MY APPROACH
Therapy shaped around you.
No two people arrive at therapy with the same story, so I don’t believe in approaching everyone in the same way.
At the heart of my work is a person-centred belief that you are the expert on your own experience.
As an integrative psychotherapist, I draw upon different therapeutic perspectives and ways of working. Rather than expecting you to fit a particular model of therapy, I tailor how we work to you, your experiences, your needs and what you hope to understand or change.
My role isn’t to tell you who you should be or provide ready made answers. It’s to create a relationship where we can explore what’s happening with honesty, curiosity and without judgement.
HOW I WORK →
THE WHOLE PERSON
You don’t exist in isolation.
Therapy often helps us understand what’s happening within us, our thoughts, feelings, relationships and past experiences.
But our lives are also shaped by the world around us.
Our identity, culture, sexuality, gender, relationships, family, community and experiences of belonging, or not belonging, can all influence how we understand ourselves and how we experience the world.
For people who hold marginalised identities, experiences such as discrimination, stigma, prejudice or the pressure to hide or explain parts of yourself can carry a significant emotional weight.
Sometimes distress makes more sense when we understand the environment in which it developed, the expectations you’ve lived with and the ways you’ve had to adapt in order to belong, cope or feel safe.
Different parts of our identities overlap and influence our experiences in different ways. There isn’t one universal experience of sexuality, gender, culture, family, relationships or belonging.
In therapy, there is space to explore all of this, without assumptions about who you are or who you should be.
EXPERIENCE
15 years of therapeutic experience.
ADDICTION & RECOVERY
Exploring addiction without judgement, including the experiences, relationships and emotions that may sit beneath addictive behaviours. My approach considers the person beyond the addiction, understanding not only what is happening, but what the addiction may have come to mean or provide.
MENTAL & EMOTIONAL WELLBEING
Working with anxiety, low mood, emotional distress, self-esteem and periods when life feels difficult to manage. We can explore both what you’re experiencing now and the experiences, relationships or patterns that may be contributing to how you feel.
RELATIONSHIPS
Exploring relationships, attachment, intimacy, boundaries, loss and patterns that can seem to repeat despite our efforts to change them. Therapy can offer space to understand how you relate to others, what you need from relationships and how earlier experiences may continue to influence the present.
LGBTQ+ EXPERIENCES & IDENTITY
Affirmative therapy that understands sexuality and gender within the wider context of your life. My approach is informed by an understanding of minority stress and the emotional impact that discrimination, rejection, stigma, concealment or feeling different can create.
Your LGBTQ+ identity isn’t assumed to be the reason you are coming to Therapy.
ABOUT JAMES
Experience matters. So does the relationship.
Throughout my work, I’ve supported adults from a wide range of backgrounds through complex and often deeply personal periods of their lives
Alongside my therapeutic practice, I lecture in counselling and contribute to the education and professional development of future counsellors.
Teaching keeps me engaged with different ways of understanding people and reinforces something I value deeply in my therapeutic work: remaining curious rather than assuming that one theory or approach can explain everyone.
My approach is warm, collaborative and grounded. I’ll meet you with curiosity rather than assumptions, taking time to understand your experiences and what they mean to you.
We’ll work together to understand them.
REGISTERED MEMBER
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
QUALIFICATIONS
Foundation Degree in Integrative Counselling · Degree in the Professional Development of Counselling · Certificate in Teaching · PGCFE
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
15+ years as a therapist · Lecturer in Counselling
Qualifications matter. But therapy is also a relationship.
Feeling heard, respected and able to be yourself with the person you’re talking to matters enormously.
MORE ABOUT ME →
ONLINE PSYCHOTHERAPY
Therapy from a space that works for you.
I offer individual psychotherapy online to adults across Northern Ireland, the UK and Ireland.
Working online allows you to access therapy from somewhere private and familiar, without needing to travel to a consulting room.
Sessions provide a regular, confidential space where we can slow things down and give proper attention to what’s happening in your life.
INITIAL ASSESSMENT
£60
Our first meeting gives us time to explore what has brought you to therapy, what you’re experiencing and what you might hope to gain from our work together. It’s also an opportunity for you to get a sense of me and how I work, and for us both to consider whether working together feels appropriate.
ONGOING PSYCHOTHERAPY
£50
50 MINUTES
Following the initial assessment, ongoing 1 -1 therapy sessions last 50 minutes and take place online at an agreed regular time.
ONLINE · NORTHERN IRELAND · UK · IRELAND
MAKE AN ENQUIRY
You don’t need to write a detailed account of what you’re experiencing. A brief message is enough.
STARTING THERAPY
Perhaps this is where we begin.
You don’t need to know exactly what you want from therapy before getting in touch.
Beginning therapy starts with an initial assessment. This gives us an opportunity to talk about what’s brought you here, what you might be looking for and whether working together feels right.
It’s also an opportunity for you to ask questions and get a sense of how I work.
You don’t need to send a detailed account of what you’re experiencing. A brief message is enough.
MAKE AN ENQUIRY
INITIAL ASSESSMENT — £60
ONGOING PSYCHOTHERAPY — £50 — 50 MINUTES
ONLINE — NORTHERN IRELAND · UK · IRELAND