Getting started with therapy
Where would you like to begin?
You do not need to know exactly where to begin.
Many people arrive with a general sense that something feels difficult, stuck, overwhelming, or hard to shift. Some know they are looking for individual therapy, trauma therapy, couple therapy, or neurofeedback. Others simply know that life or relationships no longer feel manageable in the same way, or that it has become increasingly difficult to settle, think clearly or remain connected.
Sometimes it is enough to begin with the fact that something needs attention.
Sessions are available in person in Shinfield, Reading, Berkshire, and online.
This page is here to help you get your bearings. If you would rather think it through together, you are welcome to book a free 20-minute consultation.
How we begin
The first contact is usually a free 20-minute consultation.
This gives us a chance to talk briefly about what brings you here, what you are hoping might change, and whether my way of working may be a good fit.
If we decide to begin, the early sessions are used to understand what is troubling you, how it affects your life, what may be maintaining it, and what kind of support may be most helpful.
You do not need to know whether what you are experiencing is “trauma”, or which kind of therapy you need.
Sometimes it is enough to begin with the fact that something in you keeps reacting, closing down, becoming overwhelmed, or repeating a familiar pattern.
Where trauma, shutdown, dissociation or overwhelm are part of the picture, we do not need to go into traumatic experiences in detail at the beginning. The early work is about understanding the pattern, your current capacity, and what needs to happen first.
The aim is to develop an initial shared formulation, rather than fitting you into one fixed method.
The first stage is not about rushing into painful material. It is about understanding enough to work safely, clearly, and at a pace that allows you to remain sufficiently present.
What kind of support may fit?
From the early formulation, we can think together about the most appropriate route into the work.
Select the image to view a larger version.
The options below are possible starting points rather than fixed categories. Individual psychotherapy may include a trauma-focused approach where this is relevant, while neurofeedback may sometimes be used alongside psychotherapy to support regulation.
The initial consultation can help us consider which starting point may be most appropriate.
Open any section that seems relevant to you.
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Individual therapy is often the main starting point if you are living with anxiety, low mood, self-criticism, relational difficulties, emotional shutdown, dissociation, or recurring ways of coping that no longer sit easily.
It may also be helpful if you are not sure exactly what the difficulty is, but know that something feels hard to shift.
Individual therapy may also include support with making sense of a psychedelic or other altered-state experience that has already occurred.
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Trauma-focused work is offered within individual psychotherapy. It may become an important part of the work when trauma, chronic stress, persistent activation or shutdown are contributing to what you are living with.
This can be especially relevant if you experience shutdown, hypervigilance, emotional overwhelm, dissociation, people-pleasing, shame, chronic tension, or a sense that protective responses remain active.
Where a psychedelic or altered-state experience has stirred trauma-related material, dissociation, fear, shame, intense activation, shutdown or overwhelm, we can think carefully about what needs stabilising, understanding and integrating.
A trauma-informed and body-aware approach can help the work proceed at a pace that allows you to remain sufficiently present without becoming overwhelmed or shut down. Depending on your needs and readiness, individual psychotherapy may include preparation and stabilisation, trauma processing, relational work and integration.
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For some people, neurofeedback can be a helpful adjunct to psychotherapy, especially where sleep difficulties, high reactivity, brain fog, overwhelm, fatigue, or difficulty settling are making daily life, or therapy itself, harder to manage.
It is not something I suggest automatically. The question is always what seems most likely to help at this stage.
Neurofeedback is available in person only in Shinfield, Reading, Berkshire.
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Couple therapy may be the clearer starting point if the main difficulty is within an intimate relationship, especially where conflict, distance, repeated misunderstandings, emotional withdrawal, or difficulty repairing have become central.
If a psychedelic or other altered-state experience that has already occurred is part of what brings you, you can read more about the scope and boundaries of this work here:
Psychedelic experiences, trauma and integration ›
If you recognise the experience more than the category
You may not know whether individual psychotherapy, trauma-focused work, couple therapy or neurofeedback is the right place to begin.
You may simply recognise the experience: anxiety, shutdown, overwhelm, difficulty settling, repeated relational patterns, or the sense that something in you keeps responding as if danger, loss, shame or pressure are still present.
If that feels more familiar than a particular therapy category, the What I help with page may be a useful place to begin.
This way of working may suit you if
This way of working may be helpful if:
familiar reactions continue despite your efforts to understand or change them;
anxiety, shutdown, overwhelm or dissociation affect daily life;
relationship patterns continue to repeat;
previous therapy was helpful in some respects, while important difficulties remain;
you are unsure what kind of help you need, but know something needs attention.
When another kind of support may be needed
Psychotherapy may not be the right first step if you are currently in acute crisis, feel unable to keep yourself safe, need urgent medical or psychiatric support, or require a level of care beyond weekly therapy.
In those situations, safety and appropriate support need to come first.
If you are unsure, we can think together about whether therapy with me is the right starting point, or whether another form of support may be needed first.
If you need urgent help now, please use the urgent support options listed here:
Useful helplines and websites ›
Practical note
Sessions are offered in person in Shinfield, Reading, Berkshire, and online.
Access note: The Shinfield therapy room currently has no wheelchair access or accessible toilet. Please let me know if you have access requirements before arranging an in-person appointment.
Neurofeedback is offered in person only.
Fees ›
For current fees, session lengths, payment arrangements, and cancellation policy.
FAQ ›
For common questions about what to expect, how therapy begins, and how neurofeedback may fit within psychotherapy.
How I work ›
For a fuller sense of the principles that shape my work.
Book a free 20-minute consultation
A free 20-minute consultation gives us a chance to talk briefly about what feels difficult, what you hope might become different, and where it may make most sense to begin.
If it does not seem like the right fit, I will be honest and help you think about alternatives.
There is no pressure to continue.