Frequently asked questions

1. What is mindfulness and how can it benefit me?

Mindfulness is the practice of being present and fully engaged with the current moment, without judgment. It offers numerous benefits, including reduced stress, enhanced emotional regulation, improved concentration, and a greater capacity for compassion and empathy.

Mindfulness can be integrated into counselling sessions as a tool to help clients become more aware of their thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations in a non-judgmental way, facilitating deeper self-understanding and promoting mental health. It is also clinically shown to be able to help with regulation.

2. What happens in a counselling session?

We start by finding out what you want to get out of sessions. There is space for you to talk and my role is to help you gain more insight and relief from talking through whatever comes up and is on your mind. I listen intently, reflecting back things I notice, hear or sense again to help you process your thoughts and feelings. Usually over the course of the sessions, you will talk about things you may not have shared and my aim is to help you feel you are safe and accepted regardless of your experiences. My style of counselling is based on my sense that everyone has their own inner wisdom and my role is to create the right space for that to be heard. I support you with encouragement and gentle challenge as you make changes in your life, working at a pace that suits you.

3. What strategies do you suggest for coping with stress and anxiety?

I think each situation is so personal that we often need a variety of strategies, including mindfulness practices, self-compassion exercises, Cognitive based therapy, Emotional Freedom Techniques, breathing and somatic exercises, and tailored counselling techniques, to help clients navigate stress and anxiety with greater ease and resilience. I also share knowledge in accessible form about the impact of trauma and anxiety on the brain to help you to manage the regulation process.

4. Do you work with depression?

Yes, mindfulness and counselling are both effective approaches in managing depression. They help by breaking the cycle of negative thought patterns, fostering a state of acceptance, and encouraging a kinder, more compassionate relationship with oneself as well as enhancing awareness of positive moments.

5. How can I start practising mindfulness?

I would suggest starting with simple practices such as a 1 minute mindful breathing, body scan, or engaging in everyday activities with full awareness. The key is to approach these practices with curiosity and without judgment. Do not expect the mind to be focussed and clear or empty. I can work with you to accept the busy mind which curiously calms it down. The key to starting is having an attitude of non-judgement. This is where a guide or teacher can guide the script for you helping with awareness, attentiveness and reminding you to be kind with your judgments.

6. Can you help with issues with relationships?

Thich Nat Harn says you have to be present yourself to know you want to love, aware of your partner's presence to be grateful for them and to enjoy them and together those two lead to understanding that helps relationships flow easily and with greater peace. He says we need the time and commitment to achieve that. Mindfulness is a great place to start with being fully present. Counselling can also help identify patterns linked to your attachment styles, upbringing and insecurities that may be causing difficulties, within the safe space of acceptance and empathy. I can work one to one with you but do not offer couples therapy.

7. Am I welcome? I don't look like you, think like you or live like you?

I value you, as you are. I know how important it is to feel be accepted. I am neuro-atypical myself as a HSP and have struggled to find my 'tribe' who accept me as I am. I want to acknowledge and respect our differences and a tailor counselling approaches to honour these differences openly and where we both can be truly ourselves.

8. What is the significance of neuroplasticity in mental health?

Neuroplasticity, or the brain's ability to form new neural connections, underscores the transformative potential of mindfulness practices in promoting mental health, demonstrating that change and growth are always possible. I have read hundreds of books about this and it is an area I am really interested in (Geek I may be). It is wonderful how our brain adapts to what it needs, can be fixed into survival mode and return back out, with the right training and conditions. I can work with you to explain this simply and work through the different ways you can support the brain to support you better. Chronic stress can negatively affect brain function, but mindfulness practices can mitigate these effects by promoting relaxation, reducing stress hormone levels, and enhancing cognitive and emotional wellbeing. I specialise in working with stress and anxiety using an integrative style.

9. How do you suggest managing overwhelming emotions?

I recommend learning breathing activities which activate your 'calming nervous system', expressing and allowing 'what is' whilst being supported to feel safe and grounded maybe through EFT or in small teaspoons of mindful awareness and practices I learnt from Dr Rick Hanson who talks a lot about the science of emotional regulation. I also recommend practicing self-compassion to navigate and soothe overwhelming feelings. And of course, once we are able to regulate emotion, we can work at the causes of anxiety through the counselling process together which is where the roots of anxiety and overwhelm can be addressed at a deeper level for you.

10. What advice do you give to someone new to therapeutic mindfulness and/or counselling?

Great question. Just an open, curious attitude, patience with oneself, and the understanding that mindfulness and counselling are journeys of self-exploration and growth that unfold rather than a one off event. This will help you to take your time and to have realistic expectations of yourself. There is no way that you need to be. We start with what you are now and work with that. Working together is all about feeling safe to talk with me and that is what most people identify who have worked with me - how relaxed, approachable and easy to talk to I am. Please get in touch and we can have a first session to see if working together is something that you would find helpful.

11. How much are sessions and why is Counselling more than Mindfulness sessions?

Counselling sessions are £50 per 50 minute session. Mindfulness and EFT are £35 as the mandatory ethical supervision and insurance costs are much lower. Mindfulness does include listening inquiry but this technique relies on a more directive approach from me, whereas in Counselling sessions, you are much more in the driving seat and there is little teaching or coaching. Counselling supervision is much more expensive hence the price difference which covers the additional costs involved.