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About
Hello and welcome. I'm a qualified Psychosynthesis therapist, working with clients since 2019. I have helped many people of diverse backgrounds to navigate, heal and and make sense of anxiety, depression, loss, grief, relationship and self-esteem issues, frustration, anger, rage, and make lasting positive change in their lives.
I currently live and work in Bristol, England where I provide face to face therapy as well as online therapy with clients all over the world.
I hold an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Bristol UWE University and a Post-graduate diploma in Psychosynthesis counselling. For some basic introductory information about counselling and the service I provide please click here: Counselling.
My adult professional life lead me to work for over 8 years in many different roles working with adults and young people with different mental health issues and learning disabilities in both residential and educational settings.
My training as a therapist began in 2014 with a two year experiential training program of body-based regression therapy in the 'Deep Memory Process' (DMP) system.
After returning from a 5 year stay in Germany back to the UK, I completed a 3 year post-graduate diploma in Psychosynthesis counselling at the Psychosynthesis Trust in London.
This was a high quality training involving a thorough programme of academic study, personal therapy, client work, group relational dynamic therapy and regular supervision.
Psychosynthesis is a vast system with many different approaches and techniques, and is open enough to allow me to use ideas from many other therapeutic systems as well. For more information on Psychosynthesis therapy please click here: Psychosynthesis.
I immersed myself in intensive Yoga and meditation practice throughout my 20's and early 30'3 and remain committed to spiritual practice, more recently in the system of Bhakti Yoga. The experience I have gained through this practice very much informs my work as a therapist.
I have been studying western and Indian astrology for over 10 years, and now run a Vedic astrology consultation practice, for more information please have a look here: Astrology.
If you would like to book a session with me, please use the 'contact' form at the bottom of the page. I look forward to hearing from you!
"The act of revealing oneself fully to another and still being accepted may be the major vehicle of therapeutic help" - Irvin Yalom
Counselling
How does counselling work?
Counselling works by giving you a weekly time and place to meet with a therapist in which you can be listened to and seen in an unconditional way.
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As a counsellor I create a safe and welcoming space for my clients. Being listened to, empathised with and accepted for being who you are, without conditions, can bring about a deepening of acceptance and love for ourselves, our experience and other people.
In my experience, accepting and bringing awareness to what we are feeling creates space in the psyche and allows the different parts of our 'inner world' to move, change and transform.
I'm a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and adhere rigorously to their Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.
Counselling can help with:
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Depression and/or anxiety, whether mild, moderate or severe
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Unresolved feelings of loss or grief
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Early childhood trauma and emotional and psychological wounding
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Repeating patterns of behaviour which prevent you from having a happy and satisfying relationships with others
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Feelings of anger or rage which feel overwhelming or have become self-destructive
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Chronic self-esteem issues and negative self-talk
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Difficulty with connecting to your personal power and realising your full potential
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Persistent feelings of hopelessness, meaninglessness and futility in one's personal life or the wider world
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Habitual procrastination and struggle with motivation and making concrete change
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Addictive behaviours of every kind
Can counselling help me?
There has been a huge amount of research carried out for at least 50 years now, demonstrating clearly that counselling is effective in helping people who are experiencing almost any issue or difficulty. If you are experiencing any of the issues from the previous list, which isn't exhaustive, then you are very likely to benefit from counselling with me.
Booking a counselling session:
Session length: 50 mins
Session fee: £50 - if you are experiencing financial difficulties, it may be possible for us to arrange a reduced fee for your sessions.
If you feel you would like to work with me, or you have any questions, please use the contact form at the bottom of any of the pages to get in touch.
If you and I do work together, I would recommend that you make a commitment to a minimum of eight weekly sessions.
Please take a look at my 'Psychosynthesis' page to get more of a sense of the way I work with clients and what happens in a session with me. Please note I only work with adults who are eighteen or above.
​​Location: I work online with clients via Zoom and I conduct face to face therapy sessions here:
https://orchardstreettherapyrooms.com/
"Freud said, "I am interested only in the basement of the human being." Psychosynthesis is interested in the whole building." - Roberto Assagioli.
Psychosynthesis
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What is Psychosynthesis?
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Psychosynthesis is a style of therapy developed by Roberto Assagioli - a contemporary of Freud, which takes a holistic or 'transpersonal' view of who we are, how we can work with our difficulties and what our full potential is.
The pain, wounding or trauma you may have experienced in your life are just as welcome and workable as your experiences of joy, happiness and peace.
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Psychosynthesis understands human life on two levels, both being equally important:
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The 'personal' level - this is who we feel and experience ourselves to be in our day-to-day life, with all of its highs and lows, joys and disappointments and the ever-changing stream of thoughts, feelings and sensations.
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The 'transpersonal' level - this is the deeper, invisible essence of who we are, transcending our mind and body while also including them. On this level we are spiritual beings or 'souls', pure awareness or consciousness, which has taken a unique human form and expression.
The longer term 'goal' of Psychosynthesis therapy would be to develop more awareness and insight into our psycho-emotional nature, in all its complexity, including the many sub-personalities or 'parts' which we all contain within us.
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This depth of insight can lead to liberating dis-identification and can give us more freedom to choose how we respond to the events of our life. This can in turn lead to lasting behavioural change - deep and enduring 'second-order' change, and greater levels of happiness and fulfillment.
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By using the many different tools that Psychosynthesis has at its disposal, we can eventually develop wiser, more harmonious and more productive relationships to and between the different parts of our psyches. This process could be described as a 'synthesis' of one's psyche.
What happens in a Psychosynthesis session?
Psychosynthesis acknowledges both our human and spiritual nature and has many different techniques and approaches to work with them in ways that can be tailored to you and your needs.
These would include; emotional release and catharsis, sub-personality work, guided visualisation, meditation and dis-identification practices, creative expression through drawing or writing, dream work, working with your capacity to 'love' and 'will', working with the 'felt sense' of your experience and many more.
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Whether we use these techniques or not depends mainly on what your personal needs and challenges are and what you want to get from counselling, as well as what we both feel is most appropriate in the moment.
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I incorporate perspectives and ideas from other modalities, which is possible with Psychosynthesis as it's such an open and adaptable system. These include; CBT, DBT, Gestalt, Focusing, Existential and Somatic therapies, among others.
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In the early stages of Psychosynthesis therapy I tend to focus on the 'love' aspect of the work by building a sense of warmth, acceptance, support and trust with a client.
In later stages, it can become important to work with the 'will' polarity; this is when challenging situations and experiences are more likely to occur during sessions.
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If challenging feelings or situations arise in counselling, I will do my best to ensure they facilitate a deepening of the therapeutic relationship and your personal process. Sometimes these experiences constitute pivotal moments which lead to breakthroughs in the therapeutic process.
​If you would like to know more about Psychosynthesis therapy, I trained in London at the Psychosynthesis Trust:
https://psychosynthesistrust.org.uk/
"We are born at a given moment in a given place and like vintage years of wine we have the qualities of the year and of the season in which we are born" - C. G. Jung.
Astrology
Astrology:
Astrology has existed for as long as human civilization has, and there is a reason for this! The great psychologist and explorer of the human psyche, C. G. Jung, was known to consult the astrological charts of the clients he worked with and spoke of how much detailed information they gave him that he would not have been able to access otherwise.
Astrology can offer us deep insight into our character, personality, habitual inclinations and behavioural patterns; the terrain of our "psycho-geography". It can help us to understand how and why we are the way we are and why our lives involve the repeating patterns and themes that they often do.
By understanding what archetypal myths and energies are symbolised by the different planets and what roles these planets are playing in our horoscope, we can get a clearer sense of what our potential is, and how we can work to fulfill it in a way that honours the promise, the challenges and the uniqueness of our 'cosmic birth certificate'.
My own experience with several experienced and skilled astrologers, as well as my study of my own birth chart and the charts of people around me, has shown me over and over again that the cosmos is a single, unified reality. Listening to the messages that reality gives us can be truly life-changing.
Indian Vedic astrology, or 'Jyotish' - meaning 'the light', or 'the path of light', is incredibly rich in its understanding of planetary cycles and relationships. The 'MahaDasa' system gives us the ability to make accurate predictions of a person's future life periods in a way that wouldn't be possible otherwise. Its use of the 'Nakshatras' - the lunar sidereal zodiac, adds a huge amount of depth and symbolism to the understanding of our personality and life.
Horoscope readings:
I offer astrological analysis within the Indian Vedic tradition, I do also sometimes include an awareness of the outer planets and a more western-style approach to planetary aspects - (known as 'Tajika' in Jyotish) at times, if I feel that is applicable.
I've been studying and practicing Vedic and Western astrology intensively since 2012. I've completed trainings with David Frawley's American Institute of Vedic Studies and the Jaimini Scholar Steven Hubball's 'Dirah' Jyotish program, among others. I'm currently continuing my studies with the Jyotish Guru Sanjay Rath.
Initial chart reading: Length: 90 minutes Fee: £100
Subsequent readings: £100 for 90 minutes, £75 for 60 minutes.
Our first session together (on Zoom) would be an initial analysis of your horoscope including; fundamental chart dynamics and psychological analysis, planetary periods and sub-periods, planetary transits, divisional charts and other techniques. In any subsequent readings I would be happy to look at your:
Yearly forecast (Varshapal), relationship compatibility, good timings for planned events (Muhurta), specific one-off questions (Prashna), re-locational astrology and astrocartography, or whatever area of your life you would may want to focus on - for example career direction and suitability, or finances.
To arrange a reading with me, please use the 'contact' form below.
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