I am a chartered clinical psychologist who works with individuals experiencing a wide range of issues including depression, grief, abuse, complex trauma, PTSD, anxiety and self-harm.
How a Psychologist Can Help
What is a clinical psychologist?
Clinical psychologists undergo doctoral level professional training in clinical psychology, which is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and funded by the NHS. They draw upon an extensive knowledge and skills base that is developed during their clinical training and maintained through continuing professional development (CPD). Clinical psychologists use a variety of psychological models, research findings and treatment guidelines to inform their clinical practice. They work collaboratively with patients to develop a shared understanding of the difficulties they are experiencing, which forms the basis of a "formulation". Psychological formulation is a working hypothesis about a person’s experiences which links theory with practice and informs an individually-tailored treatment plan to help guide an individual towards better psychological health and wellbeing.
What is 'therapy'?
Therapy is not so much about getting 'cured' or ‘fixed’, or getting rid of 'bad' feelings, or unwanted ‘symptoms’. It is about understanding the dominant ‘stories’ of your life, which may be preventing you from living a full and purposeful life; Therapy is an exploratory process which may uncover unhelpful self-limiting beliefs and habitual response patterns or ways of relating that you may have become stuck in.
Therapy is very much a supported process of meeting all the different ‘parts’ of yourself and moving toward difficult emotions in a safe and compassionate way and at a pace that feels right for you.
Therapy is ultimately about learning new ways of living.
When can seeing a clinical psychologist be helpful?
Quite often, when you begin to consider having therapy or getting some support, you may be struggling with certain life experiences (e.g. transitions, relationship changes, a traumatic incident) or symptoms (e.g. low mood, anxiety, pain, fatigue) which may be impacting your ability to live with purpose or enjoy your life. Or, it may be that you can't really pinpoint what's wrong. You just know something is not right. Feeling unsure or uncertain about seeking help is completely natural. Even though it may feel daunting, seeking help is an act of courage and self-care.
How does it work?
First Step - a conversation
Taking the first step to getting help can be a difficult one, so I want to make this as comfortable as possible. You can contact me via email and I will offer a mutually convenient time for an initial consultation session (online). This will be a charged session and will last 60 minutes. We can briefly discuss your reasons for wanting therapy and the way I work, and explore whether we can work together.
Assessment - telling your stories
Assessment involves understanding the nature and effects of personal distress and the factors contributing to your physical and emotional discomfort (which may manifest in the form of ‘symptoms’). During the assessment phase (approx 1-3 sessions), we will spend some time talking about the difficulties you are experiencing, how long you have been experiencing them, things you have tried to help manage them and what your hopes and goals are for therapy. I will also be interested to hear about what is going well for you, the important people in your life, your strengths, resources and hopes for the future. We may use some questionnaires that help us to measure change as therapy progresses.
Therapy - the way forward
Following assessment, together, we will develop a shared understanding of what has been causing you distress and discuss options for therapy that are best suited to your needs. Based on this, I can give some indication of the number of sessions you may require and we will review this as we go along. This will very much depend on your needs and resources. You are free to end the sessions at any time if you wish.