Life is full of experiences, emotions, and relationships that only you will truly know. As it presents you with challenges, it is likely you will have attempted coping strategies to varying degrees of success. Our work together will include exploring how you want to live your life, acknowledging your strategies assessing their value and success. We can explore further your life story, examining your battles, celebrate your achievements and look at your motivations for therapy and agree realistic goals that will nurture your wellbeing and development

My approach will involve listening and inviting you to talk and reflect on what is relevant and important in your life. Questions that I ask will help you to consider and explore the meanings you give to experiences and invite you to think about your authentic self, highlight strengths, acknowledge achievements and identify unhelpful patterns of behaviour. I will be mindful not to direct or lead your agendas but will support you to explore your options and imagine future possibilities

Traumatic experiences can leave lasting effects on you and can be both deeply personal and unique to you. People find different ways to survive trauma, some people will try to bury traumatic experiences and move on with life, others will integrate their experiences and shape their life around embracing that trauma. For those who prefer to bury trauma and move on with life, that is fine if it works, however at times they may be suddenly caught off guard or taken aback by something. Others might struggle to feel at peace, some may develop what is known at post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and some people may find unhelpful coping strategies to get through. Trauma affects people in different ways and there are no rights or wrongs, but some are more helpful than others. Our work together will involve looking at ways to make sense of trauma and finding responses which can be restorative and healing.

Reflecting on what has happened to you and those around you, and the ways you have been affected, the impact on your development, sense of identity and the way you see the world and live your life can feel overwhelming. Thinking about one’s journey and life story helps explore who we are, how we got there, and how we want to be. From therapy I hope you will be able to identify new coping strategies, to then try new experiences, and explore what feels achievable and be able to reconcile your past and feel in control of how you live your life.