Therapeutic Style

I work integratively, but would describe my therapeutic style as being rooted in Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

Most importantly I believe that a therapist's style needs to adapt to best meet the individual client's needs.


  • CBT focuses on how you are thinking, feeling and behaving. It involves helping people explore what motivates a particular behaviour, thought, or belief and helps them to challenge unhelpful ways of thinking/behaving and to develop healthier alternatives. Numerous studies have shown CBT as being very effective in the treatment of depression, anxiety, fears, obsessions etc. It teaches clients self-help strategies and therefore helps prevent relapse. Whilst I may use various techniques in order to provide flexible and individual help, the main emphasis is on the client and helping them to help themselves.

  • Hypnosis induces a deep state of relaxation, during which our unconscious minds are highly receptive to new or alternative perspectives and ideas. Hypnosis is a perfectly natural state of complete relaxation within the physical body and heightened awareness within the mind. You are not asleep and are fully in control throughout and can wake from the hypnotic state whenever you choose.

  • IEMT (Integral Eye Movement Therapy)addresses and resolves the question, "how did this person learn to feel this way about this thing?" This work is virtually content free, which means that a client doesn’t need to talk in detail about their trauma. IEMT is about precise calibration to the client. Unlike other treatments involving eye movements, with this model the eye movements are neither random nor simply a repetitive left and right movement in the hope that change will occur. Using "eye accessing cues," IEMT is particularly effective in aiding trauma recovery and in treating post-traumatic stress disorders. While holding problematic imagery in your mind, your eyes are shifted in different directions -- the impressive result is that the intrusive imagery/memory can lose its emotional impact on you, and thus becomes far less disturbing. As eye movements are thought to relate to the processing of specific types of cognitive information, it is believed that this technique allows the brain to reprocess the event without its traumatic aspects. IEMT is about changing the mental map of how we are feeling and how we are being and appears to work by changing the manner in which information is recalled and stored within the limbic system.

  • Mindfulness is a gentle, research-backed method of reducing stress and promoting peace and balance in one's life. It is a simple, open, non-religious, non-invasive approach that trains the mind to be more focussed and clear, allowing one to cope better with everyday stress, pain and illness. It is not a therapy but more of a way of being. You can learn to observe the thoughts, emotions and sensations that arise, without making judgements about their truth, importance or value, and without trying to escape, avoid or change them. This is achieved through formal and informal meditation exercises. Regular practice has been shown to increase self-awareness and self-acceptance, reduce reactivity to passing thoughts and emotions, and improve ability to make adaptive and helpful choices.

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - differs from CBT in that instead of challenging distressing thoughts by looking for evidence and coming up with a more rational response, in ACT, the thought is accepted as a thought, e.g. "I notice that i am worrying I will be late and that i will then be fired", and then defused using a variety of techniques including mindfulness and metaphors. ACT uses three broad categories of techniques: Defusion techniques, acceptance (of where you are at right now); and commitment to values-based living (identifying and working towards what gives you meaning in life).


  • Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) is a kind of psychotherapy designed to help those who suffer from high levels of self-criticism and shame. It helps you to learn how to feel kinder towards yourself and others, and to feel safe and capable in a world that can seem overwhelming. Founded by British clinical psychologist Sir Paul Gilbert, CFT is an integrative approach that uses research and tools not just from psychology, but also from evolutionary theory, neuroscience, and Buddhism.