About Me
Welcome, I'm Nicola, an integratively trained therapist and individual member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists.
I've always longed to be free and felt that being a human was a complex, fascinating business. I did my initial degree in Philosophy and Art History, followed this up with law, worked in human rights law, had a family and devoted myself to writing fiction for a while. Through writing fiction I became interested in the unconscious and trained in various aspects of psychotherapeutic counselling.
I offer sessions from my therapy room in my woodland home near Canterbury, Kent as well as online and in London on Thursdays. I also run group writing therapy sessions at Not Just You charity, and volunteer at a local low cost counselling service.
For me understanding the way we are is only the first step, to be free we need to master our process and this is an exciting life long journey that therapy can make a giant leap into.
Specializing in Trauma, Attachment and Writing Therapy
Trauma
Maybe there's been an event you've wondered if you should take to therapy one day, maybe you there's something that jumps out at you, maybe you're in the awful whirlpool of returning fragments and feeling states that rule your life. If so, this is the place to bring them.
Attachment
Do you feel a chasm inside where a safe loving relationship should be? Do you struggle in your relationships, unable to really share yourself or trust someone else? Do you keep reliving the same relationships over and over again? Many 'mental health' difficulties and life struggles began very early in life.
Writing Therapy
Telling the story of our life using the same words we have used before is unlikely to really get us to a new place. Using our innate creativity, however, to access our deepest feelings, unconstrained by convention and normal language can mainline us right to where we need to go. This is not Eng Lit class, it's about expression and resolution, not creating a polished product.
Compassion Focussed
Compassion Focussed Therapy is particularly good for shame and harsh internal voices that constantly criticise us. By understanding how evolution created our tricky brains and using compassionate imagery, we can change how we treat ourselves and enjoy our own company. The anti-venom to toxic life experiences.
Imagery Re-scripting
Trials have shown ImRes is as effective as EMDR at treating traumatic experiences that stem from childhood. I use this as a standalone treatment or as part of our broader work together to provide a corrective emotional experience. You can't change what happened, but by changing how you feel about it you can place it in the story of your life and move forwards.
Group Therapy
I run Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes sessions and Group Compassion Focussed Therapy. I am currently studying Group Analysis which explores the connections between our inner worlds and wider society through the concepts of the 'matrix' and the 'location of the disturbance'. If you've ever been scapegoated or found yourself a container for someone else's pain, let's explore the unconscious mechanisms at work together.
1 hr
50 British pounds
