Cognitive Analytic Therapist, Psychotherapist, Registered Mental Health Nurse. Group Analytic Therapy Training (1st stage), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Skills trained.

In the first half of my career I worked as mental health practitioner in a wide variety of settings, initially in-patient and later community based settings ranging from acute inpatient admissions to liaison psychiatry to crisis services.

In the second half of my career I retrained as a psychotherapist, I worked as a part of a team providing assessment and psychological therapy for patients in a NHS Secondary Care Psychological Service. I specialised working with clients at the more severe end of the range many with the diagnosis of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, with overlapping difficulties that often included some of the following; anxiety, OCD, recurring depression, self-defeating patterns, turbulent relationships, emotional neglect, abandonment, childhood sexual abuse, unresolved childhood issues, interpersonal difficulties, self-sabotage, existential issues and loss.

Since retiring from the NHS six years ago I have continued to work in my private practice. Quite organically and naturally I started to see more men a reverse of my experience in the NHS. Another pattern also started to emerge that was that approximately twenty five percent of them had been given the diagnosis of ADHD as adults. I became more familiar, experienced and skilled at addressing the issues that emerged because of the impact undiagnosed ADHD has. It led me to seek further training in this much neglected area.

The therapy I provide is very human, it recognises that people have an innate desire to understand and make sense of themselves and their lives. It is only when we can see the whole picture with the detailed pieces, can we really start to make change but importantly to also see clearly the obstacles that prevent us from living a more fulfilling life.

In my work I focus on the relationship and the role ADHD has and continues to play in your lives, its strengths and its drawbacks and the labels and narrative that have been attached and how they have shaped you for better or for worse.

Being men there are very strong messages we receive as children and societal expectations about what we can and cannot express emotionally. Sadly this often leads to us avoiding seeking help for far too long because of the powerful negative feelings of embarrassment, shame, weakness, vulnerability and sense of failure. The antidote to these are empathy and compassion for oneself, not an easy feat by any means but by having our story re-narrated we often get a different, more balanced perspective that is the fertile ground that allows self-compassion to grow.

The therapy I offer is evidence based (this means it is proven to be effective), collaborative drawing on your lived experience and self-understanding and is tailored to meet your needs and goals.