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First pubished in Elephant Journal in September 2017 A woman perched on a grey sofa screams at her therapist. The room has a large window that looks out on blue sky and sunshine. “I’ve been coming here all these years and I’m still not ok. You’re the expert with all the training! Why haven’t you […]

First published in Elephant Journal , August 2017 Recently a few of my clients have been contemplating whether it’s time to end therapy. Recently other of my clients have been contemplating whether to end their romantic relationships. Should I stay or should I go and how do I know? Fritz Perls, founder of Gestalt Therapy […]

First published in Elephant Journal You’ve ‘got this’  We are expected to be “on” all the time. On email, on text, on WhatsApp, on the phone. At work, we are “on it”. We feel guilty when we’re not. We feel good when we have delivered a great project and receive applause. We feel driven to […]

First published in Thrive Global “I need a pep talk, girls! I’ve just come out of the worst meeting ever and I’ve got one more to go.  It was full of alpha dominants. I was the only voice of reason. Give me some nuggets of wisdom ASAP.”  The text pings on my phone. I empathise with […]

Edited and first published by Elephant Journal. “They fuck you up, your mum and dad.They may not mean to, but they doThey fill you with the faults they hadAnd add some extra, just for you.” ~ Philip Larkin, “This Be The Verse”   Some clients arrive for their first therapy session skeptical, worried, or downright […]

First published and edited by Elephant Journal.   “How will I know if he really loves me?” The late Whitney Houston sings in the background. The couple is looking at the floor, glum and stuck. They’ve been in the same situation of “not knowing” for two years. The relationship is not moving forward and yet […]

First published in Elephant Journal “There’s something wrong with me”, my client says, “inherently wrong with me. Everyone else is hooking up, settling down or having children. I’m being left on the fence, passed by. I don’t know why. Perhaps I’m too ugly, or too boring, or too closed. I’ve always felt left out, I […]

Internal Family Systems is a therapeutic approach created by Richard. C. Schwartz that works well with both EMDR and Gestalt Therapy. It explains that we all have different parts, for example a happy part, an anxious part, a sad part. Jacob Moreno, the founder of psychodrama first refers to the ‘parts’ of us. Sometimes our […]

What is EMDR? EMDR is a way to change unhelpful core beliefs which we develop in our early family environment, such as ‘I’m not good enough, ‘I’m unworthy’ or ‘I’m powerless.’ These unhelpful core beliefs affect our thinking patterns, feelings, behaviour and physiology.   EMDR was invented by psychologist Dr Francine Shapiro. In 1987 as she […]

Edited and first published by Elephant Journal. The young woman sat on the worn suede sofa in her living room, alone. It was a hot Summer’s night. Her legs tucked under her, she wore a white cotton mini skirt and a dusty pink camisole top. She ran her fingers through her shoulder length highlighted hair and […]