.png)
Working With Me
How I Work
Here are some of the key elements of my work as a Gestalt Therapist
The relationship we form as client and therapist is central to the therapy process. As well as the rich potential for support, nourishment and challenge in our relationship, my way of working presents a unique opportunity to use our relationship as a doorway to greater understanding of your experience of relating more generally and how you view yourself, others and the choices available.
Raising awareness is at heart of what I do. This can include developing insight and understanding and a deeper appreciation of the feelings, fears and longings at play in the situation that brings you to therapy. I bring a curious and kind attitude to whatever it is you are struggling with. I believe that whatever is feeling difficult has some meaning in the context of your unique situation and life story. I will also invite you to become more aware of what feels good, nourishing, supportive and true to who you are. Becoming more aware of how come you find yourself where you are and what you really need and want is an important part of finding new ways forward.
We can use experimentation and creativity to explore and express your feelings, and bring to life situations you are facing. I have art materials and a range of objects like wooden figures, stones, cushions and soft toys that we can use, and also am interested in working with what can emerge in movement and body sensation. Sometimes it can be hard to find the words and working in this way can help. Exploring with art, objects and moving can also help to access other levels of awareness, reveal where there might be more choice available and creates opportunities to play with what a way forward might look like.
One of the ways that Gestalt Therapy can make a difference is its focus on reclaiming lost parts of ourselves and accessing a broader, more nuanced range of feeling and being. Through the ongoing support of our relationship, awareness raising and exploring we will get to know the aspects of your self and feelings that are hard to access. These may not have been welcomed or well supported in the past and you could have learned to override or shut these aspects off. Over time, its my hope that these can find a new home in you and your life in the present, creating a sense greater wholeness, choice and agency.
There may be times, maybe much of the time, when what is needed most is my presence as you tell your story or talk through what is troubling you. Whilst Gestalt Therapy can provide many active ways of exploring and experimenting in the service of growth and change, you are not a problem to be fixed.
Practical Information
Investment
My fee is £60 per session, including the initial consultation, and can be paid in cash or via bank transfer. For clients working on an ongoing long term basis I invoice for payment monthly. I have a small number of concession spaces available and can discuss this with you if this is needed.
​
Session length and frequency
Sessions with me are 50 minutes long, usually weekly at the same time. I offer open ended therapy, meaning the duration of time we work for will depend on your situation, needs, wants and interests; and on our developing relationship.
​
Location
I work from my consulting room on Frederick Street in central Edinburgh. This is close to the Princes Street tram stop and well served by buses. My room is on the 3rd floor of a traditional townhouse so unfortunately is unsuitable for those with access requirements. I also offer a small number of online therapy spaces for those outside of Edinburgh or access difficulties.
​
Getting Started
Taking the first step is often the hardest and its important you find a therapist you feel comfortable working with. Let me walk through with you how beginning with me works
1. Book an Introductory Call
I offer a free 15 minute introductory call where we can discuss what brings you to therapy and I can share a little about how I work and my weekly session time availability. From this, you can choose whether or not you would like to go forward with a full initial consultation session. There is absolutely no obligation to proceed following this call.
​
2. Meet with me for an Initial Consultation
The initial consultation session lasts 50 minutes and is an opportunity to explore your needs and interests in more detail and where we can both get a sense of whether you and I feel like a good fit, before we make a commitment to further sessions. If needed, we can arrange another consultation session before firming up on decision to continue.
We may plan to work together for an initial block of sessions to establish whether a short term or longer, open ended therapy is best suited to your needs and situation.
​​
Initial consultations are charged at my usual session rate of £60
About Me
I've been working as a therapist since 2017 and have long been committed to my own journey of growth and wholeness, initially having been drawn to yoga in my early 20s. Being a therapist is my second career; I worked for many years in public policy, strategy and corporate planning, whilst also teaching yoga, before making the change to follow my passion and work with people in this way.
​
This mix of experience gives me a broad base to draw from. I have a well developed capacity to conceptualise the interweaving systemic, cultural and societal influences that may be at play in a personal difficulty, as well as remaining connected to the immediacy and uniqueness of what is going for you within this wider context and your individual life story. Holding the big picture, with the personal at the same time can be a potent mix when we recognise that the problems we face are always happening in relation to those around us and the world we belong to.
​
Bringing together head, heart and soul, and engaging with the world around us from there is what I am all about.
