For women
Women through every season of life
Much of my work is with women: from pregnancy and the first years of motherhood to midlife and later life, and with the families around them. I see your wellbeing as a whole: body, mind, relationships and family together.
Becoming a mother
Pregnancy, birth and the first years change a woman's body, brain and sense of self. I work with fear of giving birth, difficult birth experiences, intrusive thoughts after birth, exhaustion from broken sleep, the hormonal changes of breastfeeding, feeling "touched out", and D-MER, a sudden low or uneasy feeling as the milk lets down.
The double pull
Wanting to treasure every moment with your children, and longing for a break. We work with mum guilt and mixed feelings, and on keeping hold of what anchors you, such as sport, work or friendships.
Body and softening
Many women live in constant readiness: in control, independent, always on. We work on noticing your body's signals again, resting instead of bracing, living with your body's rhythms, and treating your body with care rather than control, including in your relationship with food.
Relationships and family
Becoming parents can turn lovers into co-managers. In couples therapy we work on conflict loops, hurt, the shared load at home and closeness. With families we look at the whole: siblings, step-families, boundaries and patterns passed down through generations.
Your child's development
From my years as an educational psychologist, I help parents understand their child's development, including attention, ADHD and autism traits, learning and school transitions, so family life can feel calmer.
Loss, later life and meaning
Saying goodbye to having more children, the empty nest, retirement, bereavement and loneliness in later life. There is room here for faith, values and the big questions of meaning.
Alongside this, I work with depression, anxiety, panic, health anxiety, phobias (including of needles and medical procedures) and burnout, at every stage of life.