Trust Counselling
My Approach
Professional Guidance
Challenges in adult life often have roots in early childhood. By exploring your beliefs and behaviours—and understanding where they originate—it becomes easier to navigate everyday life with greater clarity and confidence
I’m here to support you in overcoming life’s obstacles and finding a way forward. Together, we can explore what’s holding you back and work towards creating a more fulfilling and balanced future. If you're ready to take the first step towards personal growth, I invite you to get in touch today
I offer a warm, collaborative approach to counselling, drawing on person-centred therapy while integrating elements of transactional analysis and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This blend allows me to tailor support to each individual, helping clients work through the challenges affecting their lives and move towards lasting, positive change
What I Can Help With
Grief
Grief isn’t just about losing someone we love. It can show up in so many different forms. We might grieve the end of a relationship, the loss of a job, the version of ourselves we thought we’d become, or the future we imagined but no longer see. Even when our children leave home, or life takes a turn we didn’t expect, we can experience that same deep sense of loss.
Whatever the cause, grief can leave us feeling lost, stuck, and unsure how to move forward. You might find yourself thinking, “I shouldn’t feel this bad — other people have it worse,” or “I just need to pull myself together.” And then, when the sadness doesn’t lift, shame and frustration creep in. It’s a painful cycle — one that convinces us we’re weak or failing when really, we’re just human.
You are absolutely allowed to feel whatever comes up for you. Grief is a natural response to losing something meaningful, and there’s no right or wrong way to experience it. Yet many of us try to fight or hide our emotions, believing we should be “strong” or “over it” by now. The truth is, there’s no timeline, no checklist, and no quick fix. Grief moves at its own pace.
What we can do is meet ourselves with compassion — and I know that’s often easier said than done. Many of us were never shown how to be kind to ourselves, or we believe we don’t deserve it. But self-compassion is where healing starts. It’s the gentle reminder that your pain is valid, that what you’re feeling matters, and that you don’t have to go through this alone.
In therapy, we can explore your experience of grief together — at your pace, without judgment or pressure. I’ll offer a space where you can express the full weight of what you’re carrying and begin to make sense of it.
You don’t need to minimise your feelings or apologise for them. They’re yours — and they deserve to be heard.
Depression
Life can start to feel smaller. When our efforts to “fix” things don’t work, it’s easy to believe it’s hopeless — that we’re not strong enough, that we don’t have the skills, or even that we don’t deserve to feel better. Meanwhile, that harsh inner critic keeps getting louder, feeding a story about ourselves that simply isn’t true.
Depression can be debilitating. For some, it might look like not being able to get out of bed, neglecting self-care, or withdrawing from people we care about. For others, it might look like being the life and soul of the party, appearing happy and confident on the outside while quietly struggling on the inside.
We become experts at hiding how we really feel — often out of fear: fear of rejection, of not being heard or understood, of being judged at a time we most need support. This can reinforce the painful belief that something is “wrong” with us, or that trying to change is pointless.
Talking therapy can give you a safe space to explore these thoughts and feelings — even the ones you’ve never said out loud before.
Sometimes we avoid or suppress what hurts because it feels easier or safer. But deep down, we know those feelings don’t just go away on their own.
You don’t have to face this alone. Come and talk it over with me. Together, we can gently start to look at what’s going on and find a way through.
I will meet you exactly where you’re at — there’s no need to hide the parts of yourself you feel are “unacceptable.” In this space, you’ll be heard, understood, and accepted.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a completely normal part of being human — we all feel it from time to time. It’s our mind and body’s way of keeping us alert and safe. But sometimes, those anxious thoughts and feelings can start to take over, showing up more often and feeling harder to manage.
You might notice this in your body: a racing heart, feeling short of breath, shaky, sweaty, light-headed, or just completely drained. Mentally, it can feel like you’re constantly “switched on” — unable to relax, doubting your ability to cope, feeling not good enough, or caught up in a stream of negative thoughts. Everyone’s experience is different, and anxiety can look and feel unique to each of us.
If any of this sounds familiar, please know — you’re not “broken” or “weak.” You’re having a normal response to a situation your brain has labelled as unsafe. It’s your mind’s way of trying to protect you. Helpful in theory… but not so cute when it won’t switch off, right?
Therapy offers a space to understand why certain situations trigger anxiety and what’s really going on underneath. Together, we can start to make sense of your experiences — exploring your thoughts, beliefs, and the patterns that might be keeping you stuck. As we do this, you’ll learn ways to challenge unhelpful thinking and respond with more compassion and confidence.
Talking about how you really feel can feel daunting — I completely get that. But you don’t have to face it alone. I’ll be here to listen, to understand your unique story, and to help you find ways to manage anxiety that truly work for you.
My Approach In More Detail
Person-Centred Therapy
This approach focuses on you — how you see yourself, how you make sense of your experiences, and what feels true for you right now. Rather than analysing your unconscious thoughts or trying to interpret your behaviour, it’s about understanding your world through your eyes.
Originally developed by psychologist Carl Rogers, this way of working is built on the belief that every person has an inner drive to grow, heal, and reach their full potential. Sometimes, though, life experiences — especially those that damage our sense of self-worth — can get in the way of that natural process.
In our work together, we’ll look gently at the messages you’ve absorbed about yourself over time — the ones that might be holding you back — and begin to question whether they truly reflect who you are. The aim is to help you reconnect with your authentic self, your core values, and your own sense of worth.
This approach encourages self-discovery, confidence, and more fulfilling relationships, as you start to trust your own inner wisdom. You set the pace and decide what feels important to explore — therapy is your space, and you remain in control throughout.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, is a practical approach that helps you understand the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. The idea is simple: the way we think can shape how we feel and act, and by noticing and adjusting unhelpful thinking patterns, we can begin to respond differently to life’s challenges.
While CBT mainly focuses on what’s happening for you right now, it also considers how past experiences might be influencing the way you think and feel today. Together, we’ll explore patterns of thinking that might be holding you back, and identify ways to shift them so they work for you rather than against you.
One of the strengths of this approach is breaking things down into manageable pieces — thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and even physical sensations — and seeing how they are connected. This helps make overwhelming problems feel more understandable, and gives you the tools to start shifting unhelpful cycles.
The goal is to help you gain perspective, feel more in control, and gradually develop healthier ways of thinking, feeling, and responding to life.
Transactional Anaylsis
Transactional Analysis is a type of talking therapy that helps you understand how your personality has been shaped by your life experiences — especially those from childhood — and how this influences the way you express yourself and interact with others. It looks at the different “parts” of ourselves, or ego states, and how these show up in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviour.
This approach also focuses on communication. By exploring how you relate to others, we can identify patterns that might be causing misunderstandings, conflict, or frustration. Together, we work on creating healthier ways of connecting, both in the therapy room and beyond, giving you a blueprint for more positive relationships in everyday life.
Through this process, we can spot recurring behaviours or communication habits that may be holding you back, and explore opportunities to change them. It’s a way of gaining insight into yourself and your relationships, and of developing skills that can improve your interactions and help you feel more confident and understood.