HOW I WORK
Therapy is a relationship, first and foremost. Research consistently finds that who the therapist is and how you experience working with them matter more to the outcome than the particular model they use. That's part of why a free introductory call comes before any commitment: getting a sense of fit is genuinely the most important first step.
Within that, my way of working is integrative. I draw on more than one therapeutic tradition and shape what we do around you, rather than fitting you to a method.
The foundation: a person-centred relationship
At the heart of how I work is a person-centred foundation. What that means in practice is straightforward: I aim to offer a relationship that feels safe, genuine, and unhurried, a space where you can speak openly without fear of judgement.
I work with empathy, authenticity, and warmth, and I hold a strong belief in your autonomy: that you are the expert in your own experience, and that real change comes from your own clarity and choices rather than from advice or instruction. In the room, that often looks like careful listening, reflecting back what I'm hearing, and helping you make sense of patterns with more compassion than you might bring to them on your own.
The integration: what else I draw on
Inside that foundation, I draw responsively on a range of approaches:
Existential thinking informs how we sit with questions of meaning, identity, freedom, responsibility, and uncertainty, territory many clients reach when bigger life questions surface
Cognitive behavioural (CBT) and acceptance and commitment (ACT) approaches can be useful when we're working with anxious thinking, avoidance, or stuck patterns
Compassion-focused and mindfulness-based practices can help where harsh self-criticism is in play
Narrative and psychodynamic perspectives are helpful when the work involves understanding how older stories or earlier relationships are still shaping the present
These aren't theoretical labels I switch between. They're tools that quietly inform what I notice, what I ask, and how I respond, used where they're genuinely useful and set aside where they aren't.
"Being with" and "doing with"
Because I'm also trained as a coach, I can move, when it helps, between two modes:
Being with: slowing down together, sitting with what's difficult, exploring your inner world. This is the deeper therapeutic register, and it's often where the most important work happens.
Doing with: bringing in structure when it's useful: clarifying goals, working on boundaries, identifying barriers, practising new responses, building sustainable habits.
For people in high-pressure or high-expectation environments, in work that asks them to perform constantly, hold things together, and deliver outcomes, this combination of depth and practicality is often what's needed.
Pure introspection can feel inert without action; pure problem-solving can feel hollow without understanding. Holding both is the work.
What this looks like in practice
The first session is a chance to slow down. We'll explore what's been happening for you, what you'd like from therapy, what has and hasn't helped before, and what feels most pressing right now.
From there, sessions are collaborative. Some are reflective and exploratory; others, more structured and practical, depending on what you're bringing on the day. We'll review the work together as we go (every six sessions, or whenever feels right), so therapy stays meaningful and responsive rather than drifting on autopilot.
There's no fixed timeline. Some clients come for a focused piece of work over a few months; others stay longer for deeper, ongoing exploration. We'll find what fits.
If you'd like to see whether this approach suits you, the free 20-minute introductory call is the best place to start.
