… Here’s Mine
Every therapist has a story; here is some of mine. I tell it so that when you sit in the space with me, you will know that I am human too—that I understand your struggles and believe in your potential to heal and grow.
A Life of Travel & Change
I grew up in a military family and, as a child, lived between the UK, Europe, and West Africa. In adulthood, I’ve spent time living in Israel, backpacked in China and Australia, and visited the Gulf (Qatar and Oman), the USA, and many European countries.
Although I’ve loved travelling as an adult, constantly moving in childhood was tough for me because I was quiet and shy and experienced high levels of stress. My coping strategy was to mask my feelings and reinvent myself each time we moved. I was considered “over-sensitive,” but as an adult, I understand I’m an empath. The child’s burden is my gift now.
Finding My Path
At 19, I was working and living in the Middle East, and in my twenties, I was married for a while—and then I wasn’t. At thirty, I moved to London, where I studied for a degree in History of Art. To fund myself, I worked in marketing, but something wasn’t right.
“The black dogs,” as Winston Churchill called them, escaped their cage; I was in freefall, and the masking wasn’t working. And that’s where my healing journey really began.
There was exploration with complementary therapies & spiritual practice, and eventually, there was psychotherapy.
While going through my own healing and recovery, I started training in London as an Integrative Psychotherapist, and I loved it. I’ve now been in practice for over twenty years and have additionally trained in Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, Brainspotting, the Rewind Technique, Biofield Tuning, and other Sound and Energy therapies. I specialise in treating single-event and developmental trauma, attachment disorders, and the general dysregulation of the mind, body, and energy field.
The Power of Sound & Energy Therapies
The Sound and Energy therapies (or Frequency Medicine) are an integral part of the therapy I now offer and are at the cutting edge of healing. As our life experience is held in the energy or Biofield that surrounds the body, it makes sense that bringing coherency and balance to this field will help with healing from trauma, as many of my clients have experienced.
For me, being a psychotherapist is not just a profession. I consider it a life in service from which I learn something new every day.
A New Chapter in France
In October 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, I emigrated to France. A week after arriving, I was up and running with my practice online, living in a little medieval street house in the middle of a French village, but like millions of other people, I was locked down.
The house was still being renovated, and it was freezing. There was an overwhelming amount of French paperwork to work through, and although family and friends were on Zoom, they were miles away.
But enthusiasm & belief in a dream can take you a long way.
Four years later, I’m still in France. It hasn’t all been easy, but I hope that my courage and resilience demonstrate that you can be okay with change and the not knowing!
Embracing Life & Nature
So what do I love here? Well, there’s the view of the Pyrenees from the village where I live, browsing in the local markets and brocantes, a Sunday drive to a sandy Atlantic beach, and in the summer months, wandering with my dogs in the vineyards and sunflowers near my home. There is space and quiet and amazing sunsets.
I still love art, write poetry, have a focus on wellbeing, and play gongs. I practise gratitude every day, live simply, and believe in kindness.
If you’d like to join me online, or in France for a one-to-one ‘Pour la journée’ or ‘Le weekend’ therapy intensive retreat, I’d love to hear from you.
And if you have a dream, don’t wait. Life is short, and the time is now.
Simple Trauma Recovery Tips
- Understand that fight, flight, freeze, and collapse are normal biological reactions to overwhelm.
- Practising longer exhales helps regulate your vagal nerve, which in turn influences major systems in your body, like digestion, heart rate, and your immune system.
- Humming and singing are great ways to regulate your vagal nerve.
- Take ten minutes to watch a video from the Polyvagal Institute on trauma and the nervous system.
Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash
