Person-centred counselling in Edinburgh, West Lothian, and online
Welcome! I'm glad you've found your way here.
I aim to offer a warm, welcoming and non-judgemental space where you can feel comfortable being yourself, talk openly and explore things at your own pace. Whatever brought you here, you don't need to have it all figured out before we meet.
Sometimes we know exactly what's troubling us. Sometimes we just know that something doesn't feel right.
For some, it's simply easier to talk to someone who doesn't already know you. You don't need to know exactly what you want, or even where to begin.
Here, you can come as you are.
Who comes here
People get in touch when something has stopped being manageable on its own. Often they say a version of the same few things.
"I am fine, and then I am not."
You hold it together all day and it comes apart at eleven at night, and you cannot see what makes the difference.
"I replay conversations for hours."
Something small happens at work and you are still turning it over three days later, wondering what they thought of you.
"Masking all day has worn me out."
You get through work by watching yourself constantly, and by six o'clock there is nothing left for anyone at home.
"Something happened and I have not put it down."
A death, an ending, a diagnosis, a year you do not talk about. It has been a while and it has not moved.
"I have just been told I am autistic or ADHD."
Sometimes at forty, you are reassessing your whole life and would like somewhere to do that out loud.
"Nothing is really wrong."
You do not need a reason that would satisfy anyone else. Plenty of people start here.
How I work
I am a person-centred counsellor. This is a way of working rather than a technique.
I do not give advice, set homework, or decide in advance what your problems are. I won't tell you what your childhood means or steer you towards any particular answers.
Instead, we work together. I listen carefully. I'll reflect back what I'm hearing and check whether I've understood you properly. Sometimes I'll ask questions; sometimes I'll just stay with what you've said.
You set the pace. You decide what we talk about, and we don't have to discuss anything before you're ready.
I make room for saying things out loud that you have never said to anyone, or simply help you process something without going back over every detail.
There isn't a right or wrong way to do therapy, or a particular way you need to be in the room. You can talk, pause, change your mind, get emotional, lose your train of thought, or not really know what to say.
That's all okay.
Working with neurodivergent people
I will not ask you to make eye contact, sit still, or explain yourself twice.
A lot of what makes counselling hard for autistic and ADHD clients has nothing to do with the counselling. It is the phone call you have to make first. The room you have never seen. The small talk. Not knowing how long anything will last, or what the other person expects of you.
So: you never have to phone me, email is a first-class route and not a lesser one. The room is described in sensory detail on the what happens page before you ever walk into it, including the lighting, sounds, and fabric textures. You can stim, fidget, pace, knit, look out of the window, keep your coat on, or sit in silence. You can keep your camera off online. If you would rather I said things plainly and literally rather than gently and vaguely, please tell me and I will.
To be transparent: I am not an assessor, I cannot diagnose anyone, and I do not claim specialist expertise in neurodivergence. What I offer is a way of working that does not treat your ordinary way of being in a room as something to be corrected. I accept you as you are.
What it costs
The first contact is free and takes about fifteen minutes, by video call or by phone, whichever you prefer. I keep a few reduced places at £30 for people receiving Universal Credit, ESA, PIP or a state pension, and you can ask for one without explaining your circumstances in detail.
I am currently able to take on new clients.
Who I am not for
I am not a crisis service and I do not offer emergency appointments. If you need someone tonight, the urgent help page lists who is open and when.
If you want a diagnosis, an assessment, a prescription, or a structured programme with worksheets and set goals, I am the wrong person, and I will say so at first contact rather than take a booking.
I work with adults aged 18 and over.
Next steps? Book a free fifteen minutes introduction call.
If tonight is difficult
This page is not quite the right place to be right now.
If you are in danger, or you have hurt yourself, phone 999 or go to your nearest A&E. Otherwise the urgent help page lists the Scottish services and their opening hours.