Psychotherapeutic Counselling with Adults
I am an integrative psychotherapeutic counsellor supporting adults to make meaningful change to improve your quality of life. I draw on a diverse range of theory and creative practical approaches to offer an individualised and flexible approach to best suit those I am working alongside.
I have worked with people to support them to feel more in control of overwhelming emotions, more able to make decisions and hold boundaries, to feel more grounded and centred, to feel stable and safe, to feel certain about being valuable, capable, lovable, powerful, and equal.
Sessions can be indoors or outdoors. Often therapy involves a mixture of settings depending on individual preference and my availability. Sometimes outdoor sessions are slow or static, sometimes moving, sometimes in woodlands, and sometimes in the fells. This is something we can discuss in our initial session and can change and adapt depending on the needs of your therapeutic journey.
In Staveley and Lancaster, I work in spaces that easily accommodate the movement between indoor and outdoor work.
What I offer:
Psychotherapeutic Counselling: In psychotherapeutic counselling we explore deeper or more complex things to work out the root of the difficulty. This process usually starts with developing a therapeutic relationship alongside developing resources and coping strategies, and then using different methods to explore what is happening, what you might want to change, how to change it, and support in changing it.
We draw from a wide range of interventions and styles to best suit what is right for you in that moment- whether it is creative, embodied, metaphorical, indoors or outdoors. We move with what you feel would be just right for you.
It can be difficult to quantify how long that journey will be, but we would usually have a review every 8 sessions, to reflect and get a sense of where we are in the journey, your current needs, and where we are heading.
The following are suggestions for shorter therapy journeys. Sometimes people decide after these that they want to continue with psychotherapy straight away or in the future. Each of these options can be integrated into a longer psychotherapy journey.
Coping and Calming Skills: Usually an 8-week block of sessions that includes us developing a relationship and sharing different strategies to help you to feel calm and in control.
Nature Connection-focused Calming Skills: In these sessions, we explore ways for you to feel calm and a sense of belonging using nature connection. The sessions could be for a couple of hours or done over a series of sessions, depending on your needs and preferences.
Yoga Therapy focused Calming and Coping Skills: In these sessions we explore ways to feel calm and grounded using movement, mindfulness, sound, and breath. These could be individual one-off sessions or regular weekly, fortnightly, or monthly sessions.
EMDR specific: Usually a minimum of 8 sessions. The first few sessions focus on developing resources and building a relationship, the next sessions include the EMDR process and the next sessions to consolidate and to end. Sometimes these sessions can be done intensively, where my availability allows so that you can do 8 sessions over a few days. Read more about EMDR below.
Embodied
In the past few decades, research has shown what many cultures have long known; that our emotions are held in our bodies. Movement, gesture, walking, and embodied play can offer significant change by harnessing innate strength and peace.
I draw on my training and many years of personal experience of embodied practices, including yoga, somatic trauma therapy, and radix body psychotherapy, to explore ways of connecting, nurturing, and expressing the emotions held in bodies. As a Mountain Leader, I also offers walk-and-talk sessions, which offer movement, and nature-connection in addition to talk therapy, in the beautiful Lake District National Park.
I am committed to a practice grounded in consent and individualisation, practices will be explored mutually to ensure you feel in control and within your window of capacity.
Eco-therapy
Research has shown that connecting with nature offers vast benefits including a reduction in anxiety, depression, and inflammation. It can offer feelings of belonging and cultivate curiosity and motivation. This can also be useful in working with climate-anxiety.
As an eco-psychotherapist I combine psychotherapeutic counselling with nature connection, offering sessions outdoors in woodlands and in the Lake District National Park to harness these benefits. Sessions can take the form of a walk, stopping now and then, going at a pace to suit you. They can also be in a more fixed setting. We would discuss options in the initial meeting.
In these sessions, the other-than-human world can take a more active role in the sessions, as well as focusing on a specific nature-connecting activity, such as therapeutic land art, mindfulness and grounding.
I understand how concerns about climate change and the future, including eco-anxiety, can feel overwhelming. In our sessions, I offer a compassionate space to explore these feelings, process your fears, and find ways to stay grounded, connected, and empowered to live in line with your values.
Creativity
I am trained and experienced in using a variety of creative techniques to help to express and explore feelings, sensations and experiences creatively, as well as to gain greater control, deeper understanding and to find calm. These include:
Sandtray using miniature figures as symbols
Sensorimotor art therapy- exploring body responses and sensations through movement with art
Painting, drawing, sculpting with clay
Creating and building to express and connect using other than human materials
Image-work includes using imagination and visualisation.
EMDR
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a type of therapy that helps people recover from distressing experiences, trauma, and difficult memories. Sometimes, when something overwhelming happens, the memory can get “stuck,” causing anxiety, intrusive thoughts, or emotional triggers. EMDR uses guided eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation (taps, or sounds that move from left to right) to help the brain reprocess these memories, so they feel less intense and lose their emotional grip. EMDR can’t change the past and won’t alter your memory, but it can help take the charge out of it.
You stay in control throughout the process, and you don’t need to share every detail unless you want to. Many people find EMDR helps them feel calmer, lighter, and more able to move forward without the past holding them back. It can be helpful for PTSD, anxiety, phobias, grief, and low self‑esteem.
Yoga Therapy & Mindfulness
I am trained in yogic mindfulness and have over twenty years of experience as a practitioner. Mindfulness, put simply, is paying attention to the present moment (easier said than done!). It is a powerful and ancient technique that can help alleviate various difficulties including flashbacks, anxiety, depression, overwhelm, and panic attacks. The yogic part refers to including an intention that is around wellbeing. For example, it is possible to do anything mindfully but not everything is useful to your wellbeing. Mindfulness is often incorporated with nature, such as using senses to connect or with creativity to mindfully express internal feelings.
Relational
A safe, genuine therapeutic relationship can be a powerful mirror for understanding yourself and the way you relate to others. In our work together, I pay close attention to the patterns that naturally show up between us — because they often reflect the patterns that shape your other relationships. By noticing these in a supportive, non‑judgemental space, you can start to see your relationships more clearly and understand how past experiences may be influencing your present.
Using Transactional Analysis as a guide, we can explore these patterns and experiment with new ways of relating that feel more authentic. This process can help you recognise and honour your own needs, set healthy boundaries without guilt, and express yourself more openly. Over time, this awareness and practice can make your connections with others more balanced, fulfilling, and true to who you are.
FAQs
Cost
Initial session (on Zoom) £30
Usual session cost is a sliding scale £55-£70 for 50 minutes
More info on the sliding scale and concession rates here.
Number of sessions
It really depends on your individual need and preference. Clients would usually have a minimum of 8 weekly sessions and then a review.
Outdoor/ Indoor
I offer outdoor sessions in Staveley, near Kendal.
Techniques and Approaches
As an integrative therapist, I draw on a variety of theories to underpin my work and help me to develop a deeper understanding that helps guide the therapy. These include: somatic trauma therapy, transactional analysis, gestalt, radix body psychotherapy, systems theory, attachment theories, Relational Trauma Therapy, yoga therapy (Svastha).
Interventions are highly individualised and can include: nature-connection, sand tray, movement and gesture, yoga, mindfulness, image-work, art and creativity.
What is a psychotherapeutic counsellor?
The professional body, UKCP, describes the difference between psychotherapeutic counselling and traditional counselling as “the emphasis it places on the in-depth therapeutic relationship jointly created by the therapist and the client. This relationship is a central factor.”
Important Consideration
My working hours are:
10.30am - 6.30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays
9.30am - 1pm on Wednesdays
I do not work as a therapist on Fridays or at weekends, other than workshops.
I take regular breaks, usually 1-2 weeks every 6-8 weeks throughout the year, a four week break (usually in July/ August) and time away for CPD and training. I let clients know of any absence with as much notice as possible. Please do bear this in mind when you are considering whether I am a good fit for your needs.