Gestalt Therapy embraces a holistic understanding of individuals and their unique circumstances, and it can benefit those encountering severe mental health challenges as well as those seeking support with the relationships/events in their lives and with their self-empowerment journeys. In Gestalt Therapy, clients are not perceived as deficient or lacking in ability; rather, they are viewed as individuals who have adapted to their situations in the best way possible. Often, it is these adaptations that need to be updated to reduce the emotional suffering. As a Gestalt therapist, I work in partnership with you to help you release these areas of ‘stuckness’. I begin by creating a confidential and secure space where I can truly understand and support you as we actively engage in a dynamic dialogue, exploration of bodily sensations, analysis of the therapeutic relationship, and a range of creative methods.

By focusing on your history and experiences in relation to how you show up in the present, I help you navigate life's challenges with greater awareness, so that you can begin to make conscious choices that more effectively address the tensions and dilemmas in your relationships and sense of self. This often involves diving deep into your thought patterns, behaviours, conflicting emotions, paradoxes, meanings, imagery, and metaphors, while addressing your unique concerns and issues.

Trauma-Informed therapy understands and considers the pervasive nature of trauma and promotes environments of healing and recovery rather than practices and services that may inadvertently re-traumatise. Trauma-Informed therapy focusses on five guiding principles to reduce the likelihood of re-traumatisation:

1. Safety: As a trauma-informed therapist I ensure that my clients are emotionally and physically safe in the sessions. The privacy of my clients is always respected.

2. Collaboration: I share the power of decision-making with my clients and aim to empower them by educating them about the options available, making them an active participant and contributor in their healing.

3. Transparency: Clarity, trust, and boundaries are respected in trauma-informed therapy and I am committed to being honest in my approach with clients.

4. Choice: The client has the choice and control over what happens. I support this by providing clients with a clear message stating their rights and responsibilities.

5. Competence: I am continuously updating my skills and competencies with latest research and approaches to ensure I am offering clients the best strategies for their trauma healing.

I require 7-days’ notice if you need to cancel an in-person session (due to room costs) and 48-hours’ notice if we are working online. If you miss a session without letting me know in advance, you will be expected to pay in full for the missed session. I will contact you within 24hrs to rearrange the session, usually for the following week.

Anything that you discuss in sessions is treated as confidential. There are limits to this confidentiality if there is a serious risk of harm to you or to someone else. If this happens, attempts will be made to do this in co-operation with you and with your consent.

I will assume you no longer wish to have counselling and will close your case if three sessions are missed in a row without contacting the service.

The number of sessions you require will differ from person to person depending on your current situation and your emotional process. The service takes a structured and pragmatic approach to therapy which aims to set achievable goals within a set period of time