The Foundation of Effective Therapy
The Right "Fit"
Many studies show that the therapist-client relationship plays a significant role in successful symptom reduction. Your therapist should make you feel safe, heard, and comfortable enough to be vulnerable. In other words, when a therapist and client build a strong working alliance, outcomes tend to be better, so choosing the right counsellor for you may matter more than you realise.
Therapy benefits from consistency. While everyone’s needs are different, I generally ask my clients to plan for at least 12 sessions to give us enough time to build trust and understand what’s really going on. It’s essential to consider, before you begin, whether you feel mentally and financially ready to make that commitment.
I’m a UK-trained counsellor with a focus on supporting individuals in senior, high-responsibility, high-pressure, and leadership roles. My counselling approach is integrative psychodynamic, drawing on psychodynamic and humanistic theory to help clients explore emotional patterns, personal challenges, and relational dynamics in a safe and confidential space.
I bring to my practice a deep understanding of high-stress environments, built on my own background in the Armed Forces and my work within corporate settings, including financial services and information technology. This combination of professional training and lived experience enables me to support clients with issues such as stress, anxiety, identity, performance, and leadership strain. I have worked with both men and women navigating the demands of high-pressure roles, helping them find clarity, resilience, and a sense of balance.
Outside of private practice, I still support Armed Forces veterans as an Honorary Counselling Psychotherapist with NHS OpCourage, the specialist mental health service explicitly commissioned to meet the unique psychological needs of veterans.
Beyond the therapy room, I have played a key role in shaping national mental health initiatives and serve on the NHS Mental Health Expert Advisory Group for the Armed Forces and the King’s College London Armed Forces Mental Health Research Advisory Group. I’m also a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Quality Network for Veterans’ Mental Health Services, promoting innovation and best practice across national and third sector health services.
A long-standing advocate for better mental health education in the UK and internationally, I have been invited to appear on Sky News several times to discuss the challenges faced by those working in high-stress environments.
As a counselling professional and member of the BACP & NCPS, I adhere to the BACP Ethical Framework for Counselling and Psychotherapy and am committed to ethical, reflective, and client-centred practice.
If you feel that I would be the right fit for you, then please get in touch for an informal chat.