About me
I hold a Graduate Diploma from the Psychosynthesis Trust London, and am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP).
My degrees are in English Literature, and I believe in the power of story to illuminate the inner life and inspire outward action. I have worked as an editor and writer, and taught on Undergraduate courses at the Universities of Sydney and Cambridge. I grew up in Australia and lived in a number of countries before settling in the UK. I trained as a therapist after my own process of personal healing from complex trauma. It is my joy and privilege to help others as I have been helped, while recognising that every person is unique, and will find their own path to wholeness.
How I work
The process of talk therapy varies by individual, but I do have a working philosophy of the kind of experience I want to offer. I aim for each of my clients to feel seen, inspired, calm, and real:
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Seen
You will have my full attention while you tell your story. I won’t rush in to tell you what it means or how you should feel about it. Ultimately, you are the expert on your own experience. As our work deepens, we will periodically stop and reflect: Is this giving you what you need? Is something new emerging that wants attention? How are you and I working together? Your ongoing input gives purpose and energy to the therapy.
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Inspired
Our first priority will be helping you cope, if you’re struggling. But most people eventually want more out of life. If you crave fulfilment and challenge – a life that lines up with your values, abilities, and interests – we can work toward that. You may find you have more gifts and resources than you had realised. And if you pass through darker, more doubtful moments as part of the process, I will stay alongside you through those, too.
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Calm
Safety matters when you are making yourself vulnerable. We will develop a toolkit early on to help you stay calm and in contact with yourself as we work. I believe you should be walking out of most sessions feeling challenged and engaged, rather than shaky and upset. If that isn’t how it’s going for you, we can consider together what you might need. It is normal to have a period of adjustment to therapy, but the process will also be adjusting to you.
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Real
People tend to feel real and solid when they know their lives truly belong to them. If you struggle to believe this, or to feel that it is true, the difficulty may have roots in early life. As our work deepens, we will try to follow those roots down to the originary difficulty and heal it. If this sounds a bit mystical, all I can say is that talk therapy has always had one foot in the light of reason and one in the shadow of the mystery. And isn’t that the case for many good things?