It can take courage to start therapy – and often a good deal of strength to continue.  I feel the experience should work for clients as they need it to, in response to presenting emotions and feelings, sometimes on a session by session basis, and that the journey should be undertaken in the safety of an affirmative therapeutic relationship in which clients can be helped to recognise, understand and begin to address problems and develop their true selves.

As a relational integrative therapist I draw from a number of modalities, or schools of therapeutic thought, to help clients emerge from therapy feeling emotionally stronger with a clearer, more individuated sense of self and renewed awareness of what gives their lives meaning.

The foundation of my work is partly psychodynamic, relating present feeling to past experience.   Combining this with person centred, humanistic, principles such as unconditional positive regard for my clients, I incorporate a middle way between neutral transference analysis and the schools of warm support that enables me to respond appropriately and respectfully to what my clients share with me.

“The first step towards not being unconsciously influenced by something is to become conscious of it” Dass (2000) cited by Faris & van Ooijen (2012).