Counselling and Psychotherapy

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and the power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness” (Viktor Frankl)

As a BACP registered therapist, I believe that effective psychotherapy can turn your world around. By helping you recognise difficult feelings and unwelcome behaviour and then identify and dismantle the self defeating patterns of thought that create them, I can offer the raised awareness and emotional support you need to bring about a deep and lasting life transformation.

My clinical experience includes working with a diverse range of clients aged from 21 to 60 on issues surrounding anxiety, depression, trauma, shame, low self worth, bereavement, identity, loneliness, anger management, OCD, ADHD, addiction, career, sexuality, family conflict and relationships. 

As someone of Chinese heritage born in Britain, I also have first hand knowledge of growing up as part of an ethnic minority in England and experience of the complexities around identity and culture that this situation brings. Although English is my first language, I also speak somCantonese. 

Additionally, I specialise in issues connected with relationships, existential problems like meaning and purpose and work related challenges especially in the creative industries. I see a number of clients in the arts and entertainment field. Previously, I worked as a counsellor to young musicians and actors at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. 

My background is as a documentary film director where I worked both as an independent freelancer and as a staff employee for the BBC. Over the course of twenty years, I gained valuable insight into both the challenge of forging a career within a corporation and the struggle of looking for work independently. Originally, I trained as a solicitor so I also have a wide practical understanding of how conflict, negotiation and reconciliation can impact everyday relationships. 

Through this combination of life experience, specialist training and a natural, non judgemental affinity with a diverse mix of people, I believe I can offer you a safe and empathetic environment to explore whatever issues block your full potential and hold you back from living the rich emotional life that you deserve. 

Drawing on both my clinical work and my twenty years experience in the entertainment industry, I am well placed to help people deal with the mental and emotional fallout of working in high pressure, competitive and creatively demanding jobs and professions.

In the past couple of years more and more attention has been drawn to the precarious mental health in the workplace around working routines, procrastination, optimising our work/life balance and new technical challenges like AI.  

Typical issues range from burn out, bullying, dealing with rejection, self sabotage and "Imposter Syndrome" to the emotional roller coaster of success, failure and invasion of privacy. With first hand experience of many of these issues myself, I can provide an empathetic, non judgemental environment in which to share and explore your particular situation. 

My principle training is in Gestalt Therapy as practiced at the internationally renowned Metanoia Institute in London. The fundamental goal is to raise your self awareness and to treat the whole person and not just the mind. So alongside traditional talking therapy, I use a range of experiential techniques including body process, enactment, creative expression, internal dialogue and visualisation, tailor made to suit your unique circumstances.

I believe that therapy succeeds or fails on one key factor. My relationship with you. I see our work together as a collaborative venture where we figure out between us what methodology best suits your particular needs. My priority is to build a bond of trust and understanding based on empathy, mutual respect and non-judgement. 

For me, this means bringing the whole of my life experience, training and humanity into our relationship and attending to your needs with sensitivity and compassion so that you feel fully seen, heard and appreciated. 

When appropriate, I might integrate somatic investigation and body therapy in sessions to help clients access deeper layers of self-awareness and healing. I encourage clients to explore how emotions and relational dynamics are stored and expressed in the body. This embodied approach allows us to move beyond purely cognitive insights and into a richer, more holistic understanding of ourselves and our relationships.

My work is informed by Gestalt Therapy, Movement Medicine and Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy which emphasises the felt sense of how we are moved by others in relationship. By tuning into both your and my own somatic responses during sessions, I support clients in uncovering and shifting unconscious patterns held in the body. This work is especially effective in addressing attachment wounds, trauma, habitual relational dynamics, and blocks to intimacy.

On a personal level, my commitment to somatic practices has transformed my own journey toward greater grounding and self-compassion. Inspired by conscious dance and Eastern philosophy I bring mindfulness and an appreciation for energetic flow to my therapeutic approach. I’ve found that when we work with the body, we also move the psyche, creating openings for growth, connection, and healing that words alone cannot achieve.

Working closely with people in the public eye has given me a unique insight into the concerns and defences of people who have difficulty negotiating their relationship with the world. It has also helped me appreciate how similar processes affect millions of people who struggle with social anxiety.

The pressure to perform in the glare of the spotlight brings its own special set of issues like stage fright and creative block leading to common problems like anxiety, depression and low self esteem. Fame and public scrutiny can act as a pressure valve in these circumstances to accelerate the process of deteriorating mental health.

My unique experience makes me ideally placed to understand how social exposure and pressure can trigger anxiety around having to perform and I offer a safe, non judgemental environment in which to explore such issues in depth.