Counselling and Psychotherapy in Twyford, Winchester
Online and in person near Southampton and Eastleigh, Salisbury, Hampshire.
Welcome to my website
I started work as a Counsellor and later also trained as a Psychotherapist over thirty years ago so have many years of experience of offering therapy. For most of the time I was based in Lee in South East London and in 2023 I moved to the Winchester area and now have a Consulting Room in Twyford,
At their best Counselling and Psychotherapy are creative processes which enable a person gain insights and perceptions about themselves in ways which liberate and enrich their lives. My aspiration as a therapist is to work with individuals and couples towards this outcome.
i believe it is an essential part of the process of Counselling and Psychotherapy to provide a way of working with is both gentle and respectful and which is attuned to the unique nature of each person.
My professional experience includes twenty years in the NHS. Alongside this I developed a Private Practice and also worked for Insurance Companies and Employee Assistance Programmes. These different settings have given me lots of opportunities to work with a varied and extensive number of issues and with people from many different backgrounds and histories. This has provided me with a rich breadth of experience and enabled me develop insights and find effective ways of responding effectively to each unique individual or couple who is seeking Counselling.
My hope and aim in practicing Counselling and Psychotherapy is to make it possible for each individual and/or couple to gain fresh insights into the roots of their current difficulties. The increased perception accompanying this empowers a person to make the changes they need and want so they are able to move towards realising their potential and enriching their lives.
Private Practice started in Kingston upon Thames in the early nineties before I moved to Lee in South East London. In 2023 I relocated from South East London and am now based in Twyford near Winchester in Hampshire. Nearby places include Chandlers Ford, Basingstoke, Andover, Eastleigh, Salisbury and Southampton. I continue to offer online and phone sessions and many of the people I saw who live in South East London are continuing with their therapy in this way.
I continue to offer online sessions. Increasingly people are choosing to make use of technology for their sessions because it makes therapy more accessible. It is especially helpful for those who live and/or work in different places at different times of the year.
The national and international events of recent years have meant that many people have needed to find different ways to live. Perhaps priorities have been challenged and that challenge continues. It may be that many of us found ourselves struggling with increased emotional stress resulting from the pandemic, or particular mental health issues may have surfaced. Sometimes changes throw new light on particular aspects of life.
The war in Ukraine has also been a testing time for many, especially around safety and uncertainty. Ongoing uncertainties in the world continue and take their toll. My practice as Counsellor and Psychotherapist takes account of the continually shifting situations in which we live. I seek to explore and address the relevant current issues which might be affecting people who consult me.
I accept GP and self-referrals and also referrals through insurance companies. Since I started work as a Counsellor and Psychotherapist about thirty years ago most of my work has been spent in Private Practice and in the NHS.
I also take referrals from Employee Assistance Programmes and from many Heath Insurance Companies and offer supervision both to Counsellors and to others working in the caring professions.
My registration is with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. I am a Senior Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist with this professional body.
After working as a Counsellor for a few years I decided in 1997 also to train as a Psychotherapist. I have found it helpful and enriching to have both trainings and be able to use both Counselling and Psychotherapy skills and experience. In 2004 I studied for a Certificate in Life Coaching which has given me additional skills and insights, especially in enabling people to work out what they want their priorities to be.
I endeavour to understand with a person the unique factors which have brought them to this particular point in their lives so that together we can find ways forward which can be beneficial, liberating and creative and which work most helpfully for them.
"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." - Carl Rogers
Issues I have and/or are working with include:
- Relationship issues
- Family difficulties
- Family estrangement
- Bereavement
- Grief
- Loss in its different aspects
- Serious illness
- Serious illness in the family and in other close relationships
- Being a carer
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Confidence and lack of confidence
- Post traumatic stress
- Life changes and transition
- Later life
- Work issues and redundancy
- Change
- Self-esteem
- Fertility and infertility
I also have particular interest in working with:
- Creative people
- Those working in the caring professions
- Understanding and reflecting on dreams
- Spirituality
- Faith and trust issues
- Life changes
- Military veterans
Donald Winnicott Psychoanalyst
When might it be helpful to seek Counselling or Psychotherapy
At times in life a person may be aware that all is not well. Perhaps it feels as though emotions are all over the place and life is out of control. Maybe there is a feeling of being overwhelmed and needing to make changes but with no idea of which changes might be possible or helpful. Sometimes, though by no means always, a recognition that all is not well is triggered by events such as a loss, a breakdown in a friendship or a relationship and a sense that everything has got to feel too much.
Talking through what is happening in a confidential setting with a Counsellor or Psychotherapist who is trained to listen carefully and help to make sense of life's events can make all the difference. It can make empower a person towards developing fresh insights about what has been happening. These insights can lead towards new ways of coping.
It often takes a lot of courage to engage in the process of therapy, and sometimes it can happen that a person feels worse before they start to feel better. But as situations and memories get talked through and reflected on a sense of relief can come as things become clearer. Unhelpful patterns of behaviour are unlocked.
Psychotherapy and Counselling can also be profoundly beneficial and creative in situations where someone is asking themselves the big questions about hopes, aspirations and disappointments in life. Possibly they feel stuck and unable to see any ways forward. Perhaps they feel sad and lost after changes have occurred. Maybe there is a disappointment that life has not turned out as they had hoped and aspirations remain unfulfilled. The opportunity to reflect on such questions with a Counsellor or Psychotherapist can enable these important and profound issues to be addressed and taken seriously. This can prove to be potentially hugely liberating.
"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves."
Victor Frank Psychotherapist and author
My aim as a Psychotherapist and Counsellor is to use my knowledge about how a person's current experiences relates to events and experiences in the past and to use this knowledge with respect for the uniqueness of the individual and their own rich and dynamic way of being. For someone to have the opportunity of working through the impacts of the past can be both healing and empowering.
The uncertainties of recent years
The current uncertain times following from COVID and the war in Ukraine have left many people with adjustments to make. At times like this it might be that emotions come to the surface as they are triggered off by current world news.
It can be valuable at such times to have an opportunity to process what is happening. This can be especially relevant if the crisis is bringing up and possibly heightening a person’s past feelings, fears and anxieties.
For others the current situations have brought with them such different ways of life that questions and reflections flood in about the meaning of life. This brings opportunity for reflection, possibly drawing a person towards seeking a space in which to talk through and process changing aspirations and hopes and towards finding peace within themselves.