An Opportunity
You are here, and that means that you are already stepping into a fertile environment for clarity, psychological healing and change.

In response to Coronavirus...
It’s an understatement to say that we are all living in uncertain times, and whilst in a very important sense, we were always living with uncertainty, it is glaringly obvious right now. Whilst it is natural that our worries and anxieties would be raised, when put on top of other issues that being human creates, we can find ourselves feeling very unsettled about life.
The response to Covid19 and lockdown has changed the landscape of counselling and psychotherapy. I don’t feel that’s necessarily a completely bad thing and have found that clients and therapists alike, have found using online platforms not only adequate, but in some cases more productive, than the usual face to face encounter in the same room.
I have found that in some cases clients have reported a removal of the intensity of the meeting that can sometimes get in the way of the work. Of course, the intensity is always good to work with, but adding pressure to a client’s already anxious state may not be as beneficial as is sometimes proclaimed, and meeting with a complete stranger to discuss our inner most fear and dilemma is perhaps intense enough.
So, I want to say to you, don’t be put off by working online. I am finding that counselling, psychotherapy and coaching work extremely well online. Sessions are boundaried, issues addressed, dilemmas explored, and a therapeutic relationship still develops. This way of working also takes out the hassle of having to travel to appointments, sometimes rushing or having to wait around, and no expensive parking to find either!
If you are feeling that you would like to make contact please do, and don’t wait in the hope that therapists will be back in the consulting room any time soon. I for one feel it completely inappropriate and detrimental to this very personal work, to greet you wearing a mask and visor, cleaning down surfaces, and washing hands every 50 minutes. This can only add to anxieties and stresses. Therefore, I will be working online for a while yet.
Further details about the services that I offer are below, and I wish you well in finding whatever support you feel you need at this time, even if that is not with me. In the meantime, I hope you stay well and do please be in touch if you have any queries.
Click here for fee information
An opportunity to...
& some patterns of behaviour create.
Take a journey that can lead to
greater understanding, clarity & self-awareness.
Create a space in your life to make changes
with confidence & support.

What kind of practitioner am I?
Therapy is about aiding you to find a way through your predicament whether that be dealing with anxiety, low mood, depression, bereavement, separation/divorce, challenging relational dynamics in friendships or working relationships, ill health, major life changes, or sexuality etc. If you’re here reading this you already have a sense that you need/want something to change. I believe that you have the capacity to dig deep, explore and investigate. Therapy offers you the opportunity to do just that in a confidential space with an educated, trained, registered and ethically grounded practitioner.
It just needs to be awakened, brought to life. Intimate talk brings it to life."
- Zen Master John Daido Loori
Confidential Counselling & Psychotherapy in Cambridge
Here are some examples of issues I work with as a counsellor in Cambridge:
(inc romantic, friendship, family, work-related)
decision making & life choices
anxiety, panic & stress
divorce and separation
depression
bereavement & loss
gender and sexuality
self-esteem & issues of confidence
trauma
abuse - present & historical
health & illness
*What experience are you having in your body
that stops you from living as fully as you would like to?
*What is happening in your relating with others
that isn’t as rewarding as you would like it to be?
*What are your hopes, aspirations, dreams and desires?
How many sessions will you need?
I am always open to discussion about tailor-made longer sessions if this is something that you are interested in, and fees will be adjusted accordingly.
However you choose to work with me know that you are undertaking a serious commitment to yourself and your life.
Coaching
Coaching is a very 'here and now' approach to change work to look at what it is you want and what is stopping you. You want something; you want to be somewhere; you want to feel something particular about your life - it's focus and achievement; you want to understand how you may get there. Working in the here and now, with goals and structure is a valuable way of engaging in what matters to you. Often during this engagement something a little deeper will reveal itself and my experience in the therapeutic field means that I am aptly qualified and experienced to deal with such matters and support you through them should they arise. If you are wanting just coaching for a specific issue or task, the format is the same: fifty minute sessions or bespoke sessions if you prefer. Click here for costs
Couples Counselling
Whilst the past necessarily influences the present, my approach with couples is to work in the here and now and explore the intricate dynamic between you such as - what habits of relating do you have individually and together? What patterns have you fallen into? What matters to you most? How do you hear one another? Where are you not hearing? What do you want from each other? What are you experiencing in your body as you relate to each other? These are all possible questions that may be implicit if you choose to embark upon couples counselling, and I look forward to exploring with you whatever seems difficult in your relationship right now.
Supervision & Reflective Practice in Cambridge

Meditation & Creative Visualisation
Workshops

Fiction Therapy for Writers
Bring your character to psychotherapy!
Fictional characters must appear real and believable for your reader to invest in them. Engagement in a session like this can help you really tap into the inner life of your character:
* Get to know your character that you are writing about at a deeper experiential level.
* Understand your character’s history, motives and aspirations.
* How does your character feel?
* How do they communicate?
* What is important to them?
* What triggers deeper emotions within them?
This work is moment to moment birthing so that the natural, unique qualities and quirks of your character can appear in a more spontaneous manner rather than being contrived or constrained by stereotypical descriptions.
How it works...
I strongly advise transcribing the session afterwards as you will really get to know your character and feel them as you write. As you transcribe, other details and ideas will naturally come to you for further exploration and development.
This what a previous client had to say of the service....
Blanka Pesja (MA Ed) - www.blankapesja.com Click here
Senior Educator
Conservatoire of Amsterdam
About Me...
I began my early career in the NHS as a Personal Development Trainer, followed by starting my own company in training and marketing. After a career break to establish my family and undertake academic study and research, I worked as an independent Philosophical Counsellor and Life Coach and this work still underpins my practice as a counsellor and psychotherapist. As a Counsellor I have worked with clients in an NHS GP Medical setting and established a substantial private practice in Shrewsbury before relocating to Cambridge in 2015. I have worked with insurance companies to support clients referred from EAP schemes and Occupational Health departments. I am also part of counselling & wellbeing team at Anglia Ruskin University.
As a counselling lecturer, I have taught counselling/therapy to qualified practitioner and degree level, and have delivered CPD workshops in Philosophy for Therapists and Trainees. I am currently teach at Cambridge University's Institute of Continuing Education and teach on a variety of courses that run at Madingley Hall.
I am also a writer and have published reviews and articles in Self & Society (journal for humanistic psychology), The Journal for Existential Analysis (SEA), the journal for Person-Centered Experiential Psychotherapies (PCEP), and I have recently co-written and co-edited with Manu Bazzano, a collection of essays about philosophy and therapy - Therapy and the Counter-Tradition: The Edge of Philosophy (2016) published by Routledge (see sidebar for details) and contributed in Re-visioning Person-Centred Therapy: Theory and Practice of a Radical Paradigm (2018). My new book Fifty Minutes will be published May/June 2020.
Professional Affiliations
MBACP (Accred) accredited member
BACP Register accredited by Professional Standards for Health & Social Care
Associate Member of Adlerian Society UK and Institute for Individual Psychology (ASIIP)
Member Association Humanistic Psychology
Qualifications
Post Graduate Diploma in Supervision: (ASIIP accredited);
Certificate in Supervision: (ASIIP accredited);
Certificate Cognitive Hypnotherapy (BPS approved)
Couples Training: The Relational Academy, Cambridge;
Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Counselling (BACP accredited);
Diploma CBT (Oxford College);
MA Humanities: Literature
BA (Hons) in English & Philosophy;
Certificate Training & Development - Institute of Training & Development UK
As part of my on-going commitment to my work I also engage in a minimum of 30 hours continued professional development training per year covering such issues as sexual diversity and identity; ethics; coaching the unconscious mind.