How I Work
My approach to psychotherapy and to how I am in this world is shaped by the belief that people make sense within the contexts of their lives. Our thoughts, emotions and ways of relating do not develop in isolation. They emerge through our relationships, our histories, our bodies, our communities and the wider social systems we live within.
Alongside humanistic and relational psychotherapy, I am informed by Black feminist thought, which reminds us that our lives are interconnected and that healing is deeply relational. It encourages us to pay attention to power and how systems of oppression are structured, to voice, belonging and the ways our identities and lived experiences influence how we move through the world.
This means I work with an awareness that emotional distress is not always an individual problem to be solved. Sometimes it reflects the impact of trauma, racial trauma, inequality, exclusion or the expectations placed upon us by families, workplaces and society. Therapy can become a place to understand these experiences with compassion, while reconnecting with your own strengths, values and sense of possibility.
I believe healing happens through relationships that are built on trust, mutual respect and authenticity. My role is not to position myself as the expert on your life, but to work alongside you as we make sense of your experiences together. I strive to offer a space where your full humanity is welcomed, where difference is respected, and where you can bring all aspects of who you are without needing to explain or minimise them.
At the heart of my practice is a simple belief:
“We are shaped in relationship, and we can also heal in relationship”.
My Values
Every therapist brings more than qualifications into the therapy room.
We bring our values, our understanding of people, our experiences, and the ways we make sense of the world. I believe it’s important to be open about the principles that guide my work so that you can decide whether I’m the right therapist or supervisor for you.
We are shaped through relationship
I don’t believe emotional wellbeing can be understood by looking only at the individual.
We are shaped through our relationships with family, friends, communities and the wider world. Our identities, cultures, histories and social environments all influence how we experience ourselves and others.This understanding is deeply influenced by relational psychotherapy, Black feminist thought and traditions that recognise our interconnectedness. None of us exists in isolation, and neither does our healing.
Therapy offers a space to explore these connections with curiosity, compassion and care.
Anti-oppressive practice
Anti-oppressive practice (AOP) is about recognizing the power structures/ power systems both that might exist in the therapeutic relationship as well as those that operate outside within the environmental systems – it is about recognizing as well as acknowledging the harm/s caused by systemic oppression by society, institutions and individuals. These oppressions are often multi-layered and those oppressed can exist within varying layers based on the different intersectional lens of oppression that they hold. We exist in a world where we are grouped into / boxed/ into binaries – where we are “othered” – and AOP recognizes that and how I see it is that in practicing through an AO praxis I am resisting and operating in a way that opposes those structural injustices and the structures of power.
It is an ongoing commitment.
Our mental health is shaped by much more than our internal world. Experiences such as racism, sexism, misogyny, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, class inequality, poverty, migration, colonisation, religious discrimination and other forms of oppression can profoundly influence how we understand ourselves, relate to others and move through the world. So rather than viewing distress solely as an individual problem, anti-oppressive practice asks us to consider the wider contexts in which people’s lives unfold.
I work continually on reflecting on my own assumptions, privilege, social position and the ways these may influence my work. Anti-oppressive practice is not an end destination for me, but an ongoing process of learning, humility and accountability.
Social justice matters in therapy
For me, social justice is not separate from psychotherapy. Many of the difficulties people experience cannot be understood without acknowledging the wider systems that shape our lives.
This does not mean that every therapy session or clinical consultation with a supervisee needs to focus on politics or social issues. It means that we do not ignore them when they matter or happen.
Whether your experiences have been shaped by discrimination, exclusion, inequality, cultural expectations, family dynamics or broader social structures, there is room to explore how these have affected you. The space I offer can become a place where your experiences are understood within the contexts in which they occurred, rather than being reduced to individual coping or resilience.
Every person’s knowledge matters
I am not an expert on your life. You are the expert on your own experiences.
My role is to bring psychological knowledge, curiosity and care while working alongside you to explore what feels meaningful. I believe therapy works best when it is collaborative, respectful and grounded in genuine relationship.