Psychological therapy · London Bridge and online
Making sense of your difficulties in the context of your life
Integrative, formulation-led therapy for adults with a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, drawing principally on Cognitive Analytic Therapy and mentalization-based approaches.
An integrative, formulation-led approach
I offer integrative, formulation-led psychological therapy. Together we make sense of your difficulties in the context of your life, your relationships and your past experiences, rather than focusing on symptoms in isolation.
That shared understanding is called a formulation: a plain-language account of how your difficulties developed and what keeps them going. It gives therapy a clear focus, and we agree what we’re working towards.
The work is relational and collaborative. We look not only at what is difficult, but at the patterns that keep it going and the possibilities for change. Those patterns often show up between us too, in how you hold back, try to get things right or brace for criticism. Noticing them together, as they happen, is one of the most useful parts of the work.
Before independent practice I spent 14 years in NHS adult mental health secondary care, in community mental health teams and specialist psychological therapies, working with complex, long-standing and relational difficulties, including trauma. That experience shapes how carefully I assess, understand and plan therapy now.
When understanding isn’t enough
Many people come to me already knowing a lot about why they feel the way they do. They can tell you that they overwork because they’re afraid of falling short, or that they go quiet because conflict feels dangerous. And still nothing changes.
That’s because the patterns that cause us difficulty aren’t held in thought alone. They’re learned in relationships, often long ago, and they run quickly and automatically, especially under pressure or when feelings run high. Insight on its own rarely catches them in the moment.
Therapy with me starts from there. The aim is not only to understand what is happening, but to recognise it as it happens and respond differently.
Integrative psychological therapy
Integrative therapy brings together ideas and methods from more than one therapeutic tradition, chosen and combined to fit the person rather than the other way round.
It isn’t a mix of techniques picked at random. It rests on a clear formulation of your difficulties, and on the recognition that no single model suits everyone or every problem.
In my work, each approach contributes something different:
- Cognitive Analytic Therapy gives the work structure, and a shared language for the patterns you repeat with others and with yourself.
- Mentalization-based approaches help you make sense of your own mind and other people’s, especially when feelings run high.
- Psychodynamic and attachment-based understanding sheds light on where long-standing patterns began, and on what may sit outside awareness.
- Cognitive approaches give practical traction on what keeps a difficulty going now.
What holds these together is the formulation. It guides which approach we draw on, when and why, and I’ll always explain my thinking.
Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
CAT is my principal model. It is a time-limited therapy, usually 16 to 24 weekly sessions, that helps you understand how earlier experiences shape the patterns you repeat now, and how to change them.
Together we write a letter and draw a diagram of those patterns, so the work is clear and shared. At the end of therapy we each write a goodbye letter, reflecting on what has changed and what lies ahead. The letters and diagram stay with you after therapy ends.
I am an accredited CAT Practitioner and Supervisor with the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy.
Mentalization-based therapy (MBT)
Mentalizing is our ability to make sense of what is going on in our own minds and in other people’s. Most of us are good at it when we’re calm, and lose it quickly when we’re stressed, criticised or close to someone who matters. That’s often when the old patterns take over: assuming the worst, shutting down, or reacting before thinking.
Much of my work draws on mentalization-based therapy. It stays close to what is happening now, in your life and between us, and helps you stay curious about your own reactions and other people’s, even under pressure. I’m open about what I’m doing and why. The aim is not to explain your experience to you, but to strengthen your own ability to make sense of it.
I am an accredited MBT Practitioner with the British Psychoanalytic Council.
What people bring to therapy
Burnout and pressure at work
Tired in a way rest doesn’t fix; guilt when you stop; perfectionism, over-responsibility, and worth tied to performance.
Anxiety and overthinking
Replaying conversations, dreading what’s next, waiting to be found out.
Low mood
Feeling flat, disconnected or numb, going through the motions.
Distance in relationships
Going quiet or logical when things get emotional; a partner who says they can’t reach you.
Losing yourself in others
People-pleasing, keeping the peace, finding it hard to say no or say what you need.
A harsh inner critic
Shame, self-criticism, and never feeling quite good enough.
Times of change and loss
A bereavement, a relationship ending, a move, or a major change in circumstances.
Who therapy with me tends to suit
Many of the people I see are thoughtful professionals managing demanding work and personal lives. Therapy with me tends to suit people who:
- want to understand what is going on, not just manage it
- want therapy with structure and a clear sense of direction
- would rather be told honestly what I think than simply listened to
- are willing to work at it between sessions as well as in them
I work with adults, individually. I don’t offer crisis support, and I don’t work with people whose difficulties are high risk or need the support of a multidisciplinary team. I also don’t offer couples or family therapy, work with children, or provide medico-legal assessments, and I don’t offer specialist assessment or treatment for drug and alcohol problems (including substance misuse), eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, or ASD/ADHD. If I think something else would serve you better, I’ll say so and, where I can, suggest where to look.
If you need urgent help, contact your GP or NHS 111, or call Samaritans free on 116 123. In an emergency, call 999 or go to A&E.
How therapy works
Therapy with me has a clear shape. You will know what we are working on, why, and how we will tell whether it is helping.
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A free initial consultation
When you get in touch, I’ll ask whether you’d prefer in-person or online sessions, when you’re usually free, and whether you plan to use health insurance. If I have a regular slot that fits, I’ll hold it and arrange a free 30-minute consultation on Zoom. You can describe what’s been difficult and ask questions, and I’ll explain how I work. It isn’t a therapy session, and there’s no obligation to continue. At the end I’ll tell you what I would recommend and why, or, if your needs would be better met elsewhere, I’ll say so.
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Assessment
The first two sessions are usually an assessment. We look at what has brought you to therapy now, your circumstances, your family background and relationships, any previous therapy and what came of it, and your safety and wellbeing. From this we agree goals and, if we are working in a time-limited way, how many sessions we will have.
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A shared understanding
I then offer a formulation: a shared account of how your difficulties developed, what keeps them going, and how they connect. Depending on how we’re working, this may be written down, mapped as a diagram or built up in conversation. We go through it together and change what doesn’t fit, and it becomes the reference point for the rest of the work.
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Weekly sessions
Sessions are 50 minutes, weekly, at a regular time. The focus is on recognising patterns as they happen, in your life and in our sessions, and finding different ways of responding. Much of the useful work happens between sessions, as you start to notice patterns in daily life.
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Review and ending
We review regularly whether the focus is still right and whether therapy is helping. Endings are planned rather than sudden, and we take time to look back at what has changed and what you’ll take forward. You can choose a follow-up session a few months later.
Confidentiality
What you say in therapy is confidential. I would share information without your consent only if the law required it, or if there were a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, and wherever possible I would talk with you first.
If you are using health insurance, your insurer may need limited information to authorise and review your sessions. With your agreement, I may write to your GP. Like all psychologists, I discuss my clinical work in supervision, without identifying you. Full details are set out in my Terms and Conditions, which you’ll receive in writing before therapy begins.