About Me

I’m a counsellor and psychotherapist with a private practice based in Tulse Hill, South London. My counselling clients come from the surrounding area, from Dulwich, Herne Hill and Brixton. I can also reach clients who are further afield when we work via Skype. They are people of all ages and diverse backgrounds, with a wide-range of problems.

What they all have in common is that they value therapy as an investment in themselves. They realise it’s a proven way to improve their present-day reality and to transform their future.

They are willing to make the investment, despite the courage it takes. Courage to pick up the phone and set up that initial meeting. The ongoing courage needed to stay open. The courage to be vulnerable and to explore difficult and painful issues and events.

There is increasing recognition that there is no stigma attached to seeking the help of an independent, professional third party who can help someone work through problems and manage their lives and any difficulties they may be facing. Many high profile figures in the corporate world and the public eye are openly admitting to seeking therapy and recognising the benefits.

My work as a counsellor

I work with both short and long-term clients. For some people, with very specific issues, only a few counselling sessions are necessary. However, other clients want to explore more deeply and stay with me much longer.

My approach as a counsellor is characterised by a warm and accurate empathy. My aim is to really understand what the world looks and feels like to you. Once you know that you are understood and feel validated in your personal experience of life, things can really begin to heal and change for you.

Alongside warmth, I try to bring humour to the counselling room, where appropriate! Above all, I am deeply committed to my work. I know from experience how much counselling can help people and how transformative the work can be.

Over time, almost everyone has the capacity to recover from past and present emotional suffering and to achieve profound healing. I’ve seen my clients:

• come through many forms of mental distress, particularly anxiety and depression, sometimes related to illness
• form happier and more fulfilling relationships
• find ways to live more effectively and peacefully with their physical challenges
• make the choices that really serve them best

My background as a counsellor

During my counselling training I gained my first hands-on experience in two clinical placements. Both of them gave me profound insight into how it feels to live with mental or physical illness. I also saw just how much prejudice such people meet and how marginalised they can feel.

My first placement was in a centre for schizophrenics. In that centre all my preconceptions about mental illness were substantially challenged. I realised how meaningless labels are. I learnt how important it is to meet each person as a unique individual, rather than relying on preconceived notions which put them into boxes. This experience greatly enhanced my ability to cherish my clients for exactly who they are.

My second clinical placement was also with people who are often marginalised – those who couldn’t afford private practice fees. At a low-cost counselling service run alongside an NHS IAPT service, it was again my privilege to go beyond labels and stereotypes. I learnt to meet each client with warmth and respect, and then to watch them change, grow and even blossom.

My Counselling Qualifications

I hold a Master’s Degree (MSc) in Therapeutic Counselling, gained after four years of professionally accredited training.

A word on my approach. There are many therapeutic approaches, each one appropriate to different problems and to the particular outcomes that a client is looking for at the moment. That’s why I chose to train as an ‘integrative psychotherapy’ counsellor.

As a result, I can combine a broad academic and theoretical background together with experience, to offer each client a service tailored to their individual needs. You can read more about how I work here, or visit the BACP BACP explanation of theoretical approaches.

On top of professional training, I am also a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I abide by their Ethical Framework. This means that you can rest safe in the knowledge that the therapeutic work we do together is backed up by a solid code of ethics. This code includes confidentiality for whatever you may bring to the counselling room, alongside a non-judgemental acceptance, no matter what you tell me.

I see a qualified supervisor each month, so my counselling work is also underpinned by a professional supportive structure.

Finally, I regularly attend training workshops for my continual professional development. This ongoing learning means I am in touch with the latest research and tools and can employ psychotherapeutic interventions which are the most relevant and up to date.