Counselling and Psychotherapy in Torquay

You may feel you have nobody to talk to and no way to express yourself freely and safely. You may feel that nobody understands or gets you, or you may be feeling that there is more to life but not know what next step to take or what direction you are heading in.

My aim is to offer a compassionate, healing and supportive environment to enable you to unpack whatever it is you need to address and ultimately find some inner calm, peace, resolution and contentment.

We work up a plan together. This involves finding and exploring the causes of your depression, anxiety, or distress and finding strategies to help you think and feel differently.

Depression, anxiety or distress of any kind is often caused by the expectations we have or had of ourselves, whether that be about how we would like our life to be or how we have emotionally responded to life events. This can lead us to have very negative thoughts about ourselves which can over time cause us to lose hope because life looses it’s meaning. This is when negative thoughts and low mood, anxiety and despair can manifest themselves.

Sometimes we just want the depressive feelings and thoughts to stop.

I can explore with you a new narrative about yourself and your life. This can take some time but once you start to develop some hope of thinking and feeling different you can start to feel more motivated to make changes, motivation being one of the drivers we loose when feeling depressed .

I work in a number of ways to get to the route cause, some of what I do may at first feel unusual but it is an evidence based approach which is designed to reconnect our somatic experience with our mind. It releases suppressed emotions and can act as a catalyst for allowing those emotions to run their full course, including the expression of them. I will of course adapt my approach to you, as I am predominantly person centred, which means the therapeutic relationship that we develop is the foundation that underpins our work together.

If this is something you would like to try then we can get a session booked and begin the process.

Areas of interest & experience for me are trauma, anxiety, neurodiversity, and relationships, although my work is not limited to these areas and I work with a diverse range of clients. I also offer alternative therapies to my clients, if required, which can be taken alongside counselling or coaching, including EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), guided meditations, Indian Head Massage & Reiki.

I primarily work to help my clients with

Managing Stress, Depression & Anxiety
Historical Trauma
Childhood Issues
ADHD/ASC Related issues
Generational Trauma
Promote Wellbeing
Food Related Issues
Work/Life Balance
Chronic, Acute and Accumulative Stress
Increase Confidence
Low Self-Esteem
Change Unhealthy Patterns of Behaviour
Mind-Set
Limiting Beliefs
Communication
Improve relationships
Improve or Progress in Business and Career Development
Improve Time Management
Planning and Organisational skills
Personal Development
Goal Setting
Womens Issues

Therapy, whatever that looks like for you, can help to better understand what might be going on for you, and it can help you to process painful or confusing feelings and emotions, and gain new perspectives.

I work with my clients to enable them to help and understand themselves better, by giving them tools to use when they are feeling stuck, disempowered, unsafe or ungrounded, which in turn can give them a sense of control, direction, safety and inner calm. Gaining clarity and a different perspective on the life you have and the experiences you have been through can lead to dramatic changes, and realising that you hold the pen, which will write your story and your future can be extremely empowering.

In our work together you may discover what really is important to you and why, which may help you to discover the areas in your life that you would like to improve. When we understand ourselves, our past and our behaviour better we can then make the correct decisions based on who we are as a person ensuring that those decisions are a fit for us and the life we want to enjoy.

You can expect me to provide a safe and private space for you to talk safely and openly, without judgement, and be compassionate, understanding, honest, professional and empathic. I understand the importance of finding the right counsellor for you and the importance of being understood.

I believe that there is a great link between mind, body and spirit and I find we often hold the answers we seek inside of us including our own innate ability to heal and overcome adversity, if conditions allow it, and I have seen this in the many wonderful clients I have already had the privilege to work with.

I have first hand familial experience in autism spectrum conditions, and ADHD and understand the complications that neurodiversity can bring.

I understand the mechanics behind communication difficulties and relationship breakdown, as well as having first hand experience in understanding why humans may have unhealthy coping mechanisms, and I can help you to understand why you might do this and be a catalyst to making healthier coping choices in life. I have first hand experience of dealing with eating disorders, as a result of poor self esteem, and low feelings of self worth.

I understand the effects that short term and long term chronic stress can have on our minds and bodies and relationships, and I know that this is not to be underestimated.

I am a person-centred integrative counsellor, psychotherapist and coach. Just some of the modalities I use to work with my clients are;

Person Centred Therapy
Mindfulness
CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy)
DBT (Dialectal Behavioural Therapy)
ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy)
Gestalt Therapy
Sand Tray Therapy
Creative Therapy
Solution Focused Therapy
Spiritual and Intuitive Development and Healing
Existential Psychotherapy
Humanistic Integrative Therapy
Jungian Therapy
Somatic Experiencing
Emotional Freedom Technique

I will give you the safe space you need to offload, unpack and express difficult emotions you may be experiencing. You may just need support right now to get you through a difficult chapter in your life or you may need to gain a deeper understanding of yourself, experiences and the people around you. I will listen, and support you.

Some of your feelings may be painful and difficult to deal with and my role is support you through this difficult process and offer you an opportunity to understand them.