I’m a trainee humanistic, relational, and integrative psychotherapist
My training
I’m entering my final year of training as a psychotherapist through a UKCP-accredited programme at Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute. UKCP training offers one of the most rigorous and in-depth psychotherapy training pathways in the UK.
It involves four years of postgraduate study, extensive supervised clinical practice, and my own ongoing personal therapy.
I will shortly be a registered member of the BACP alongside my trainee membership of UKCP, which means my work meets the professional standards of two major bodies.
Why are you a psychotherapist?
My first exposure to psychotherapy was in my own personal therapy several years ago where I explored my own identity and life plans.
I’m drawn to working in psychotherapy because I’m interested in how people make sense of themselves and the world around them, how relationships shape us, and how change becomes possible when we’re met with honesty and care.
What is therapy with you like?
I am warm, steady, and engaged. I’m not a friend or advice-giver. My role is to be genuinely present with you, to be curious, honest, and willing to go where our work leads. We pay attention to what’s happening in the room, not only to what’s happened in your life. The way something shows up between us, what you notice, what I notice, and what feels easier or difficult to say, all often tell us something that narrated events alone can’t.
My style
I work with curiosity, empathy, and sometimes directness. I might ask:
“What’s happening in you as you say that?”
“I’m noticing something shift. What do you make of that?”
“I’m wondering whether this is familiar from somewhere else?”
Together we explore how you relate to yourself and others, the patterns that repeat, the emotions that are hard to feel or name, and the parts of you that feel stuck or conflicted.
What does working with a trainee mean?
UKCP-accredited psychotherapy training is one of the most rigorous routes into the profession in the UK.
My training at Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute requires four years of postgraduate study, 450 supervised clinical hours, and my own ongoing personal therapy throughout. I am entering my final year.
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All ethical psychotherapists have supervision. As a trainee, my work has more frequent supervision. This means an experienced, qualified psychotherapist has oversight of my work and that you benefit from more than one perspective on our work, even if you only ever meet me.
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My fees are reduced, reflecting where I am in my training. This is not a reflection on the depth of my work. Relational psychotherapy takes time to do its work, and I offer an unhurried, consistent, and depth of space, perhaps in ways in which qualified practitioners caseloads cannot offer in the same way.
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Many people find that working with a trainee suits them well, particularly if they are looking for long-term exploratory work rather than a brief or structured intervention. I offer genuine presence, careful attention, and a relationship that develops over time.