About me

Do you ever feel frustrated about being misunderstood by others?

Do you sometimes feel different, like you don’t quite fit in, no matter how hard you try?

Do you wonder if you’ve been treated differently or unfairly in comparison to others, perhaps in the workplace, education/training or in social groups?

Do you ever feel powerless in the face of the world or the challenges that you face?

Do you sometimes resent a part of you because of how it’s impacted you, or because of how you perceive others to see it?

Have you learned to keep parts of yourself hidden to avoid criticism, rejection, or being singled out?

Do you ever feel lonely, even when you’re around other people?

Perhaps there are other parts of who you are that you feel aren’t accepted or understood by others such as your responses to a traumatic event, or your gender identity, sexuality, race, religion, neurodivergence or disability (mental or physical).

If any of this sounds familiar, you’re in the right place. For me the reason I can relate deeply to these struggles is because I’m autistic, for you it could be something else. Although your experience may be different than mine I know how powerful it can be to talk to someone else who truly understands what these struggles feel like.

How Counselling Can Help

Person Centred Counselling gives you a place to talk about your thoughts and feelings with someone who will listen without judgement or expectation. Together, we can:

Find ways to deal with the frustration of feeling misunderstood, and build confidence in communicating your needs clearly.
We can explore this together with empathy and understanding, giving a space to work with any feelings of anger, frustration or of not feeling good enough
Explore what it’s like to feel powerless in the face of the world or the challenges you’re dealing with, and work together to find small, realistic ways to regain a sense of control, strength and direction in your life.
Gently explore the reasons you’ve learned to hide parts of yourself, and build safety to express who you really are. For many, this is known as “masking” and we learn to do it to keep ourselves feel safe, while at the same time it can be exhausting and can lead to burnout.
Look at feelings of loneliness and what a meaningful connection might look like for you on your own terms.

Working with me

Along with the areas mentioned already, I have experience of working with anxiety, depression, stress, trauma and addiction. I can also work with you to find areas in life that motivate you to set and achieve your own goals.

For in person sessions, I have a quiet and private room in a separate building next to my home, close to Barrow town centre. It’s lit by natural light and heated by a wood burner in the colder months. There is a picture of my room below. I can also work online over video call if that’s easier for you for whatever reason. Finally, I offer walk and talk therapy, walking side by side in nature can make conversations flow more easily, especially if sitting face to face or making eye contact feels a bit intense (though of course we can also avoid eye contact when working in other ways too if that’s best for you).

Additional information

I offer a free consultation video call for our first session, so that you have a chance to see if I’m the right person for you. If you’d like to arrange this please email me on the link at the top of the page and I’ll get back to you.

If you think that working with me will be useful for you then please feel free to email me with the button at the top of the page.