What I offer

I offer adults one-to-one talking therapy in 50-minute sessions. Most clients come once a week, but for those who feel they need it, I may recommend twice-weekly sessions.

Longer-term work is open-ended and can range widely across the terrain of your life. I also offer short-term therapy, which can be very useful for clients seeking to address a specific issue over eight to twelve sessions.

I work with a broad range of clients from different backgrounds. I am committed to treating every one with equal respect, whatever your gender, racial identity, sexual orientation, age, class, disability, or religion. I am open to exploring any related issues with you, affirming your identity while recognising my own as a white, cisgender, middle-class, non-disabled man.

How I work

You will find me calm, patient, empathic, and supportive. I will make our work together as comfortable for you as I can. I don’t make diagnoses and I won’t burden you with my opinions or advice. I’ll take you as you are, without judgement.

Rather, I will help you look at things from new angles so that you can understand the load you are carrying and make lasting changes in your life. I’ll listen carefully to help you to recognise your emotions better. We’ll examine, with curiosity and care, the events from your past that are still bothering you. We won’t just look at the difficult stuff, though. We’ll also consider what you have overcome and what you have accomplished in your life.

Sometimes we’ll talk about your childhood to see if we can find links to the things that are bothering you now. At other times we’ll explore what is happening for you right now – both during and outside the therapy session – so that we can get to know your present feelings, wishes, and reactions better.

Research has consistently shown that a good relationship between therapist and client is the most important factor in successful therapy. With genuineness, empathy, and faith in you as the foundation, our relationship in our counselling sessions will establish a supportive, safe space in which to learn about your relationships in the world outside – and how you can change them.

If your feelings are overwhelming or you feel like you are losing control, I’ll help you steady yourself so that you can start to regain confidence and make good choices. I may suggest some exercises that use breathing, body awareness, and imagination to help you along this journey of self-exploration – but it’ll always be for you to decide whether or not we try them.

What to expect: early stages of therapy

We’ll begin with a 20-minute no-commitment phone or video call about what has brought you here and whether I am a good fit for what you want. We’ll discuss practicalities like session times, place, and fees, as well as any particular issues you want to address.

After that we’ll book an initial 50-minute session in which I’ll ask you more about yourself: your past, your present, and the future you want. You’ll find out what it’s like to work with me, and we can decide whether to start regular weekly sessions.

Often I’ll begin a session by asking you what’s been most on your mind, so that you can get things off your chest if you need to. Sometimes I’ll remind you of things we have discussed before, to keep focus on what matters most to you in the long term. If you’re finding it hard to talk about difficult things that have happened in your life, I’ll teach you calming techniques that will enable you to reflect steadily on those events. At other times, we’ll sit quietly while you find within yourself what it is you want to say.

How therapy progresses

This work takes time. It won’t all happen in the first session! And you needn’t worry that you’ll have to bare your soul straight away – I won’t rush you or interrogate you. We’ll go at a pace and to a depth that is comfortable for you.

If you want only a limited number of sessions – perhaps to deal with a pressing problem or a looming event – we can still make a big difference. We’ll talk about your goals at the start and keep steering towards them.

Some things, however, will take longer. Maybe you won’t really know what your goals are at the start. In longer-term work, we’ll regularly review how our sessions are helping you and what you now want for the future. And I’ll always keep an eye on when and how our work together should end – I don’t expect clients to stay with me forever! Ultimately, I will always want you to go on from our work with a sense of accomplishment, stronger and better able to face challenges, and to have the kind of life you want.