you are hoping to gain from therapy. You will then get a sense of whether you feel I am the right therapist for you and I will be able to assess if I can meet your needs. That being the case a suitable session time will then be negotiated with you and will last an hour. Sessions are usually offered weekly, but this can also be negotiated. Please see Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Following the assessment process I will aim to offer an intervention/treatment suited to your needs. Please see below.
Professionals and Businesses
I offer supervision to fellow professionals having had experience of providing this via the NHS for over 20 years, both to individuals and groups. I am experienced in teaching and training and have offered such to local trainees undertaking their Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. I also offer training and consultancy to business – please get in touch to discuss your requirements.
THERAPIES OFFERED
ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a form of therapy that was developed in the 1980’s. When working from an ACT perspective we take the view that by accepting difficult thoughts and emotions we can lead a life that is driven by our values, rather then being caught up in our struggles. ACT teaches us how to develop a mindful relationship with our difficult thoughts and feelings, how to reconnect with the present moment, supports us to identify and consider our values and commit to changing our behaviour. ACT is helpful for a wide range of mental health issues and psychological difficulties.
EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITISATION AND REPROCESSING (EMDR)
EMDR is best known for treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) but it is a type of therapy that is used to help people recover from distressing events and the problems they have caused. These may include flashbacks, upsetting thoughts or images. It can be used for all sorts of mental health difficulties such as depression or anxiety. It can also be useful for people who have experienced or witnessed events such as violence, accidents, abuse, bullying or bereavements. As noted by the EMDR Association UK "It is a powerful scientifically proven psychotherapy to help people recover from traumatic events in their lives which have led to poor mental health".
EMDR is recognised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is widely used by the NHS, charitable organisations and the private sector.
For further Information about how EMDR works, the evidence base and video demonstrations please visit –
COMPASSION FOCUSED THERAPY
(CFT)
CFT was founded by Professor Paul Gilbert. It is an integrated approach that draws from developmental, social, evolutionary and Buddhist psychology and neuroscience. One key theory of CFT is that we have three systems that can cause difficulties if they are unbalanced - the Drive System, the Threat System and the Soothing System. CFT argues that we can be taught to train our minds (Compassionate Mind Training) to help us to experience compassion and encourage various aspects of compassion for ourselves and others.
CFT can be helpful in managing a variety of emotional problems. In choosing to work from a CFT perspective you will be taught a number of ways to help you treat yourself with kindness and compassion, manage difficult emotions, to practice ways to be in the present moment and enhance your ability to self soothe.
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT)
CBT is an active therapeutic approach which is known to be effective in treating people struggling with a range of mental health difficulties. CBT is based on the principle that a person's feelings, actions, physical sensations and thoughts are interconnected. These thoughts or cognitions are based on assumptions developed from past experiences. The idea is that negative thoughts and feelings can trap us into negative cycles. A variety of strategies are used in CBT. Some are aimed at challenging negative thoughts and assumptions and some aim to change behaviours but also to challenge cognitions related to specific behaviours. The premise is that by altering the way we behave or think in a situation, we can alter the way we feel about life.
AREAS OF DIFFICULTIES I DEAL WITH
Abortion
Affairs and betrayals
Anxiety
Bereavement
Bullying
Cancer
Career counselling
Carer support
Depression
Family issues
Generalised anxiety disorder
Health anxiety
Infertility
Low self-confidence
Low self-esteem
Miscarriage
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
Panic attacks
Phobias
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Postnatal depression
Pregnancy and birth
Redundancy
Relationship problems
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Separation and divorce
Smoking
Spirituality
Stress
Trauma
Work-related stress