My journey into counselling was inspired by many sources in my life, including philosophy which I studied at university. I felt that philosophy gave me a voice that reawakened within me a passionate interest about life’s big questions like “What is the good life?” and “What does it mean to exist, to be human?” I also love bits of ancient history and literature that capture human characters, both fictional and non-fictional, battling the fates and speak to what it is to be human, including both life’s tragedies and joys.

Being moved and fascinated by what it means to be human probably drew me to the helping professions and counselling because it was a way of meeting people in a real way and being permitted to hear their life stories. I have had the great opportunity and privilege to meet and be moved by people, often faced with life’s struggles and frailties. My work in end of life care, volunteering for the NHS, for Mind and community counselling have all shaped how I choose to be with others and listen in a curious, compassionate way as to who they are and how they find themselves in life. It’s my privilege to always be learning and understanding what other people experience in their lives and how they live.

As a humanistic psychotherapeutic counsellor my approach to therapy involves listening and exploring what you are experiencing in the room together. This could be how you relate to the distress you’re experiencing from the perspective of your mind, body and relationships in life so that you can make sense of it and allow yourself to continue becoming how you wish to be in life. This could be allowing your experiences of despair, anxiety, loss and joy to be given a voice and felt in the room. This can be especially important given that we live in a world which can be both a terrifying place to reveal our vulnerabilities to others and a busy one that preoccupies us. I’m trying to find my voice even right now communicating who I am with you, it can honestly be hard to resist projecting a tendency of intellectualising to cover up a shame of not being good enough and youthful so that I appear to be the who I “should” be. By speaking to what distresses you, your blocks to connection and finding your own voice can allow you to speak to your life experiences with freedom and power and find a new connection with yourself, others and your world in a meaningful, fulfilling way. It’s my hope that in our therapy that by creating a space together where you could have the opportunity to be heard and allow your thoughts and experiences to be felt - whatever they may be, you can continue to lead a flourishing life that is your own.

In therapy, we can explore your experiencing of self, others and the world and your values, for example. I am also trained to work in a creative way which I believe can be beneficial for understanding what is out-of-awareness – like an unspoken anxiety of our existence or pre-verbal parts of self that can only be expressed in metaphor, colouring, cards, dreams or other interventions. However, any creative work would be with your consent and something we’d do together. The hope is that through greater self-awareness and self-understanding, finding your voice will give you power and freedom over your destiny.