Welcome. I'm Laura. ​​My goal as a therapist is to get to know you, your story, your struggles and your aspirations. Together we can find ways to help you find empowerment over your own life.

​​

I’m here to listen, to gently walk alongside you as you tell me your story and help you find your own personal insight.  

​

How can psychotherapeutic counselling help you?​

​

• Are you plagued with constant worrying?

• Do you feel confused, uncertain or irritable?

• Do you feel hopeless and think ‘what’s the point?’

• Do you need support through a big life change?

• Do you have trouble sleeping or difficulty concentrating?

• Do you find it hard to relax?

• Have you lost someone important to you?

• Do you find yourself in a hole you can’t get out of?

• Are you struggling with a decision you can’t seem to make?

• Do you have that issue you have pushed down so much in the hope it goes away, but it never does?

• Do you feel generally ‘OK’ but want to get to know yourself better?

• Do you need help making sense of yourself and your life right now?

​​​

Issues I can help with

Trauma and abuse

 

I have specialist experience in the impacts of trauma and supporting survivors of all forms of abuse. This could be emotional, sexual and physical abuse in childhood. It could also be domestic violence, coercive control and manipulation in adulthood. These issues are often shrouded in secrecy and shame and could be buried deep within you. You may have never voiced your experiences before, and you may only have fleeting memories or flashbacks. Many survivors experience forms of ‘detachment’ from their bodies, to cope with the impact of trauma. Often my clients explain they feel damaged, broken, unworthy or unlovable, struggle to set boundaries and feel other people’s needs are more important than their own. Sometimes they feel angry and helpless.

 

I help my clients recognise these emotions are often due to the shame that has been imposed on them by their abusers. All survivors deserve to have their voice heard. I am passionate about helping people find the tools to navigate life, not as a product of their abuse, but as strong, resilient survivors.

​

Chronic illnesses and hidden disabilities 

​

Do you live with ME/CFS, long COVID, POTS, fibromyalgia or any other 'hidden' chronic illnesses or disabilities? Maybe you don't have a diagnosis, but struggle with your energy levels, feel constantly exhausted and unable to keep up with others. Maybe you constantly compare yourself to others or to previous versions of yourself when you had more energy. People suffering with these illnesses often enter into a cycle of push/crash which is exhausting and debilitating. Together we can understand the impact of your illness on your wellbeing and find ways to tune in to your body, and manage the symptoms, perhaps through 'pacing' - a way to maintain awareness and manage your energy or pain.

Stress and burnout

 

Do you feel at the end of your tether, with work or a life situation that is causing you sleepless nights and constant stress? Do you feel you are juggling too much or stuck in a toxic situation? Do you catch yourself sacrificing your personal or self-care because you just don’t have time, or becoming ill more often? This could be the start of a downward slope into burnout, maybe you feel it already, or it can sometimes catch us unexpectedly. I deeply understand the seemingly unending cycle of stress and will help you to prevent or recover from the effects of chronic stress and burnout.

Worrying and anxiety

​

Do you find it difficult to relax or sleep, your body tense and on
edge, your brain always in overdrive, working out all the different scenarios about how a future situation might pan out? Then becoming overwhelmed, irritated, restless or exhausted? Those are some of the symptoms of anxiety, characterised by constant worrying and catastrophising about situations that haven’t happened yet. Our work together might be to firstly recognise if the sensations you are experiencing are anxiety, because sometimes 'anxiety’ can be difficult to self-recognise. Anxiety also shows up in different ways for different people, and the causes can vary widely, from work, relationships, past trauma or something deeply unsettled within you. Together we will try and understand the roots of your anxiety and find ways to calm and soothe your nervous system.

Grief, loss and endings

 

You may have experienced a significant loss of someone close to
you, which is causing profound pain, loneliness, regret or longing. Grief and loss can also show up in less obvious ways, which I help my clients recognise as deep losses or processes of grief. This could be the ending of a job, career, a break-up or rupture of a
relationship or friendship or the onset of an illness or disability. You may find yourself comparing yourself to others or to previous versions of yourself, growing frustrated or mournful of the loss you have experienced. I believe that grief is a personal experience, and
I will help you to recognise and accept the impact of these losses in your life. Sometimes the loss will continue to be felt over a lifetime, and we will work on your personal growth around the loss, rather than setting a time limit or ‘getting over it’.

​

​