Some people come to therapy because of a specific issue, and for others it's a general, undefined feeling that something is wrong. Most people can usually point to what that looks like: Whether it's the same argument in a relationship that keeps coming up, persistent anxiety, panic attacks, unhealthy relationship patterns, uncertainty about life, burnout, OCD, the list goes on. But what's harder to see is why it keeps happening. That gap between the pattern you can recognise and the reason behind it (as well as the tools to improve it), is where most of my work as a therapist sits.
I work integratively, which is a slightly clinical way of saying I don't stick to one model, because people rarely fit neatly into one. In practice, that means three things running alongside each other: CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) to deal with what's happening now, psychodynamic and Jungian thinking to understand where it came from, and a collaborative, coaching-informed way of working so the understanding actually turns into change.
Dealing with what's in front of you
CBT is where most of the practical work happens. We look at what you're actually doing: the avoidance, the overthinking, the way you talk to yourself. Then we test out different ways of responding. It's more structured and collaborative, and it tends to produce results you can feel within weeks rather than months. If you're after tools you can use the next time things go wrong, this is where they come from.
Understanding where the pattern started
CBT is good at managing a pattern. It's not always enough to explain one, and understanding matters, because a pattern that doesn't make sense to you is much harder to change on purpose. This is where psychodynamic thinking and schema therapy comes in: early relationships and experiences shape the templates we use for connection, safety, and self-worth, and those templates keep running long after the situations that built them are gone. I also draw on Carl Jung's work here, particularly the idea that a lot of what drives us sits outside conscious awareness, and that real change usually asks us to look at the parts of ourselves we'd rather avoid. None of this is about blaming your past. It's about giving your present some context and working at developing a greater degree of self-compassion.
Working together
I don't sit back and reflect everything neutrally, and I won't pretend I have no view on what you bring in. Therapy works better as a partnership. I'll ask direct questions, push back gently when it's useful, and bring in coaching-style tools when the goal is less about insight and more about actually doing the thing. Insight without action is just a more articulate way of staying stuck.
Staying on track
We set goals early, not vague ones like "feel better," but specific enough that you'd actually notice hitting them. Then we check in on them regularly, not every session, but often enough that therapy doesn't drift into just talking, although for some people just talking is really what they need. If something isn't working, we change it. If it is, we build on it. That review point is as much a part of how I work as any theory behind it.
Sessions run online, so where you're based matters less than whether the approach fits how you think. None of this requires you to know anything about CBT, psychodynamic theory, or Jung before you walk in. You just need to be ready to look at your patterns honestly and do something about them.
If that sounds like a fit, get in touch and we'll take it from there.
