If something causes distress, be it at home or at work, with people or substances, with love or life, ‘the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ arise in a context. That is to say, distress arises in relationship to something or someone.

The distressing dynamic might get recreated again and again, probably despite your best efforts. And because the problem is relational in character, the healing requires a safe relationship in which to explore the dynamic. You can’t learn to swim by reading a book. ‘Everything can be found in isolation except sanity’ (Nietzsche).

The signature of being human is the ability to connect, attune and empathise with self and others. In therapy we will explore your history, create narratives to integrate your familial, emotional and social experiences, and reconstruct self-stories to enhance your capacity for self-awareness and creative thinking. The process is neurological, biological and psychological.

My practice, therefore, revolves around you, meaning I look for the person and not a condition. Who you are is far more important than any supposed psychiatric diagnosis. Like an archaeologist, I’ll dig into your past but it’s important to me that you point the way because you are the expert in you. That said, I will be an active participant in our relationship. I will intervene, initiate and teach you psychoeducation if the moment seems right. I’m not the sort that silently listens nods.