Support that
starts with you.

What it is

Trauma is what happens inside us when something overwhelming happens to us. It might be a single event such as an accident, assault or sudden loss, or years of experiences that no one would call dramatic but that left a mark: growing up around unpredictability, being bullied, a relationship that slowly wore you down. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the name for when the mind and body stay on alert long after the danger has passed. Not everyone who has been through something frightening develops it, and the impact of an experience cannot be judged from the outside.

What it can look like

Flashbacks or intrusive memories. Nightmares. Feeling constantly on edge or easily startled. Going numb or feeling detached from yourself. Avoiding people, places and conversations that bring it back. A sense that you are fundamentally different from who you were, or that you cannot trust anyone, including yourself.

How we could work with it

Trauma is an area I know well from many years of clinical work. We never go straight into the hardest material. First we build steadiness and safety, using DBT and mindfulness skills so you have ways to settle yourself. Then, if it is right for you, we work through what happened at a pace your nervous system can tolerate. Trauma-informed yoga can be part of that if you want it.

Next step

You do not need to describe what happened to get in touch. "I think it might be trauma" is enough for a first conversation.

Some trauma-related difficulties need specialist assessment and treatment. We will talk honestly about whether my support is the right fit, and mindfulness or yoga are never substitutes for that care.

What it is

Anxiety is the body’s alarm system. Everyone has it, and in short bursts it is useful. It becomes a problem when the alarm fires without a fire, or far louder than the situation calls for, and starts to run your decisions. Panic attacks are the alarm at full volume: a surge of fear with a racing heart, breathlessness or dizziness and a feeling that you are about to lose control. They are frightening but not dangerous.

What it can look like

Constant worry you cannot switch off. A racing mind at 3am. Dread before social situations. Checking and seeking reassurance. Health fears. A tight chest or churning stomach that never fully lets go. Avoiding more and more things so the anxiety is not triggered, until your life has shrunk.

How we could work with it

Anxiety keeps itself going through a loop: a frightening thought, a physical reaction, and something you do to feel safer that quietly feeds the fear. Using CBT ideas we map your loop and test the predictions behind it, gradually and at your pace. ACT helps you make room for anxious feelings without obeying them, and mindfulness gives you a way back to the present when your mind has run ahead to the worst case.

Next step

If anxiety is making it hard even to reach out, a one-line message is enough. I will take it from there.

Anxiety-like symptoms can have physical causes. If you are worried about physical symptoms, speak to a GP rather than assuming anxiety is the whole explanation.

What it is

Depression is more than feeling sad. It is a flatness where nothing feels worth it, an exhaustion that sleep does not fix, and a harsh inner voice that says it is your fault. A difficult period and depression are not the same thing, although both deserve attention. It is one of the most common mental health difficulties in the UK, and one of the most treatable.

What it can look like

Losing interest in things you used to enjoy. Withdrawing from people. Sleeping too much or too little. Struggling to concentrate or make decisions. Feeling hopeless, worthless or guilty. Sometimes thoughts that life is not worth living. If you are having those thoughts, please use the urgent help link at the bottom of this page rather than waiting for an email reply.

How we could work with it

Depression traps people in cycles: you feel low, so you do less, so you feel lower. Together we look at what is feeding the cycle and gently rebuild small sources of energy, connection and meaning. Alongside that, we work on the self-critical patterns underneath, drawing on CBT, compassion-based and schema ideas.

Next step

When you are depressed, getting in touch can feel like a mountain. A short message is enough. We will go from there.

If you think you may be depressed, a GP can assess your needs and discuss treatment options, including medication. Talking support sits alongside medical care rather than replacing it, and I am happy to work with your GP with your permission.

What it is

Some people feel things more intensely than others seem to, swing between closeness and pushing people away, fear being abandoned, or find their sense of who they are keeps shifting. You may have been given a label such as borderline or emotionally unstable personality disorder, prefer the term complex emotional needs, or use neither. Many people find the label itself painful. What it describes is real, though: a nervous system shaped by early experience to react fast and feel hard.

What it can look like

Emotions that arrive at full force and take a long time to settle. Intense, stormy relationships. A deep fear of being left. Impulsive choices in the heat of the moment. Self-harm or other ways of coping with unbearable feelings. Feeling empty, or not sure who you really are.

How we could work with it

This is an area I care deeply about and have worked in for many years. I draw on DBT, which was built precisely for these difficulties and teaches concrete skills for riding out intense emotions and handling relationships, and on schema ideas to understand the deep patterns that formed early. All of it happens inside a steady, non-judgemental relationship, because that relationship is itself part of the work.

Next step

You do not need a diagnosis to work with me, and you do not need to agree with one you have been given. Come as you are.

A diagnosis requires an appropriate professional assessment; recognising yourself in a description is not enough to establish one. Some needs are best met by a specialist team or a more structured programme, and we will discuss that openly.

What it is

Eating difficulties are rarely really about food. Restricting, bingeing, purging, over-exercising, or a constant preoccupation with weight and shape are usually ways of coping with feelings that have nowhere else to go, or of feeling in control when everything else is not. Eating disorders are complex illnesses, not a choice or a failure of willpower. They affect people of every size, gender and age, and you do not have to look unwell to be struggling.

What it can look like

Rules about what, when and how much you can eat. Guilt or panic after eating. Secrecy around food. Weighing yourself repeatedly, or avoiding the scales entirely. Exercise that feels compulsory rather than enjoyable. Your mood rising and falling with your body.

How we could work with it

We work with the thoughts and feelings behind the behaviour: self-worth, perfectionism and the emotions that food has been managing. You do not need to provide numbers, food records or a detailed history in an enquiry. Early help makes a real difference, so please do not wait until things feel "serious enough".

Next step

If you are not sure whether what you are doing counts as an eating disorder, that is a good enough reason to ask.

If you think you may have an eating disorder, seek a GP assessment as soon as you can. Specialist treatment and physical health monitoring may be needed alongside emotional support, and I work alongside those services rather than instead of them.

What it is

Poor sleep makes everything else harder, and anxiety, trauma and low mood all interfere with sleep in turn. Insomnia is when the difficulty becomes a pattern: trouble falling asleep, waking in the night, waking far too early, or sleeping but never feeling rested, for weeks or months at a time. Sleep is influenced by many things, including stress, health, surroundings and routines, so there may be more than one part to the picture.

What it can look like

Dreading bedtime. Lying awake with your mind racing. Waking at 4am and giving up. Nightmares. Relying on alcohol, screens or pills to get to sleep. Running on empty during the day and feeling more anxious or low as a result.

How we could work with it

We combine well-established ideas about the habits and beliefs that keep sleep broken with mindfulness and body-based techniques that help a wound-up nervous system wind down. Where nightmares are linked to trauma, we look at the trauma too. The aim is for your bed to stop being a battleground.

Next step

If sleep is the main thing, say so. It is often a shorter, very practical piece of work.

Persistent sleep problems are worth discussing with a GP. Some have physical or medication-related causes that need assessment, and this is not a specialist sleep clinic.

What it is

Mindfulness is the skill of noticing what is happening in your mind and body right now, without immediately fighting it or getting swept away by it. It is not about emptying your mind or being calm all the time. It is a trained way of paying attention that gives you a little more room between what you feel and what you do.

What it can look like

Mindfulness-based approaches have good evidence for recurring depression, anxiety and stress, and they underpin a lot of how I work with trauma and intense emotions. It is one of my main areas of experience, and I teach it to all sorts of people, including those who are certain they would be terrible at it.

How we could work with it

In sessions it is practical and brief, not an hour of sitting in silence. We start with short practices that fit into a real life, and I adapt them if sitting still with your eyes closed feels unsafe, which it does for many people who have been through trauma. Over time it becomes a steadying resource you carry with you.

Next step

Mindfulness can be the whole focus of our work or one part of it. Ask on your free call and we will work out which.

Mindfulness is optional. It does not suit everyone and can occasionally make people feel worse, so we adapt or set it aside whenever that is the right call for you.

What it is

If you are autistic, have ADHD, or suspect you might, your brain works differently, not wrongly. Many adults only recognise this late, after years of being told they are too much, too sensitive, lazy or disorganised. That history often brings anxiety, burnout, low self-worth and trauma of its own.

What it can look like

Overwhelm in busy or noisy places. Exhaustion from masking. Difficulty with focus, starting tasks or switching off. Feeling misunderstood in relationships. Sensitivity that others dismiss. A sense of having worked twice as hard for the same result.

How we could work with it

Therapy should work with how you are wired, not against it. I adapt the way we work: session structure, how we handle overwhelm, how much we rely on talking versus doing. I am comfortable with the overlap between neurodivergence and the other difficulties on this page, and I will never treat your neurotype as the problem to be fixed.

Next step

Tell me what helps you feel comfortable in a conversation, and we will start there.

This is not an autism or ADHD diagnostic service. If you want an assessment or advice about medication, a GP can discuss the appropriate route, and I can help you think through whether to seek one.

What it is

Sometimes there is no diagnosis, just too much. Work pressure, caring for others, a relationship ending, grief, a health scare, or a life that looks fine from the outside and feels empty inside. Burnout is what happens when stress has gone on so long that you have run out of road: exhausted, cynical, and unable to care about things you used to care about.

What it can look like

Snapping at people you love. Never quite switching off. Sleeping badly and waking tired. Dreading Monday on Saturday. Going through the motions. A quiet sense that something has to change but no idea what.

How we could work with it

These are often shorter, focused pieces of work: getting your footing back, understanding what has been driving you past your limits, and deciding what you actually want next. ACT and compassion-based ideas are particularly useful here, along with mindfulness for the physical side of stress.

Next step

You do not need to be in crisis to deserve support. If you are wondering whether it is "bad enough", it is enough.