My Values and Approach.

  • COMPLEX

    I see CBT as a set of multiple interpersonal and relational practices NOT one size fits all. Therapy is as complex as you are.

  • CRITICAL

    I bring a critical edge to my clinical work; especially the way that CBT is embedded in a number of problematic political and social systems/discourses. My aim is to help you lead a more meaningful and fulfilling life rather than adapt to toxic systems.

  • SYSTEMIC

    By co-locating mental health issues in a socio-political and interpersonal context, I see therapy as an emergent strategy that creates powerful systemic changes through relatively small actions. That system could be your relationship to yourself, the body, gender(s) and spirit, your history, your thoughts, feelings and behaviours, your partner(s), chosen/family, ancestors or the wider world and Universe.

  • INTERSECTIONAL

    I strive towards and hold in mind anti-racist, class informed, intersectional feminist, neurodiverse and disability justice oriented, LGBTQ+ queer, trans and kink affirmative practice, all of which is a continual work in progress.

    I am a gay and queer, non-binary, neurodivergent, non-disabled, Pagan Zen Buddhist racialised as White. I am from a working class background and have lived experience of educational marginalisation, trauma/(C)-PTSD, dyscalculia and other related issues.

    I use they/them pronouns.

Values
I strongly resist the deficit model of mental health which blames the individual for their problems.

We are born into lives and systems we didn’t ask for or create.

We do the best we can with the tricky brain and nervous system we’ve inherited.

For many of us this creates trauma; difficulties relating to others, and to the world around us, because it feels so unsafe in our bodies and in the environment.

This calls for more self-compassion not more self-criticism.

Therapy can help us to befriend the body and brain, engage with a more fulfilling, meaningful life and heal from whatever has happened to us.

Approach
Training the brain to be kinder to you”

Some of the core themes we’ll explore are:

“What’s your story?

“What happened to you?

“How did it affect you?

“What does that mean to you and others?

“What did you have to do to survive?

“What are your strengths?

What happens next?”

(from Johnstone and Boyle (2020) - Power, Threat, Meaning Framework.)


THERAPIES OFFERED:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - CBT

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy - ACT

Compassion Focused Therapy - CFT
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy -
MBCT

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction - MBSR

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing - EMDR

Click to see my qualifications.
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fees/bookings.