Many people experience anxiety daily. So anxiety is one of the most common things to come and see me about. Left unattended, anxiety can lead to fatigue, depression, health or relationship problems.

Learning how to deal with anxiety is about exploring what lies beneath it, and learning techniques to cope. My training in body-centred psychotherapy is particularly useful. Here you can learn self-soothing and ways to understand and cope with anxiety.

Watch my video on Anxiety, Overthinking and the body here

What 'depression' means to me is literally a depression of feelings. This means you have experienced overwhelming emotions that have been squashed. So, you may have given up or feel very down. Therapy involves exploring and understanding the depression and its causes. Here, we uncover what is causing a block for you, with a view to change and finding a way to feel happier. It's difficult to find a way out of depression alone, so I help you find a way.

Listen to my podcast ' How Can I Stop Feeling Depressed' here

This is probably the most common subject of counselling and psychotherapy.

Self-esteem is about how much we like ourselves

Low self-confidence manifests in self-doubt, criticism, loneliness, shame, suppressed feelings, and sometimes compulsive behaviours.

The template for this is often laid out by the way our parents related to us. Psychotherapy is about understanding the belief system you developed. This is not about blaming your parents. It's more about you. Here you have the safety and space to work through the beliefs that limit you. Shifts come when you release these unconscious barriers.

Watch my video 'Healing Self-Worth Through the Body - Somatic Therapy for Low Self-Esteem' here

Bereavement is one of the greater challenges for so many of us. I began my training as a therapist working with Cruse Bereavement Care.

The difficult thing about grief is that in our culture we don’t talk about it. But loss is a part of each of our lives. In grief therapy you can talk through understanding and coping with feelings like guilt, sadness and anger, brought up by bereavement, grief and loss.

In grief therapy or bereavement counselling in Bristol or online with Shelley we may explore:

• How bereavement, grief and loss affect you emotionally.
• What happens to your body in grief
• How to release grief from your body.

Listen to my podcast 'Why is Grief So Hard?' here

Many people come to relationship counselling in Bristol when a relationship reaches a crisis point. Perhaps after betrayal, disconnection, or the threat of separation. Others come because they keep finding themselves in the same painful patterns, even when the relationship looks different on the surface.

Our early experiences shape the way we love, communicate, and protect ourselves. The roles and dynamics we learned in childhood often repeat in adult relationships until we understand them. Through therapy, we can begin to recognise these unconscious patterns and create space for change.

Relationship therapy for individuals helps you find steadiness inside yourself, rather than losing it in reaction to someone else. When you understand your emotions and body responses, you can stay more present and connected, even when things feel hard. From this place, genuine intimacy and self-respect can grow.

Watch my video 'Stop Losing Yourself in Love - Why We Repeat Old Patterns and how to Reconnect with Yourself'

Do you dread Christmas or occasions with your family or inlaws? You are not alone.

Christmas is often an extremely stressful time for people who feel restricted in their families. Many clients come to therapy to talk about Christmas blues.

We work on understanding family relationships and having the confidence to set boundaries for yourself.

Ultimately, we focus on finding a way to be happier within yourself, amongst your family, and in any social setting or gathering of people (addressing any social anxiety).

Listen to my podcast 'The Pressure to be Cheerful at Christmas' here

Have you ever felt like everything was going well, but then suddenly something difficult happened when you weren’t expecting it?

Sometimes unconscious self-sabotage is the cause.

Self-sabotage can show up as testing or destroying friendships, leaving partners too early, not taking care of basic needs like food and warmth, charging too little for your time and energy, attraction to absent partners, affairs, risk-taking, sexual acting-out, suicidality, self-harm, abusive relationships, addiction or compulsion, and even procrastination.

Self-sabotage can be driven by hidden goals and reactions that helped us to stay protected in the past.

Recovery means figuring out the old ways we try to protect ourselves and learning to be okay with good experiences and feelings.

Read about my online or Bristol based Somatic Psychotherapy Services here

Loneliness is known to be one of the biggest problems in our society (whether in relationship or not). A huge number of people are alone and wish they weren't. Many feel they only meet the 'wrong' type of potential partners, and feel stuck and hopeless about changing this. People often feel used, rejected, and hurt. Some are in toxic or abusive situations.

Recovery is about understanding this pattern, and learning new ways of approaching relationship, self-esteem and confidence.

1:1 Psychotherapy will focus on unfolding and processing belief systems like "Nobody cares for me" or "I'm unloveable" - created through earlier relationship disruptions.

Comfort eating often isn’t about willpower; it’s a way the body and nervous system try to manage stress, anxiety, or difficult emotions. I work with clients to understand the underlying feelings driving these patterns, explore triggers, and develop compassionate, practical strategies to regulate emotions without relying on food. Through this work, clients learn to reconnect with their bodies, recognise true hunger, and build healthier, more mindful coping skills.

Listen to my podcast 'Are you an Emotional Eater? How to Recognise it' here