I Can Help
Therapy to Heal, Build Resilience & Self-Compassion, and Flourish
You are in the right place if you are struggling with:
- Trauma – plagued by bad memories of a particular event (PTSD), or deeply wounded by complex events (C-PTSD)?
- Stress/Burnout – overwhelmed by trying to be ‘good enough’ and unable to relax?
- Anxiety – stuck on high alert, feeling unsafe or unable to trust? Suffering with worry, panic attacks, OCD, social anxiety or phobias?
- Low Self-Esteem – feeling like a bad, worthless, or unlovable person?
You don’t have to do this on your own anymore.
I can help you understand how you got stuck here, and feel better.
I’ll show you how to ‘unstick’ your brain and learn tools to overcome your past, self-critic, and fears – so that you can find a sense of inner confidence and strength, building a life of balance, purpose, and love.
1. How You Got Here
When you’re in a bad place, you can wonder if there’s something wrong with you and you’ll be like this forever. Maybe you’ve already tried counselling or CBT, so you’ve lost hope in therapy.
However, it’s actually very understandable and common. Here’s why. The good news is we can do something about it (that’s part 2, below).
You have a tricky brain
The human brain is both a blessing and a curse. It can think better than any other species and has a highly sensitive threat detection system. This is great when there’s a problem to solve or real danger to avoid, but you can get in knots going over memories or imagining worst-case scenarios.
Your inner critic can feel like your worst enemy.
Baggage from your past
It’s especially tricky if you’ve been through some hard times. Sometimes this is clear to you, if you’ve been through big traumas (e.g. PTSD or Complex-PTSD). Other times you develop Stress, Anxiety, or Low Self-Esteem, and you can trace your feelings back to smaller incidents of being judged, not supported, etc.
These events can be too much for the brain to process at once. The memories can literally get stuck in the wrong part of your brain, feeling upsetting.
When you try to move through life, you can trip over the unprocessed memories, triggering old feelings of being hurt, not good enough, or alone.
Getting trapped in circles
You naturally try to find many ways to get away from these feelings, such as avoiding stress or pushing yourself to work harder. It’s so easy to find yourself going around in circles trying to cope.
You feel like you’re never good enough or fully safe. You’re out of touch with what matters to you, how to relax, or connect with others.
Your problem solving-strategies are not working, so here you are thinking about psychotherapy…
2. Your Way Forwards
Using a bespoke, science-based approach, we can create real and lasting change.
We will:
- Create a place of safety and hope;
- Understand your brain and what’s really at the heart of your difficulties;
- Learn tools for self-compassion, resilience, and balance;
- Process and heal any ‘stuck’ memories/fears;
- Clarify what matters most to you and learn skills to pursue your hopes and dreams.
This has 2 parts. On the one hand, when you’re hurting, I will be with you and help you to make sense of it. On the other hand, when you need practical tools to improve your daily life, I will teach you what really works.
Therapy approach
I use a toolkit of CFT (Compassion-Focused Therapy), ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy), CBT, AI-EMDR (Attachment-Informed EMDR), and ‘parts work’ (like IFS).
These are ‘gold standard’ and ‘NICE guidelines’ therapies, based on the latest scientific research.
They work more deeply and efficiently on the fundamental roots of your difficulties. The improvements can be permanent and profound.
CFT, ACT and ‘parts work’ help you to build inner strength and flexibility, so that you can deal with things more effectively and pursue a balanced, meaningful life. AI-EMDR is like a brain deep-clean, helping you to heal from your past or fears.
Who can I help?
I work with adults and children 13+, including:
- Trauma, PTSD or Complex-PTSD;
- Healthcare or business professionals, with stress/burnout, anxiety, and self-criticism;
- Therapy for therapists.
I provide both (1) short-term, focused therapy or performance enhancement, and (2) medium-long term support for complex and longstanding problems, including those who’ve had therapy before.
About me
I’m warm, down-to-earth, and have a sense of humour. Swearing is allowed!
I am an experienced, accredited therapist, and clinical supervisor.
Learn more about me, my style, and my qualifications here.
'Peter'
"When I first started therapy, I didn't understand what it was really about, but Sarah was very approachable and put myself at ease. As time and our meetings went on, with great gratitude to this remarkable therapist, I now understand and can deal with things better than I ever imagined. I feel confident and happy. I can't put on paper enough how much Sarah has helped me and I truly thank you."
'Mary'
"Sarah helped me to transform my life after many years of struggling. I'd seen therapists before but it felt like Sarah understood me better and got to the roots of it. She gave me new tools to build my self-compassion, and when we did the processing it was like lifting a weight off me. It was the most life changing experience. Now, I'm excited about my future. I think I was a pretty difficult case to crack, and will forever be grateful for Sarah's help. I'd encourage anyone to go and see Sarah!"
Book an Appoinment
Don’t carry on struggling. Please get in touch today to book an appointment.