What areas do you cover?

Here is a list of things I work with. It’s not exhaustive. We can explore what you want to work on together. I don’t want to be reductive: you are not a symptom.

Here are some areas I cover:

ADHD

Adoption

Anger Management

Anxiety

Autism/ASD

Behavioural Issues

Bereavement

Body Positivity

Borderline Personality (BPD)

Chronic Illness

Coping Skills

Depression

Dissociative Disorders (DID)

Emotional literacy

Family Conflict

Grief

Identity

Narcissistic Personality (NPD)

Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD)

Open Relationships Non-Monogamy

PDA

Relationship Issues

Sexuality

Self Esteem

Self-Harming

Shame

Stress

Suicidal Ideation

Transgender

Trauma and PTSD

Work Stress

Are there certain areas and issues you don’t work with?

To make sure I work competently, there are things I do not work with. For example, I am not able to offer you clinical diagnoses, or prescribe medication. I can work in parallel with someone who can offer this to you.

I do not currently work with addiction, but I know good people who do and can help triage your support. I may work with someone who will pursue their own addiction work with a service that specialises in this area, and, once treatment is finished, we will work together again. This is not to say I won’t work with people who have addictions - it might be that they want to work on another area of their life, and, as long as we can do so safely and well, we can work together.

If you are receiving support from another service, it is important to look at whether we can both work with you at the same time, too. However, often we can.

I don’t offer couples counselling, however, I can recommend others who do.

With complex issues such as psychosis, if we can do so safely with support from a psychiatrist or psychologist who is also working with you, we can most likely do good work together. Once again, I’m here to put you first so it’s my duty of care to make sure I’m working in a way that causes you no further harm.

How frequently should sessions be? How long are they?

It might be that we schedule weekly sessions to begin with. However, depending on what you can manage, and, if it doesn’t negatively affect our work, bi-weekly or even monthly sessions are also an option. Sometimes people like to end therapy slowly, checking in with less frequency until they are ready to leave. That can also be an option. It might be that we do weekly sessions to begin with for a block of time, and then we reduce it to what works for you as long as it’s of benefit. Sessions are 50 minutes long. Sometimes, we can book in for a double session if we are focusing on a particular thing that requires longer engagement, but it’s not something I would do every week. If we’re not getting to where you want in a 50 minute session, maybe we need to think about tailoring our approach.

What is best for me: remote or in-person sessions?

There are benefits to both. Remote working means that you have greater accessibility and sessions are cheaper because I don’t have to factor in room rental costs. As long as you have somewhere safe and private, with a good internet connection in the UK, remote working is always an option.

However, there are other aspects to consider. We will not necessarily be able to have that real felt-sense of each other that we would in a shared space. That could be beneficial, but it also means that it might not be as potent in terms of working relationally with each other. For some people, it feels safer and they feel less inhibited when speaking about what they want to bring. We also won’t be able to do quite as many creative interventions together, although we can certainly do some work around to cater this.

What accommodations can you make?

The Central Newcastle location at Sunco house is wheelchair accessible. Working remotely is also an option. For some it’s helpful for us to think about any sensory needs you might have. I try to accommodate these, such as dimming lights, allowing for stimming and unmasking and using fidget toys, etc. I want you to feel as comfortable as possible in an environment where you feel safe enough to bring your authentic self. We should always be in dialogue on how we to meet your needs and what the process is like for you!

Things can change; we won’t always get it right. We can work together to find what is most helpful for you. Needs are valid. I also have sensory issues so I like to work in a slightly dimmer environment. It might be that we work in a specific way, or we don’t go into certain areas, so you feel safe and respected.

If we are working together, can you work with someone close to me?

To make sure I work with you in a way that isn't harmful, it is often best practice for me to not work with someone you’re very close with. It maybe that I can’t work with you because there’s a boundary issue I may not be able to discuss in detail. However, these are rare occurrences.

It’s not always straight forward; each situation needs to be weighed up in terms of what is best for you and what I can do whilst working ethically.