Sadly there is  not a handbook for life but despite this I'm sure there are times when we all wished that there was. Life can be incredibly hard at times, sometimes harder for some than for others but regardless of whether you have experienced pain and suffering through loss, addiction, homelessness or even if you're anxious and depressed, our experiences are unique to us and they matter. Our feelings and experiences are real to us and comparing them to others is futile as we all cope differently and we all have our own ways of managing our experiences, our feelings and our thoughts which is unique to us. 

Sometimes how we cope is learnt, sometimes this is taught, sometimes it is helpful but sometimes not, regardless, we cope with life by doing what feels right at the time, however, sometimes we outgrow the ways that we have learnt to cope and we start looking for other ways to live our lives, this is where counselling can really help for example, sometimes loss can lead to emotional eating as we try to fill the void but there often comes a time when we have gained weight and our confidence and self esteem have hit rock bottom and we start to see that over eating isn't serving us anymore, this is where the healing begins. 

I am fully aware of how taking the first step to come to therapy can be a daunting prospect, sharing personal thoughts, feelings and experiences that you hold dear to you with a total stranger. You might be feeling scared, anxious, apprehensive or worried about seeing a therapist and this is often a natural part of the process. Ultimately you will access therapy when YOU ARE READY. That might be now, it might be next year but only you can decide when that time comes. 

What is getting in the way of you living the life that you have always dreamt of?

I offer my clients safety and confidentiality and I also offer trust and respect but more importantly I will make the commitment to be fully present and to work alongside you throughout the process for as long as it takes. I believe the quality of the relationship between client and therapist will have the greatest impact on how effective the therapy will be and providing trust can be built healing can take place.

People access therapy for a multitude of reasons and they are personal to our own lives and journey. Accessing counselling isn't just for people that have 'issues' or for those that are going through a crisis, counselling can be far more than that and there is a whole gamut of reasons between having issues and being in crisis that is reason enough to access counselling. Sometimes we can be surrounded by family and friends but feel that nobody wants to hear about our worries or problems and that can isolate us which in turn makes our problems feel much bigger. Counselling is a great way of counteracting that as in our sessions you can share whatever you want without fear of judgement or that what you share will be disclosed to someone else, it is this process that empowers us to build the strength that it takes to live in an open way outside of the counselling sessions. 

You can live the life you have always lived or you can choose to create a new one.

Counselling is more accessible now that it ever has been and slowly but surely the stigma relating to talking therapies is starting to shift and this is great news as far as I am concerned. Seeing a counsellor doesn't mean you're a failure or that there is something wrong with you. Seeing a counsellor means there is something right with you as you are opening yourself up to a better life by working through your worries, fears, issues etc and that takes considerable courage and strength.