Person-centred counselling is a supportive and confidential space where you can explore your thoughts and feelings. It’s a chance to reflect on things, set yourself goals and develop strategies for navigating life’s challenges.

Counselling is a humanistic, relational and collaborative process that encourages self-awareness, growth and healing, offering an outlet for talking things through. I offer an authentic space to challenge and empower you towards making meaningful change at your own pace, or to be heard and understood with empathy and support.

It really is good to talk things through, with counselling offering a neutral, safe setting that supports people going through various issues including low mood, depression, anxiety, worry, relationship issues, work-related stress, burnout, identity issues, self-esteem, grief, loss, change, and suicidal thoughts.

Both short-term and longer-term therapy is available, offering flexible ways that fit around work, study and life commitments.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach which focuses on how our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are interconnected, impacting one another. CBT helps to reframe negative thinking patterns which may be affecting wellbeing, and to help make behavioural changes to improve how we are feeling. Helping you work towards practical, achievable goals that you can continue to complete outside the therapy room, achieving the changes you wish to make.

CBT is a forward-focused approach that may benefit from people experiencing various issues, such as: anxiety, rumination, phobias, sleep issues or low mood. This approach focuses on unhelpful thinking patterns and habits, replacing them with more balanced ways of seeing the world and yourself. CBT helps equip people with coping strategies and tools to make the steps towards meaningful change.

CBT-i is an evidence-based therapeutic approach to help manage and improve sleep issues and sleep disorders, such as insomnia. Involving a personalised sleep therapy plan over 6-12 sessions, tailored to your needs.

One-off sleep support sessions are also available, focusing on sleep hygiene and a personalised sleep improvement plan, for people living with mild sleep issues.

Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) is a forward-focused, practical and brief therapeutic approach that helps identify and build solutions, rather than analysing problems in depth. SFT helps clients clarify their goals and move towards positive, achievable outcomes.

How does Solution-Focused Therapy work?

In Solution-Focused Therapy, we work together to explore what’s already working, draw on existing strengths, and identify small, meaningful steps forward. The emphasis is on creating practical changes in the here and now, building momentum quickly. Encouragement to envision the preferred future and to collaborate on achievable strategies to get there.

Who can benefit from Solution-Focused Therapy?

Because of its flexibility and practical nature, Solution-Focused Therapy can help with a wide range of issues, including:

• Anxiety and stress

• Low mood

• Confidence and self-esteem

• Work and career challenges

• Relationship difficulties

• Coping with change or life transitions

• Decision-making and problem solving

• Sleep and wellbeing issues

My experience with Solution-Focused Therapy

I have been using solution-focused therapy in short-term therapy for many years to support clients with a wide variety of issues. It is an empowering approach that helps clients regain a sense of control, clarify their direction, and make meaningful changes — often within a relatively short number of sessions. My experience has shown that focusing on what’s possible can help clients create real meaningful change, even when challenges feel overwhelming.

Is Solution-Focused Therapy evidence-based?

Solution-Focused Therapy is supported by clinical research showing positive outcomes for many mental health concerns. NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommends elements of brief, goal-oriented therapies for conditions such as mild to moderate anxiety or depression.

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) is a modern way to confront fears, phobias and anxieties in a safe, controlled environment using immersive virtual reality technology whilst being supported in one to one therapy.

Virtual Reality headsets are comfortable and provide realistic virtual scenarios focusing on various common phobias and fears, such as the fear of heights, fear of flying, fear of needles, to name a few.

The approach incorporates CBT and SMART goals, mutually working towards gradual exposure to the feared issue.

Exposure therapy can take a few sessions to notice change and will require personal time for yourself outside of the therapy room to try to personally work through the steps and goals, at your own pace.

Virtual reality offers exposure therapy in a safe, contained way, without the need to put yourself in any danger or under any extreme stress. It gives significant control over the pace of the exposure therapy, all in a therapeutic, calm, private environment.

Mindfulness is relied upon by millions around the world, to help regulate emotions, find clarity of mind, balance, and peace within ourselves and in our often busy, chaotic lives. Mindfulness involves various techniques and practices, including meditation, breathing techniques, visualisations, body scanning and focusing.

Mindfulness is the practice of bringing full awareness to the present moment with an attitude of kindness and curiosity, tuning into our selves and environment through thoughts, feelings and physical sensations, without judgment or distraction.

Mindfulness has many benefits including feeling calmer, more grounded, and better equipped to deal with life’s ups and downs. It is a form of wellbeing training for your mind, offering space to pause, reflect, breathe, process and reconnect with yourself.

One to one sessions last 50 minutes, focusing on different aspects of advanced mindfulness practices.

Creative writing meets wellbeing, with these one to one workshops, focusing on various creative writing activities to support wellbeing and mental health.

Creative writing and journalling can help with regulating stress, having an outlet for thoughts and feelings. It is a self-empowering way of maintaining wellbeing, whilst developing your writing skills and adding to your self-help toolkit.

The workshops are one to one, run by experienced counsellor Lisa Berry, who also has an Honours Degree in English Studies & Creative Writing. Lisa used to work in a small bookshop facilitating creative writing groups, poetry events and book groups, being an advocate for the positive impact of writing and journalling on wellbeing.

These wellbeing writing workshops are a creative, supportive approach towards managing life and maintaining positive ways of coping during life.

Group creative writing for wellbeing workshops coming soon.