I draw from a range of approaches rather than applying one fixed model to everyone, because everyone is different, and what helps one person might not land for another. These include Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), which helps us identify and understand the patterns that keep repeating; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT); EMDR for trauma; Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), which is particularly helpful if you live with a harsh inner critic; counselling; and equine-assisted therapy. I also bring a background in pain management and long-term health conditions from my years in NHS services.

The approach shifts depending on what you need and that can change as the work evolves. The method always matters less than how it actually feels for you.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It sounds more technical than it is. When something traumatic or overwhelming happens, the brain can't always process it fully. The experience gets stored in a raw, unfinished way, which is why certain memories, feelings or physical sensations can still feel so vivid and immediate, even years later. EMDR helps the brain finish the processing it couldn't complete at the time.

Using gentle, rhythmic side-to-side eye movements (or other bilateral patterns), both sides of the brain stay engaged while you revisit small pieces of what happened. You're not reliving the pain, you're helping your body and mind finally understand that it's over.

Over time, the memory loses its charge. You might still remember what happened, but it won't hold the same weight. Many people find it genuinely life-changing, particularly when talking alone hasn't quite shifted things.

CAT is a collaborative, structured therapy that helps you understand the patterns in your life, the ways of relating to yourself and others that keep repeating, often in ways that cause pain or keep you stuck.

In CAT, we work together to map out these patterns, understand where they originally came from, and find new ways to respond. It's particularly helpful for people who notice the same dynamics showing up across different relationships, or who feel caught in cycles they can't seem to break.

The work is thoughtful, grounded and deeply personal, and because we're building understanding together rather than me just 'doing therapy at you,' it tends to feel quite different from other approaches people have tried.

Equine-assisted therapy involves working alongside horses as part of the therapeutic process, not riding, just being with them.

Sometimes that means being in the field and simply watching. Horses have their own social world, they move toward each other, drift apart, stand alone at the edge of the herd. For some people, just quietly observing that is enough to start something. A horse standing apart from the others, or two of them close together, can land in a way that's hard to explain but easy to feel. It mirrors something. And that can be the beginning of a conversation that might never have found its way into a therapy room.

For those who are ready to be with them more closely, something else happens. Horses are extraordinarily sensitive to what we're actually carrying, not the version of ourselves we present to the world. You can't mask with a horse. Which means things can surface in a field that might take months to reach in a session, and those things can be worked with in a way that feels completely natural rather than forced.

It's particularly well-suited to children or young people who struggle in traditional settings, people who find sitting still to talk overwhelming, or anyone who needs movement, space, or simply a different starting point before words become possible. Sometimes the most powerful sessions don't happen in a room at all.

Yes, and it's something I have specific experience in. I spent a significant part of my career in NHS pain management services, working with people whose emotional and physical wellbeing were deeply intertwined. Chronic pain, fatigue and long-term illness are often made heavier by stress, trauma and the emotional toll of managing something difficult day after day.

Therapy can help you develop a different relationship with your body, understand how your emotional state affects your physical experience, and find steadier ground alongside whatever you're living with. It doesn't replace medical treatment, but it can make an enormous difference to how you carry it.

Yes. I work with both adults and children. For younger clients, or anyone who finds a traditional therapy room difficult, I offer more flexible ways of working,  including outdoor sessions and equine-assisted therapy, which can be particularly helpful for children who need movement and space rather than sitting still to talk. If you're enquiring about support for a child, please do get in touch and we can talk through what might work best.