Who am I and how do I work?
After many years living and working in London and the South West of England, I returned to South Wales ten years ago to practice as an Integrative Psychotherapist working at locations in Cardiff and Abergavenny, South Wales. As an Integrative Psychotherapist, I believe that no single therapeutic approach has all the answers. I am convinced of the need to be authentic in my approach, whilst always respecting each client's individuality.
I believe that our individual personalities are sculpted by the interactions between inherited characteristics and developmental history. Difficulties can arise as a result of the interplay between the unique characteristics we are born with and the environment we encounter through life. Our behaviour is often driven by internal, unconscious processes and we fall into the same patterns without awareness of how they may be contributing to our difficulties. Therapy helps to raise awareness of how these patterns may be affecting our sense of wellbeing. The self-discovery which can come from the exploration of these processes, many of which may have been helpful in the past but limit our experience of the present, can offer choices and a different way of being in the world.
Although the past informs the present, remembering the past is not enough. During therapy it is possible to re-connect with the emotional components of those areas where we are "stuck" and to express those emotions in the present within the safety of the therapeutic relationship. This allows for a re-appraisal of the past so that the memories are filed away in an altered and less damaging form.
Above all, I believe that the framework which holds my approach together is the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Healing occurs in the context of a non-judgemental, authentic and empathic meeting with the client with confidentiality at its heart.
