How I work
I don't believe effective therapy begins with techniques.It begins with understanding.
Most people seek therapy because something feels difficult, overwhelming, or stuck. Sometimes there is a clear reason, and sometimes the difficulties seem to have appeared gradually over time. Either way, the first priority is to explore your experience and build a shared understanding of what is happening and how the issues developed. This happens during an “Initial Assessment” appointment, or sometimes across multiple appointments through an Extended Assessment.
Together we explore the patterns, experiences, relationships, beliefs, and circumstances that may be contributing to your difficulties. This helps us develop a clearer picture of what may be keeping things going. This process is what we refer to as formulation. Instead of focusing solely on symptoms, formulation helps us make sense of the bigger picture. Many people find that understanding themselves in this way can be relieving in itself, as difficult experiences start to feel more tangible and less overwhelming.
From here, therapy can take different directions depending on your needs. Rather than following a fixed protocol, I work collaboratively to develop an approach informed by our shared understanding of what you are struggling with and what you hope to change.
Whilst my overall aim is to help you feel better, I also want to help you understand yourself more clearly and develop greater flexibility in how you respond to difficulties, so that you can create meaningful and lasting change.
Integrating different approaches
My core training is in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and CBT remains an important part of my work. Over time, however, my approach has evolved to become more integrative, drawing on a range of evidence-informed models to develop a deeper and more individualised understanding of each person's difficulties.
While CBT is often presented as a distinct therapeutic approach, it is perhaps better understood as a family of therapies that has continued to evolve over time. I have always been particularly drawn to third-wave approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), and I value the ways in which different therapeutic models increasingly overlap and inform one another in contemporary practice. This has led me towards a more process-based way of working, focusing less on adhering to a specific model and more on understanding the underlying processes that may be maintaining a person's difficulties.
Although CBT provides a valuable framework, I recognise that no single model can fully capture the complexity of human experience. Depending on your needs, I may also draw upon EMDR, parts and self-states approaches, and body-based understandings of emotional experience. These approaches can be particularly helpful when working with trauma, longstanding emotional patterns, internal conflict, or experiences that feel difficult to put into words.