PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES
I offer a range of psychological services for a range of concerns, all from the foundation of my expertise in women's psychology, perinatal & maternal mental health, anxiety, rage, burnout, trauma, guilt, shame & parenting.
I specialise in:
-
Maternal Mental Health - Including anxiety, rage, overwhelm, shame & trauma.
-
When there is an overlap between the Perinatal and Perimenopausal transitions - for us growing number of Mums who are having babies when we are over 35 years old.
-
And more
I offer:
-
One-off assessment & consultation,
-
Therapy and
You can find information about the various psychological models I integrate, below.
Maternal Mental Health
I specialise in transforming the type of anxiety that keeps us constantly on edge, unable to relax, constantly comparing ourselves to others (and coming up short in those comparisons), paralysed when trying to make decisions, or second guessing ourselves when we do. The type of anxiety that often tells us we are not 'a good enough parent', or ' a good enough daughter/partner/friend/worker', and it tells us we are not 'pretty enough', or 'calm enough' - the list of ways this internal voice tells us we're failing is truly endless.
I also know that anxiety in motherhood is also so often interwoven with many other aspects of our mental health, so I also specialise in supporting you with any of the following:
-
Social anxiety, Health anxiety, Panic, Death anxiety
-
Depression
-
Rage
-
Stress, Overwhelm Burnout
-
Low self-confidence, Low self-esteem or self-worth
-
A loud inner-critical voice, Imposter syndrome
-
Guilt, Shame or Self-hatred
-
Perfectionism
-
Birth-trauma, Breastfeeding trauma, Fertility-related trauma
-
Difficulty bonding with your baby, or child
-
Grief for the loss of the joyful motherhood journey you imagined
-
Changes in identity, perhaps from 'woman' to 'mother'
-
Difficulties setting boundaries
-
Challenges related to neurodivergence
-
Relationship challenges
-
Challenges in parenting
-
Physical health conditions, such as migraines, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, other Auto-immune conditions, or challenges with your menstrual cycle such as PMDD, heightened anxiety/ rage/ inner critic in your premenstrual weeks, etc.
I support Mums who want to feel less guilt when they take care of themselves, as well as everyone else. Mums who want to be able to set boundaries and still feel like a kind, caring, compassionate person. Mums who no longer want to explode in rage, and who want to get back to being the type of mum they always thought they would be - calm & compassionate. Mums who want a place to release all of the bubbling up emotions they "shouldn't feel", and who want to feel seen, heard, validated and supported in those emotions. Mums who are trying to raise their own kids differently - to see, validate & support their child with their emotions, in a way that no one could do for them when they were growing up.
You don't need to navigate motherhood alone - Let me be an invaluable part of your village.
Perimenopause & Midlife Mental Health
I offer expert emotional & mental health support for these experiences, which are all very common in the perimenopause/menopause transition:
-
Heightened Anxiety, Low mood or Depression
-
Telling the difference between physical health symptoms and anxiety (e.g. heart palpitations, restless legs, a wired feeling in your chest vs anxiety, etc.)
-
Grief for the loss of your menstrual cycle & fertility, your youth, and your body
-
Feeling betrayed by your body & mind
-
Insomnia
-
Brain Fog
-
Emergence of potential (perhaps previously-masked) neurodivergence
-
A loud inner-critical voice heightening at this time
-
Relationship changes & challenges
-
Rage & increased irritability
-
Stress, Overwhelm & Burnout in Perimenopause
-
Resurfacing of previous/childhood traumas, when you believed you had overcome them in the past
-
How to advocate for yourself & your needs, with medical professionals & others, who do not understand this transition.
When the Perinatal & Perimenopausal Transitions Overlap
If you have had a baby after the age of 35, it is common for our perinatal period to overlap with the beginnings of our perimenopausal years - Yet no one really talks about this. This happened for me, and it floored me, due to a lack of awareness. I don't want any new Mums to feel as desperate, hopeless and lost as I did, before I realised that I was going through both matrescence AND perimenopause at the same time.
I offer expert emotional & mental health support, in these intensely overlapping life-stages, for:
-
Heightened Anxiety; Low mood or Depression; Rage and increased irritability; Stress, Overwhelm & Burnout
-
The total lack of a 'bounce back' after pregnancy & labour - recovery from labour truly is a different experience for you, than it is for your younger Mum friends.
-
Sleep disruptions due to both having a young child and Perimenopausal insomnia
-
Brain Fog - When your mental load is suddenly bigger than ever and your cognitive capacity is under strain with Perimenopause
-
A louder inner-critical voice - this is common in both early motherhood and in perimenopause, so when they occur together this voice can be incredibly loud
-
Relationship changes & challenges - which are very common when these two momentous life-transitions occur at the same time
Specialist, women-centred support for wherever you are, right now:
I can offer support for any part of your journey as a woman - from early adulthood, through to elderhood. If you are struggling with any manifestation of emotional, mental health or physical health challenges in your journey through womenhood, please do not hesitate to contact me, by clicking the button just above, to find out how I can help you.
I offer truly bespoke, integrative psychological services
I integrate several evidence-based psychological theories & techniques, alongside ideas from artful,
creative, soulful & spiritual practices too.
I prioritise integrating women-centred, trauma-informed, body-focussed, psychological and spiritual techniques that focus on the various aspects of what supports us to thrive as women, and which allow us to go deep together - If you engage in therapy with me, we will go below the symptoms on the surface, to your longings, yearnings, intuitions and the meanings you are making, of your self, your family and your life:
-
Compassion-Focussed Therapy (CFT)
-
Emotionally-Focussed Therapy
-
Feminist & Intersectional Therapy
-
Menstrual Cycle Awareness
-
Psycho-spiritual approaches to Perimenopause
-
Relational trauma approaches
-
Attachment therapy
-
Interpersonal-Neurobiology
-
Polyvagal Therapy
-
'Parts' Therapy, such as IFS
-
Systemic Therapy
-
Psychodynamic Therapy
-
Humanistic Therapy
-
Self-reparenting approaches
When I meet you, I will integrate my knowledge of all of these models and techniques, to create a unique holistic psychology service, that best makes sense for you.
Services offered:
One-off Assessment/Consultation:
We always start here - You don't need to know what support you need - you don't to have it all worked out on your own, at the outset. A one-off, 60 minute appointment with me can help you clarify what support (if any) is needed for you right now, and whether I am the best fit to meet your current needs. We never make a commitment beyond this initial appointment at the outset - This initial appointment is a way for us to get to know each other, and decide together what next steps make most sense for you, so that you can get the best return for any investment you make, in your healing or development journey.
Therapy:
We may agree, after an initial assessment, that psychological therapy would be a good option for you, going forward. If this is the case, we will arrange a regular time to meet weekly, for the duration of this work. Some therapy is short-term, some is longer term - again, we will decide this together as the work unfolds. I offer deep, relational therapy, that can go beyond the surface-level symptoms you are experiencing, to get to the root of your struggles, and finally heal & resolve them at those roots, which leads to longer-term, sustainable change. The therapy I offer is more than CBT - many clients of mine have had CBT or counselling in the past, and are not ready to go deeper, for more impactful healing.
Therapeutic Coaching:
We may also decide, after an initial assessment, that therapeutic coaching would be the best option for you. When this is the case, you are likely to not be struggling currently, and do not require deep relational healing of childhood or trauma wounds, but may want to work on your emotional development & psycho-spiritual growth. These sessions can be arranged on a more flexible basis, depending on the flexibility possible within my diary.
If you're unsure what your focus should be for coaching, I offer a five session model of therapeutic coaching at the outset, to cover the basics of women's emotional growth & development:
Session 1: How a woman's nervous system gets shaped & what that means for us day-to-day.
Session 2: Embodying a Self-compassion Practice
Session 3: Shame Resilience - From the basics to embodied practice
Session 4: Aligning with your cyclical nature as a women - Circadian Rhythms, Menstrual Cycle Awareness & Life-stage Cycles
Session 5: Unselfish self-care - How getting your needs met is changing the world for the better.
Within, and beyond, these sessions, we can also consider:
-
Boundary setting
-
The division of the mental and emotional load at home
-
Lifestyle changes to support your perimenopause transition
-
And more.