Psychodynamic Counselling
Psychodynamic Counselling Within My Integrative Practice
As part of my integrative approach, I offer psychodynamic counselling. This means creating a space where we can gently explore the deeper roots of what you’re feeling or experiencing. Rather than focusing only on what’s happening right now, we take time to understand how past experiences, relationships, and patterns may be shaping the present.
Psychodynamic work isn’t about digging for the sake of it or overwhelming you with analysis. It’s a reflective, compassionate way of slowing down and noticing what comes up, at your pace, in a way that feels safe and grounded.
This approach can be helpful if you’re looking for deeper self understanding, want to make sense of recurring patterns, want to understand how your past shapes you today, or are seeking longer term, sustainable change. It supports you in connecting the dots between past and present, so you can move forward with more clarity, choice, and confidence.
Understanding Psychodynamic Counselling
Psychodynamic counselling is an approach that helps you understand how past relationships and experiences may be shaping your feelings and patterns today. We notice the emotional threads that run between then and now, bringing awareness to things you might not have realised were influencing you.
This work also explores the parts of yourself you may not be fully aware of. The automatic reactions, long held beliefs, or deeper feelings that sit beneath the surface. You don’t need to arrive knowing any of this. We uncover it together, slowly and safely.
Psychodynamic counselling gives space to explore long standing struggles or recurring themes, especially the ones that feel hard to shift. It supports deeper emotional insight and creates room for meaningful, long term healing.
It isn’t clinical or overwhelming. It’s a warm, reflective process where you’re met with curiosity and compassion, and where you can begin to understand yourself in a way that feels grounding, empowering, and lasting.
How Psychodynamic Counselling Helps
Psychodynamic therapy helps you understand emotional patterns, triggers, and repeating cycles, so you can see them with clarity rather than confusion or self blame.
It creates space to explore deeper themes such as self worth, shame, identity, and relationship difficulties, gently bringing into awareness experiences that may have formed over time without you realising.
Through insight, reflection, and a safe therapeutic relationship, this approach supports deeper healing, not by forcing change, but by understanding the story beneath the surface so new ways of being can emerge.
This work can be especially supportive for trauma related or attachment experiences, helping you make sense of how past relationships shape the present and begin building healthier patterns moving forward.
My Approach as a Psychodynamic Therapist
As a psychodynamic counsellor, my approach is gentle, trauma informed, and deeply relational. I pay close attention to the feelings, patterns, and dynamics that show up in the room. There’s no stereotypical psychoanalysis here, no lying on a sofa. Instead, we stay grounded in real, human connection.
Together, we explore how past experiences and relationships may still be shaping your emotions, behaviours, and sense of self in the present. This is never rushed. As an integrative therapist, I work slowly and collaboratively, making sure everything we do feels safe, grounded, and at a pace that feels right for you.
I weave psychodynamic understanding with the warmth and compassion of person centred therapy. Building trust, offering empathy, and honouring your individual rhythm sit at the heart of the work. My aim is to create a space where you feel seen and supported, and where deeper insight can naturally lead to healing and change.
Who Psychodynamic Counselling Can Support
Psychodynamic counselling can support you if you feel stuck in repeated emotional or relational patterns, are curious about the deeper roots of your anxiety, stress, or overwhelm, or want to understand your emotions more fully. It may also feel right if you feel disconnected from yourself, unsure of who you are, or are navigating questions around identity, self worth, or life transitions.
This approach can be especially helpful if you have experienced trauma, difficult relationships, or attachment wounds, and want space to explore how these experiences continue to shape how you relate to yourself and others today.
Psychodynamic counselling can be particularly supportive for neurodivergent clients exploring identity in a neurotypical world, for athletes managing performance pressure, injury, or identity shifts, and for people experiencing RED S, disordered eating patterns, or a disconnect between body and mind.
This work meets you exactly where you are, with gentleness, curiosity, and a focus on meaningful, long term change.
What Sessions Are Like
Sessions are 50 minutes and take place online, giving you a calm and comfortable space to explore from wherever feels safest for you.
The pace is gentle and reflective. There’s no pressure to arrive with the “right” words or to go anywhere before you’re ready. Each session follows what feels important to you in that moment, whether that’s thoughts, emotions, memories, or patterns you’ve been noticing.
Our work is collaborative. I don’t analyse you or tell you what your experiences mean. Instead, we explore together with curiosity and care. You always have choice and consent in the direction we go.
A safe, trusting relationship is at the heart of psychodynamic therapy. My role is to offer steadiness, warmth, and grounded presence so you can explore your inner world supported and never rushed.
Training and background
Postgraduate Diploma in Person-Centred and Psychodynamic Counselling (University of Edinburgh, COSCA-accredited)
BA (Hons) Psychology with Sociology (Edinburgh Napier University).
Clinical placements at Health in Mind, ESMS Schools, and the West End Therapy Centre, working with a diverse range of clients and presenting issues.
My ethos
Counselling with me is collaborative, compassionate, and grounded in respect. I aim to create a space where you feel genuinely seen, heard, and supported as you explore your inner world.
I believe meaningful change comes from understanding, not forcing. Through presence, empathy, and our therapeutic relationship, I support you to make sense of your experiences and move forward with greater clarity and self compassion.
Fees
My fee is £70 per 50-minute counselling session.
Get Started
Sessions are held online for accessibility and comfort. You can book a free 15-minute consultation to explore whether counselling feels right for you.
Psychodynamic Counselling FAQs
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Psychodynamic counselling is a talking therapy that explores how past experiences and relationships may be shaping how you feel, think, and relate today. It helps you notice patterns, emotional responses, and deeper themes so you can understand yourself more fully.
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Rather than focusing only on symptoms or the present moment, psychodynamic counselling looks beneath the surface. It explores long standing patterns and emotional roots to support deeper, more lasting change.
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No. We focus on what is happening for you now, while gently exploring how earlier experiences may be influencing the present. The balance is guided by what feels most relevant and helpful for you.
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No. Many people come to counselling unsure where to begin. We explore this together, at your pace, and allow themes to emerge naturally.
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It does not have to be. The work is gentle, reflective, and paced around what feels safe for you. There is no pressure to go deeper than you are ready for.
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There is no set number. Some people come for short-term support, while others work longer-term. This is something we can explore together, with regular check-ins to ensure the therapy continues to meet your needs.
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You can book a free 15-minute consultation or enquire directly via the contact form. Reaching out is the first step, and you are welcome to take it at your own pace.