“You want me to pay to talk about what?!”

Starting therapy can feel like a big step, and it’s completely normal to feel unsure, nervous, or even overwhelmed by the many professions and approaches available. My role is to offer a calm, supportive space where you can slow things down, talk openly, and feel genuinely heard. There are many perspectives on the usefulness of therapy and its cultural relevance, and I welcome these conversations. I believe therapy has a place for many people who are struggling, and I’ve also found it helpful in my own life.

You may be thinking, why should I pay to talk about things that made me sad? Speaking to someone you don’t know about your life, family, worries, and fears can feel strange at first, but it often becomes easier over time. I’ll ask about what’s brought you to therapy now, your current life circumstances, and usually your earlier experiences as well, including childhood. Together, we work to understand what’s been happening, what feels hard right now, and what you’d like more or less of in your life. Therapy isn’t about being “fixed” or told what to do; it’s about making sense of your experiences, developing insight, and finding practical ways forward that feel right for you, your values, and your cultural context.

Sessions are collaborative, respectful, and paced to suit you. Some people come with a clear goal, while others simply know that something doesn’t feel quite right, both are welcome. We might focus on immediate concerns, longer‑standing patterns, or creating space to pause, reflect, and breathe. While different therapeutic approaches are important, research consistently shows that the relationship you have with your therapist is one of the most important factors in therapy. Therapy can offer experiences of connection that may not have been available before, and can support the development of skills and insights into ourselves that remain useful long after sessions end.

My approach is to ask what you would like to focus on in therapy so we have a shared sense of direction. This helps keep the work purposeful and guided by what feels most important to you. We’ll also talk about boundaries, informed consent, including what information is recorded, what remains confidential, and the limited circumstances in which information may need to be shared.

At times, I may suggest completing an assessment tool, such as a questionnaire, to help us better understand how stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, or dissociation are affecting you at the moment. If used, these tools can help guide where we start and which approaches may be most helpful. I aim to be down‑to‑earth and transparent about what I’m doing and why, and I’m always happy to explain each step and answer questions. Therapy is a commitment and I encourage people to start with the initial 6 sessions in the Mental Health Care Plan to see if we’re a good fit and if I’m the right clinician for you. I like to regularly check in to see how people are finding it and no one is ever obligated to book another session if they don’t feel it’s right for them. 

Therapy can be serious and challenging at times, but it’s also natural to laugh, cry, feel relief, breathe deeper and experience a wide range of emotions, all of which are welcome.

Whether you’re navigating stress, relationships, life transitions, emotional overwhelm, or wanting to work through experiences of trauma, you don’t have to do it alone. We’ll work together in a way that aims to feel safe, thoughtful, and effective.