I am a humanistic integrative psychotherapeutic counsellor trained in Relational Transactional Analysis (TA) which also draws on psychodynamic and humanistic approaches. This means I hold a belief that all people matter and deserve respect and validation. We all have the potential to be authentic and fulfilled human beings. We have a natural tendency to move towards what we need so long as our environment has been accepting and supportive of who we are and our needs.

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Sometimes in our earlier experiences, many of us learn that parts of who we are or some of our needs are not acceptable to those around us which may result in us being unable to fully accept ourselves, to develop unhelpful beliefs about ourselves or recognise what we need. These experiences shape our personalities and relationships, which can prevent us from being autonomous and spontaneous in the here and now. These experiences and beliefs can lead to anxiety, depression, relational difficulties, shame, trauma, internalised negative beliefs about our selves, and other forms of psychological distress as we learn to adapt to what we think is acceptable and ignore what we need.

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In a therapeutic relationship where there is acceptance, empathy and trust, we can learn to understand our experiences and improve how we relate to ourselves and others. This can increase our self-awareness and enable us to learn to accept ourselves and our needs (e.g., the need for love and care, respect, rest, excitement, relationships, expression of anger or tears...) and choose to make lasting changes to our lives. As problems often arise from relationships, they are also healed through relationships.