I spent most of my life longing to fit in
I’m a psychotherapist and breathwork practitioner. But long before any of that, I was a woman muddling through life without answers, wondering why everything felt harder for me than it seemed to for everyone else.
That’s where my story starts, and it’s why I do this work.
My story
I found it difficult to make friends and join in with conversation, and felt like a square peg in a round hole in social situations. I tried so hard to be different, to force myself into uncomfortable situations and make more effort, believing that if I did, I would get used to it and start to enjoy myself.
All it did was make me feel worse and frazzle my nervous system. I hid behind a mask, desperately trying to hold it all together, and would then go home and feel completely drained. I was always clumsy, forgetful, disorganised, messy, reactive, constantly losing things, hyperfocused on creative hobbies, late, a perfectionist, restless, procrastinating. The list goes on. My hormones were all over the place too, and I later came to understand I had been living with PMDD.
From my difficult teens onwards, I was drawn to my inner world. I discovered alternative medicine and reiki, and a healing fire was ignited. That passion led me to train as a holistic therapist, to work in a hospice alongside terminally ill patients and their families, and eventually to retrain as a counsellor and psychotherapist. Breathwork, which I have practised for over twenty years, changed my life and led me on the most profound healing pathway.
Then, at 56, everything began to make sense
After years of working on my emotional wellbeing, I was finally diagnosed with ADHD, and later autism. It was like the biggest lightbulb turned on inside me. It has been a mixed bag of emotions; both an awakening to my own strength and a profound, grief-healing journey.
I realised I was never going to “fit in” in a neurotypical world. And that’s okay. I could even let go of trying.
After years of chaos, shame and masking, I now feel free to be me, wholeheartedly. I know myself more than ever, and I recognise and honour my limits, which means I’m kinder to myself and more forgiving. Where I was always on edge, I’m now softer, calmer, at home in myself.
Whatever has brought you here, you deserve a space where you don’t have to explain or justify how hard it feels.
Qualifications & training
Twenty-five years of working with the mind and body together, and still learning. I’m a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP).
Core qualifications
- BA (Hons) Counselling & Psychotherapy, Anglia Ruskin University · 2019
- DipHE Person-Centred Counselling, Children & Adolescents, Anglia Ruskin University · 2016
- Certified ADHD Practitioner · 2024
- Breathwork Practitioner, Breathing Journeys School of Breathwork · 2023
- Breathwork Foundation Diploma · 2006
- VTCT Diploma in Holistic Therapies · 2002
Specialist training
- Felt Sense Polyvagal Model · 2025
- 3 Phase Trauma Model · 2024
- Somatic Parts Work · 2024
- Intergenerational Trauma · 2024
- Therapeutic Safety in Trauma · 2022
- Red School Menstruality Leadership Programme · 2020
My background also includes eight years as a secondary school counsellor, adult counselling with MIND and a bereavement service, a decade as a holistic therapist, and Reiki 3.
How I work
I’m a trauma-informed, person-centred psychotherapist. Every trauma tells a story, and until that story is heard it can leave us feeling invalidated, worthless and ashamed. I will work sensitively with you as a compassionate witness to your story, without judgement and with unconditional acceptance.
You will go at your own pace and share only what feels right, because YOU are the expert of YOU. My approach gives you the time and space to express your feelings openly, in your own words and in your own time.
I’m also deeply in tune with the mind and body connection. Alongside talking, I work with the sensations and emotions held in the body: presence, felt sense, energy, grounding and imagery. When words aren’t enough, breathwork offers a gentle, powerful way to release what has been building beneath the surface.
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Our sense of self is anchored in a vital connection with our bodies. We do not truly know ourselves unless we can feel and interpret our physical sensations.
Bessel van der Kolk
If my story sounds anything like yours
I specialise in supporting women with ADHD, autism and PMDD. And alongside them, I work with adults and young people carrying all kinds of stories: anxiety and overwhelm, old wounds, grief, seasons of life that feel too heavy to hold alone. You don’t need a diagnosis, or a label, to deserve support.
There’s no rush here. When you’re ready, you can read about what working together looks like, or simply get in touch and say hello.