Meeting for the first time:

Meeting a psychologist can be intimidating. We are experts in mental health and informed by science. However, like you, we are normal people touched by the pressures of the human experience. What makes psychologists helpful though, is our ability to recognise multiple contributors to the challenges you might be facing and figure out in collaboration what may be the cause to the distress and how to solve it. On the first meeting it might feel like an innocuous list of questions from me. But like all other professional health  disciplines, gathering information is how we make sense of your life and recognise patterns that may not be apparent to you.

Identifying the core issues:

As I listen, I am considering your story mindful of several things such as:  culture, attachment relationships, coping mechanisms, neurological function, traits, family of origin, life experience, inner conflicts, and unconscious and conscious processes. Exploring core issues can have a profound impact on your understanding and is a significant part of healing. Once the pain point is understood, the problem is less mysterious and this gives you the opportunity to approach things differently.

Choosing a therapeutic approach:

Following the identification of core issues, a mode of therapy that best suits your unique story will be suggested and explained in detail, and once agreed that this is the best way forward, the mode of therapy is used as a structure to guide the conversation. Goals for specific healing are formed and we collaborate towards those goals. You know your life best, you are the expert - my role as a therapist is to bring a little psychological expertise to guide the way towards healing. As the therapy proceeds, I will constantly check in to make sure the direction we are heading is making a difference and together we make adjustments as needed.

Completing therapy:

Once your goals are met and strategies to maintain the progress made are embedded, the therapy comes to an end. Many people following successful therapy will come back every now and then for 'top ups' as life brings more challenges. However, my goal as a therapist is to arm you with skills to solve your problems with an informed confidence to support you as you work towards a more accepting, peaceful, and satisfying life. 

THERAPY FOCUS

Currently, we are treating adults

18 years and older and referring out for formal assessments.

- Interpersonal relationship difficulties

- Traumatic life experiences

- Anxiety and low mood

- Grief and life transitions

- Mental health stressors impacting creative professionals and performers

- Parenting stressors

- Low motivation and self-esteem

- Personality vulnerabilities

- Unique mental health stressors facing people in religious or corporate organisations. 

- Adapting to ASD and ADHD

- Couples