Frequently asked questions
I hope that any questions you might have about me or the therapy I offer will be answered below. If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please do get in touch and I will be happy to answer your query.
- Clinical Psychologists have a university degree, followed by a 3-year Doctorate in Clinical Psychology qualification from a course approved by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
- UK Clinical Psychologists are trained to work with those of all ages, assessing and treating diverse mental health concerns using a range of evidence-based psychological therapies.
- We focus on understanding what has happened to someone to bring about difficulties (this is called “psychological formulation”), rather than simply focusing on labels or diagnoses. A formulation can be considered as being like a road map of the events and situations that have brought you to where you are now. The formulation can then be used as a guide to what therapy will be most useful to help someone move forward. We consider a wide range of factors impacting on individuals, including psychological (e.g. the way we think), and sociological (e.g. how our environment or culture has impacted on us).
- We use talking therapies to help clients move forward and make changes, and we are trained in multiple models of therapy to ensure we can best meet each client’s particular needs.
- Clinical Psychologists are trained to evaluate research and clinical evidence, to ensure we can integrate new research findings into our work. We are required to complete regular professional development and training in order to maintain our professional registration.
- We are regulated in the UK by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as Practitioner psychologists. My HCPC registration number is PYL02472 (link to HCPC register)
I have a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Oxford, and qualified in 2001.
In 2011 I completed Cognitive Analytic Therapy Practitioner training, and in 2013 I completed Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR) training. See the About Me page for more information (link).
- Impact of trauma, including those who might have a diagnosis of “complex PTSD” or those who have symptoms from single traumatic events e.g. road accidents, birth trauma, assault
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Low self-esteem
- Eating disorders
- Recurrent difficult patterns of relating to others e.g. feeling not good enough, having to please others
- Problems managing emotions, including those difficulties that might be given a diagnosis of “emotionally unstable personality disorder”
For those funding their own therapy, sessions are 50 minutes long and cost £120.
Longer EMDR sessions (90 minutes) cost £180; we would discuss in advance whether these would be helpful and an option for you.
If you have health insurance, I am registered with Axa, Cigna, Vitality and WPA to provide therapy funded by the company.
Fees for assessment/therapy sessions arranged via solicitors vary due to the additional admin involved. Please contact me to discuss.
The fee for writing reports varies; please contact me to discuss.
Please note that sessions must be paid at least 24 hours in advance. The full fee is payable if you cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice. Please see my terms and conditions for more details.
Appointments are available on:
- Tuesday: 8am to 5pm
- Wednesday: 8am to 5pm
- Thursday: 10am to 5pm
Some appointments may be available outside of these times so please contact me to discuss your needs.
Sessions can take place online, over Zoom, or in the therapy space I use in Eastbourne. Please contact me for details.
The aim of the initial session (usually called an assessment) is to understand what you are looking for help with, how you would like your life to be different, and to explore what factors have contributed to your current struggles. Depending on the individual, it may take more than one session to cover all of these areas.
The initial session is also a really important opportunity for us to think about whether we feel we can work together. It is absolutely vital for you to have a therapist that you feel comfortable with so you feel you can be open with them.
It is not possible to say at the outset how many sessions someone will need; this is likely to become clearer in the first few sessions. Many people can make significant progress in short-term therapy (6–20 sessions). As an indication, the NICE guidelines for PTSD recommend offering 8–12 sessions, with more potentially being required if someone has experienced multiple traumatic events. Regular reviews would be built into the therapy to ensure that you are finding it helpful and want to continue.
If we are involved in a traumatic event, it can be overwhelming, and our brains can struggle to properly process what is happening. If we think of the memory store in our brain as being like a filing cabinet, the memory of the traumatic event can get filed in the wrong ‘drawer’ and can also be filed in a fragmented way. This means that the traumatic memories can be triggered easily and can feel very vivid, leaving us feeling as if the traumatic event is happening again. EMDR aims to help the brain reprocess the memory properly so that it is not triggered so easily. It also aims to reduce the strength of the emotion that comes along with the memory, so it becomes less distressing to remember the event.
During EMDR you will be asked to remember the traumatic event while either moving your eyes from side to side (by following the therapist’s moving fingers) or by hearing noises in one ear then the other, or by feeling a tap on your body on one side then the other. These sensations seem to help the memory become more fully processed in the brain. For more information on EMDR see EMDR: The basics - EMDR Association UK - Overcoming trauma with expert help
Unfortunately I am not able to provide crisis support.
If you are in Sussex, you can call the Sussex Mental Health Line on 0800 0309 500 at any time.
Alternatively, you could call the Samaritans on 116 123 or email them on
If you are concerned about your mental health, you could speak to NHS 111 or your GP.
If you are at risk of imminent harm, please attend your local A&E department or call 999.
Therapy often involves the disclosure of sensitive and private information, therefore confidentiality is crucial. Information shared in sessions will remain confidential, and brief notes will be stored electronically and in line with GDPR regulations. In certain situations, if I am concerned about the safety of you and/or others, I would have a duty of care to share information with other parties, for example your GP. I would aim to discuss this with you prior to sharing information, unless to do so would increase any risk.
All psychologists are required to have regular supervision sessions where they discuss aspects of their clinical work. I would not reveal individual identities within supervision sessions and supervision itself is confidential between therapist and supervisor.