I am an experienced Person Centred Counsellor, Supervisor and Focusing Teacher based in Burgess Hill and Brighton. I have worked with people experiencing anxiety, depression, sexual abuse, relationship issues, work related stress, ill health, bereavement, family issues and many other life and mental health issues. I offer telephone, video call and in person sessions.
I have been counselling for over seventeen years and have a deep fascination in people and what it is to be human. I am a kind, warm and open minded person and I love supporting others to feel more accepting of themselves and to become more fully connected with themselves and their potential.
Sometimes life can be hard, we go through dark times and we feel alone. You might be overwhelmed by strong feelings or by how complicated life can feel. You might be worrying whether it’s ok to talk to friends and family. Having someone to share your feelings with can help make them more manageable and having someone work with you to try and figure things out can help you feel hope. When we’re able to feel as bad as we feel, without having to pretend we’re ok, and when we feel accepted just as we are, we usually move through these feelings into a different space where things feel clearer and lighter: We’re more able to know and do what we need to do to feel better or make life changes. The support of a therapeutic relationship can be healing in itself.
Life contains many uncertainties and counselling can be a space to grapple with this. What is meaningful to you, what would make a good life, are you living to your fullest, are you being your authentic self? These questions may be difficult to sit with and the answers may not be straightforward, but the process of this enquiry is worthwhile in itself. If you are sensing you may not be fully happy in your life or are wanting to be more fulfilled, counselling can be an opportunity to collaborate with another human to unpick your own individual life situation and your potential so you can find what you need to make the most of it. I won’t know the answers for you, but I do have faith in the potential of exploring what is meaningful to us in the company of another person who is prepared to hear you deeply and be with you in confusion as much as certainty, pain as much as joy.
Listening to ourselves and trusting ourselves is a radical act, when we are often encouraged to listen to experts and turn outside ourselves to assess how well we are doing. Far from being irresponsible, connecting with our own inner sense of rightness actually makes us more likely to be able to be genuinely caring and responsible towards others. Once we are able to more fully accept our feelings and ourselves we are more able to move forwards, but often we need the company of another to support this process. Feeling that we are accepted and respected by another human helps us develop that inner relationship with ourselves. Being known and seen by another person can at times be scary but can also be part of what we need to move towards our potential.
If you feel marginalised in the world in some way I want to welcome you. Our society is set up to value some people and groups of people more than others, and it is not always easy to find a place to talk about the experience of this openly. I hope and aim to provide such a space, where your experience can be heard, validated and explored. We can also end up marginalising aspects of ourselves, inner parts or feelings – sometimes as a result of societal values or life experience. I believe that we are all uniquely valuable and all aspects of ourselves have developed for a reason. The parts of yourself that you may find most difficult to accept may often contain clues to what you are needing in life and even your greatest potential. Exploring these aspects of ourselves in a safe, caring and non-judgemental environment can help unlock what needs to move forward from those marginalised parts of yourself.
The Person Centred Approach is one that trusts that all humans are unique and hence there will not be one answer that works for everyone. Exploring the complexity of your own unique struggles can feel a challenge at times but within the context of a supportive therapeutic relationship this can be empowering. Unpicking how you feel and what you need with the support of another can help you be more self-reliant as you will find this a lifelong tool. Humans are social creatures and although autonomy is valuable we also need others to survive and thrive. Counselling can help you experience the potential in human relationships. Some of the problems we experience in life come down to alienation from ourselves and each other. Once you experience what it is to be accepted and understood just as you are, you may begin to be more authentic in relationships and feel both more free and more connected in the world.
How do we know what we need? Sometimes we feel we just don’t know and we want guidance. If we pause and listen inside we may notice there is something, some feeling or sensation, however vague, which lets us know a little about what is wrong or what is needed. From a knowing of what is wrong comes a starting point, a gradual awareness of what is being pointed to that would feel more right. Our body can often tell us more about what would feel more right, if we can only get used to listening to it. This inner listening is healing in itself but as we get more used to doing this we can notice more small steps towards what would help us feel better. Sometimes the steps are big too! Maybe we weigh up options: When I consider this way forward do I get a sense of tension, constriction, for instance? Or do I get a sense of lightness or expansion? These sometimes subtle cues can help us find our way and I can help you get used to listening for them.
I am responsible and professional, I work with integrity and I abide by the BACP Ethical Framework. I am BACP Senior Accredited and Registered. I welcome your feedback about how you find working with me and I am open to being challenged. I understand that clients trust me with issues very personal to them and what you tell me is confidential.
You can also find me in the Counselling Directory
I have been counselling for over seventeen years and have a deep fascination in people and what it is to be human. I am a kind, warm and open minded person and I love supporting others to feel more accepting of themselves and to become more fully connected with themselves and their potential.
Sometimes life can be hard, we go through dark times and we feel alone. You might be overwhelmed by strong feelings or by how complicated life can feel. You might be worrying whether it’s ok to talk to friends and family. Having someone to share your feelings with can help make them more manageable and having someone work with you to try and figure things out can help you feel hope. When we’re able to feel as bad as we feel, without having to pretend we’re ok, and when we feel accepted just as we are, we usually move through these feelings into a different space where things feel clearer and lighter: We’re more able to know and do what we need to do to feel better or make life changes. The support of a therapeutic relationship can be healing in itself.
Life contains many uncertainties and counselling can be a space to grapple with this. What is meaningful to you, what would make a good life, are you living to your fullest, are you being your authentic self? These questions may be difficult to sit with and the answers may not be straightforward, but the process of this enquiry is worthwhile in itself. If you are sensing you may not be fully happy in your life or are wanting to be more fulfilled, counselling can be an opportunity to collaborate with another human to unpick your own individual life situation and your potential so you can find what you need to make the most of it. I won’t know the answers for you, but I do have faith in the potential of exploring what is meaningful to us in the company of another person who is prepared to hear you deeply and be with you in confusion as much as certainty, pain as much as joy.
Listening to ourselves and trusting ourselves is a radical act, when we are often encouraged to listen to experts and turn outside ourselves to assess how well we are doing. Far from being irresponsible, connecting with our own inner sense of rightness actually makes us more likely to be able to be genuinely caring and responsible towards others. Once we are able to more fully accept our feelings and ourselves we are more able to move forwards, but often we need the company of another to support this process. Feeling that we are accepted and respected by another human helps us develop that inner relationship with ourselves. Being known and seen by another person can at times be scary but can also be part of what we need to move towards our potential.
If you feel marginalised in the world in some way I want to welcome you. Our society is set up to value some people and groups of people more than others, and it is not always easy to find a place to talk about the experience of this openly. I hope and aim to provide such a space, where your experience can be heard, validated and explored. We can also end up marginalising aspects of ourselves, inner parts or feelings – sometimes as a result of societal values or life experience. I believe that we are all uniquely valuable and all aspects of ourselves have developed for a reason. The parts of yourself that you may find most difficult to accept may often contain clues to what you are needing in life and even your greatest potential. Exploring these aspects of ourselves in a safe, caring and non-judgemental environment can help unlock what needs to move forward from those marginalised parts of yourself.
The Person Centred Approach is one that trusts that all humans are unique and hence there will not be one answer that works for everyone. Exploring the complexity of your own unique struggles can feel a challenge at times but within the context of a supportive therapeutic relationship this can be empowering. Unpicking how you feel and what you need with the support of another can help you be more self-reliant as you will find this a lifelong tool. Humans are social creatures and although autonomy is valuable we also need others to survive and thrive. Counselling can help you experience the potential in human relationships. Some of the problems we experience in life come down to alienation from ourselves and each other. Once you experience what it is to be accepted and understood just as you are, you may begin to be more authentic in relationships and feel both more free and more connected in the world.
How do we know what we need? Sometimes we feel we just don’t know and we want guidance. If we pause and listen inside we may notice there is something, some feeling or sensation, however vague, which lets us know a little about what is wrong or what is needed. From a knowing of what is wrong comes a starting point, a gradual awareness of what is being pointed to that would feel more right. Our body can often tell us more about what would feel more right, if we can only get used to listening to it. This inner listening is healing in itself but as we get more used to doing this we can notice more small steps towards what would help us feel better. Sometimes the steps are big too! Maybe we weigh up options: When I consider this way forward do I get a sense of tension, constriction, for instance? Or do I get a sense of lightness or expansion? These sometimes subtle cues can help us find our way and I can help you get used to listening for them.
I am responsible and professional, I work with integrity and I abide by the BACP Ethical Framework. I am BACP Senior Accredited and Registered. I welcome your feedback about how you find working with me and I am open to being challenged. I understand that clients trust me with issues very personal to them and what you tell me is confidential.
You can also find me in the Counselling Directory
