Effective help for trauma and PTSD.

Learn to feel safe again, resolve and integrate difficult experiences and learn to deal with flashbacks so you are no longer overwhelmed by them.

When you have been traumatised by difficult experiences it can affect your life in many ways. You may constantly feel anxious and on edge. You may find that strong, disturbing or overwhelming feelings get triggered by everyday events, which can be frightening, upsetting or disruptive. You may have flashbacks – vivid memories of traumatic events which intrude into your life and feel beyond your control. Or you may find yourself feeling ‘dissociated’, as if you are detached from your body and the world around you.

How I work

I work with all types of trauma, including PTSD, complex PTSD and developmental trauma (which is trauma that occurs when we are very young).

To begin with I will work to help you to find sources of safety and security – both within yourself and in the world around you– so that you can learn to calm your nervous system down and regulate intense feelings so they are less overwhelming. Once you feel calmer and more in control we can, if you wish, look at processing memories of the events that lead to the trauma in a gentle, controlled way, to help integrate them and let them go.

The focus is always on going carefully and slowly, and pacing things so that the process is safe and manageable. I want you to feel in control so that you don’t get overwhelmed and the trauma can be healed and integrated in a gentle, constructive way.

I have been working with trauma for ten years and have various tools and approaches to help you come to feel safe and move on, I am based near Addlestone, Chertsey, Woking and Weybridge in Surrey.

More About Trauma

Sometimes we may have experiences which are so intense and difficult that our system cannot make sense of them at the time they are happening. These experiences can then get stuck in our minds and bodies as trauma. Trauma can occur when we’re very young, arising from abuse or neglect, in which case it is known as developmental trauma. It can also happen later in life due to overwhelmingly frightening or difficult events causing PTSD, or it can build up over longer periods of time due to chronic assaults on our dignity and sense of self such as are experienced if we feel trapped in circumstances in which we feel powerless, disrespected or controlled.

When we have trauma, we may find we often get flooded with anxiety and other negative emotions which are out of proportion to our current situation, or experience a sense of dissociation in which we feel disconnected from our body and surroundings. We may experience ‘flashbacks’—intrusive memories of those events which can include the replaying of sensory experiences we had at the time (body memories). The physical manifestations of these strong emotional responses may even include sensory disturbances such as shaking, pins and needles or feelings of hot and cold. In some cases, these responses can be strong enough to feel frightening or overwhelming in themselves, causing us to push them away or close them down, preventing them from resolving and contributing to the experience remaining locked in our system.

Free Trial Session

If you’re thinking about coming for therapy, I offer a free, no-obligation meeting of up to half an hour (in person or online) to give you a chance to ask any questions and see whether you think we would be a good fit. Contact me to arrange this.

Costs and Practicalities

Sessions are either in-person or online. If we are meeting in person, we will work in a quiet and private dedicated studio at my home. Online sessions are held on Zoom.

Session Length and Cost

Sessions generally last for 50 minutes and cost £60. Sixty minute sessions can also be arranged if that is better for you.

I offer a 10% discount for a six-session block paid for in advance.

Concessions are sometimes available, please ask if you are in genuine need.

Testimonials