How I Work

Person-Centred Therapy is a gentle and relational approach to counselling that places you, your experiences, and your inner world at the centre of the work. Rather than being told what to do or how to feel, therapy becomes a space where you can explore your thoughts, emotions and experiences openly, at your own pace and without judgement. This approach was developed by Carl Rogers, who believed that people have a natural capacity for growth and healing when they feel truly heard, accepted and understood.

People come to counselling for many different reasons. Sometimes there is a clear difficulty such as anxiety, stress, relationship challenges or low mood. At other times, there may simply be a sense that something feels overwhelming, stuck, or difficult to manage alone. You do not need to be in crisis to seek support. Counselling can offer a space to reflect, better understand yourself, and explore what may be affecting your emotional wellbeing, relationships or day-to-day life.

Confidentiality is one of the cornerstones of counselling. What you share during sessions is treated with care, respect and privacy, helping to create a space where you can speak openly and feel safe to explore your experiences. There are a small number of situations where confidentiality may need to be broken, usually where there are serious concerns about safety. These exceptions will always be explained clearly as part of our counselling agreement.

I work with adults and young people experiencing a wide range of emotional and relational difficulties, including anxiety, stress, overwhelm, relationship challenges, trauma, low mood and questions around identity or self-worth. I also have a particular interest in working with people navigating strong or difficult emotions such as anger, as well as those living between cultures, languages or different ways of relating to the world. These experiences can sometimes create feelings of isolation, disconnection or not fully belonging. Alongside my work with women and young people, I also support men who may find it difficult to speak openly about emotional struggles, relationships or vulnerability. You do not need to have a specific diagnosis or clear explanation for what you are feeling. Therapy can simply begin with a sense that something feels difficult, overwhelming or hard to carry alone.

Yes. Strong emotions such as anger, frustration, shame, anxiety or emotional overwhelm often carry important experiences and feelings beneath them. Rather than judging or suppressing these emotions, therapy can offer a space to explore them with greater understanding, curiosity and care. Sometimes anger can be connected to hurt, fear, unmet needs, past experiences or difficulties feeling heard or understood. Together, we can gently explore what may be sitting underneath these emotional responses, helping you develop a different relationship with them over time. You do not need to arrive calm, articulate or emotionally “together” in order to begin therapy.

Sessions offer a space where you can slow down and speak openly about whatever feels important, difficult or overwhelming for you. There is no expectation to have everything clearly worked out or explained perfectly. My role is not to judge or direct you, but to listen carefully and work alongside you with curiosity, care and attention. Together, we may explore thoughts, emotions, relationships, patterns or experiences that feel difficult to understand or carry alone. At times, we may also gently notice how experiences are felt emotionally or physically in the present moment, always working at a pace that feels manageable and supportive for you. Where appropriate, this may also include approaches such as Brainspotting to support deeper emotional processing.

Brainspotting is a therapeutic approach that uses eye position to help access emotions, experiences and patterns that may be held more deeply in the body and nervous system. During a Brainspotting session, we gently notice where your attention naturally goes, both internally and visually, while staying connected to what you are feeling emotionally or physically in the moment. This can sometimes help access experiences that feel difficult to reach through talking alone. The process is gentle, collaborative and guided at a pace that feels manageable for you. Brainspotting may be integrated into therapy where it feels supportive and appropriate, but there is never any pressure to work in this way.

The relationship between counsellor and client is a very important part of the therapeutic process. Feeling safe, heard and understood can create the conditions for deeper reflection, emotional honesty and meaningful change. In Person-Centred Therapy, the relationship itself becomes a space where you can explore your experiences without fear of judgement or pressure to be a certain way. My role is not to direct or “fix” you, but to meet you with empathy, openness and care as we work together.

While past experiences can sometimes help us understand patterns, emotions or ways of relating, therapy is not only focused on the past. We also pay attention to what is happening in your life and relationships in the present moment. The aim is not to stay stuck in old experiences, but to develop greater understanding, awareness and choice in how you relate to yourself and others moving forward.

No. Therapy should move at a pace that feels safe and manageable for you. There is never any pressure to speak about experiences or emotions before you feel ready to do so. Part of the work is building enough trust and safety within the therapeutic relationship for difficult experiences to be approached gently and with care. Sometimes this may begin simply by exploring how things are affecting you in the present moment, rather than going directly into the past. You are always free to set boundaries around what you do and do not wish to share.

Different therapeutic approaches work better for different people, and an important part of therapy is finding an approach and a relationship that feels supportive and right for you. Person-Centred Therapy may feel particularly helpful if you are looking for a space where you can explore your experiences openly, at your own pace, and without judgement or pressure. Our introductory session can also be a chance to explore whether this way of working feels like a good fit for your needs and what you are hoping for from therapy.

Progress in therapy is often gradual and may show up in different ways for different people. Sometimes it can look like feeling more able to understand or express your emotions, noticing patterns more clearly, feeling less overwhelmed, or responding differently in relationships and difficult situations. There may also be times when the work feels emotional, uncertain or challenging, particularly when exploring deeper experiences. Therapy is not always a linear process, and we can regularly reflect together on how the work is feeling and what changes you may be noticing over time.

Sessions last 50 minutes and usually take place weekly, unless we agree otherwise together. The overall length of therapy varies from person to person and depends on your individual needs, circumstances and what you would like support with. Some people come for short-term support around a particular difficulty, while others choose to work together over a longer period of time. We can regularly review the work together and discuss what feels most supportive and helpful for you, including how often we meet and when the time may feel right to bring therapy to a close.

Yes. Alongside English, I also offer therapy sessions in Italian and Spanish, languages I grew up speaking fluently. For many people, being able to speak in a familiar language can create a greater sense of ease, emotional connection and freedom of expression within therapy. I also understand some of the complexities that can come with living between different cultures, languages and ways of relating to the world.

Getting started begins with making contact, either through the contact form, by email or by phone. We can then arrange an introductory session where there is space to talk about what is bringing you to therapy and whether this feels like the right support for you. Before your first session, it can sometimes be helpful to reflect on what has led you to seek therapy at this point in your life, or on anything you may particularly want support with. At the same time, there is no pressure to arrive with everything clearly worked out or explained. We can simply begin from wherever you are.

No. You do not need a diagnosis or a specific label to begin therapy. Many people come to counselling with feelings or experiences that are difficult to fully explain – a sense of overwhelm, emotional exhaustion, relationship difficulties, anxiety, sadness, anger, or simply the feeling that something is not quite right. Therapy can offer a space to explore whatever you are experiencing with curiosity, care and without judgement, whether or not you have a clear understanding of it yet.