MY PRACTICE:

My face-to-face and online therapy offers you a safe, non-judgmental climate to discuss and explore your issues. Many of us suffer from varying degrees of distress and challenging relationships at some point in our lives and making the decision to seek help can be difficult. I therefore endeavor to put you at your ease and help you to see that not only will you not be judged but see that seeking professional help is a strength and an opportunity to acquire tools to deal with problems. Whatever you bring to counseling (as individuals/couples and family members) will be received with total acceptance and my own genuine desire to work  together with you to create the changes you require. I take a compassionate and non blaming stance which is essential for positive change.

 

I was originally trained in CBT and then went on to learning systemic therapies in order to deal with couples and families more effectively. Since then the types of  therapies that are available have blossomed and I have continued to extend my tool box of therapies in order to better my practice. I can therefore provide Mindfulness, Narrative therapy, Somatic therapy, Radical Acceptance Therapy, EFT (Emotionally focused therapy) , Gottman Method. It must be said that many of these therapies have elements that overlap. I draw on tools from these methods as I see fit according to the person and problem and will also tailor therapies to the preference of those attending sessions with me.

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PROCESS OF WORKING:

Whether we meet in my consultation room in North Oxford and/or online via skype or facetime my work begins with you (if you come as an individual or each of you, if you come as a couple/family). This is a two way process where you clarify the issues you would like to address and what the best outcome of our work together would look like for you and I begin to understand what is troubling you. During the first session you can also get a sense of me and my style and decide whether working together with me we can make the changes you long for. It is up to you to decide whether you wish to continue after the initial session. If you decide to continue we will work together helping you find new ways of moving in the direction that you want to go. From the first session onwards I work eclectically meaning I will fit the ways I work to you and the issues you present in a collaborative effort between you and me.

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With couple and family work where more than one person is present I ask about the hopes of each person present. I take a neutral stance with couples (and other relationships) and help you relate to one another when this has been lost. I help you all to feel heard, validated and to communicate in a way that increases connection, diminishes conflict and strengthens your bonds.

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I help families understand most problems of their children and adolescents in the context of the family, generational patterns including culture; I help parents understand challenging behaviours of their children and to acquire more effective communication and  parenting styles. I help them to see that calming children down and creating connection is an important precursor to helping children to listen and think.  

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Change with couple and families will happen in the present during sessions creating corrective emotional experiences of connection which is an antidote to negative patterns. I often set tasks between sessions so that the process of therapy is a continuous one.

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LANGUAGES AND MODES OF DELIVERY:
I offer therapy and counseling in English or Spanish for individuals and couples of all ages and of all cultures and gender orientations.

 

I also offer therapy online, by video, phone & Email. This is not a type of therapy but a way of delivering it which is especially accessible if you are very busy, travel a lot or for one reason or another find it hard to leave your house/office. I have worked online worldwide for many years with individuals and couples and have found this mode of delivery to be equally effective as face to face despite the loss of physical proximity.  If you have not tried this mode before I suggest you try one session and see if it is to your liking.  You are not obliged to continue, the decision to do so is always yours.