One-to-one psychotherapy
Psychotherapy, Online and in Person
I work with adults and teenagers dealing with low mood, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, OCD and eating disorders. I provide weekly sessions in person or online.
What brings people here
You already know the pattern; you’re tired of it
The same row, the same 3AM spiral. Another year of that costs far more than any therapy: in sleep, at work and the version of yourself that you keep postponing.
People come to me with
Anxiety
Depression and low mood
Trauma and PTSD
OCD
Eating disorders
Self-harm
The four methods
Which type of therapy do I need?
Honestly? You don’t need to know; that’s my job, not yours. That said if you have a chosen modality in mind we can certainly work with that.
Which one we use, more likely, which combination, depends on what’s actually happening for you, not which page of this website you clicked on first.
Schema Therapy
For the patterns holding you back
A fusion of cognitive, attachment and psychodynamic models: we identify then interrupt the patterns holding you back.
CBT
For the beliefs that keep you stuck, and the thought loops that go nowhere
We identify the beliefs keeping you stuck, the thought loops taking you nowhere and the behaviours that keep the cycle going. This time we’re doing it differently.
DBT
For the emotions that feel too big
We build distress tolerance to help you manage powerful emotions and stop you feeling overwhelmed.
EMDR
For the memories that won’t stay in the past
EMDR: trauma therapy without the retelling. We use eye movements to lower the charge on memories stuck on repeat, reprocess them without dredging up every detail and let your brain file them where they belong. This time, they stop hijacking you.
From clients
What Clients Say About Working with Me
I saw Nicole for around 9 months last year during a very difficult and protracted divorce. She helped me beyond measure with my anxiety, severe panic attacks and complete overwhelm. I especially rate her EMDR which helped very quickly with some flashbacks that I have lived with for years. I still don't know how! Have already recommended her to friends and also to one of their daughters who struggles with body image issues
Your first session
What Happens in a First Session
The first session isn’t a leap of faith; it’s a conversation. I’ll ask what’s brought you here, what’s not working, and what you want to be different. You don’t need to have got the story straight or the right words for it yet; that’s not the job on day one.
I’m listening for the pattern underneath whatever you’ve come in with, not just the symptom, because that’s what actually tells me how to work with you. We’ll cover your history where it’s relevant, not because I need your full biography before we’ve even started but because it gives us a place to start.
By the end of this session you’ll have a sense of whether this is going to work, and so will I. If it’s not the right fit, I’ll say so and want you to too. If it is, we’ll agree what we’re doing and how.
No forms beforehand, no jargon, no pretending I’ve got you figured out in fifty minutes. Just a proper conversation, with someone paying full attention and with the benefit of years of experience.
How sessions work
Weekly at Claydon or Online
We would usually start out with weekly sessions, ideally at the same time although my clients are busy people and I can be flexible. Then we step down to every other week then once a month. You are of course welcome to stop whenever you like but I do ask for a little notice so that we can end things neatly.
BACP Accredited
MSc, London School of Economics
Enhanced DBS checked
Over a decade at Cheltenham Ladies’ College
Before you get in touch
Questions About Therapy with Me
Do I need a diagnosis before I get in touch?
No, and please don’t wait for one. If you already have one we’ll make sure it’s accurate.
Some people arrive with a diagnosis already in hand: depression, OCD, an eating disorder, an addiction they’ve named and researched to death. Others arrive with nothing more than “something’s wrong and I can’t keep going on like this.” Both are a perfectly good place to start.
A diagnosis is a label for what I’m looking at, not a prerequisite for looking at it. Half of what I do in that first assessment is work out what’s actually going on underneath whatever you’ve come in with (the pattern, not just the symptom) and a diagnosis is sometimes useful shorthand for that and sometimes gets in the way of it.
So don’t sit at home trying to self-diagnose before you’ll “allow” yourself to contact me. Just tell me what’s not working, and I’ll work out the rest.
How does the pricing work?
Sessions are £100 per hour.
Getting started
The first step is to pick up the phone or drop me a line
Simple. No pressure, let’s see what happens…
