Counselling Blog - Advice & Insight

Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people seek counselling, and yet it's also one of the most misunderstood. If you've been feeling overwhelmed, on edge, or caught in a cycle of worry that you just can't seem to switch off, you're not alone — and you don't have to keep managing it by yourself. As a BACP accredited counsellor based in Bedford, I work with many individuals who come to me feeling exhausted by anxiety. Some have been struggling for years; others have notic

If you're based in or around Milton Keynes and looking for a counsellor, you have two excellent options — travelling to my practice in Bedford, which is around 30 minutes away, or accessing support online via video call from the comfort of your own home. Either way, you'd be working with a BACP accredited counsellor with over 15 years of experience. In-person counselling — Bedford town centre My practice is based at Castle Consulting Rooms on Goldington Road in Bedford town c

One of the most common things I hear from couples who come to see me is: "We probably should have done this sooner." There's often a sense that seeking counselling is something you turn to as a last resort — when things have become so difficult that there seems to be no other option. But in reality, the earlier you seek support, the more straightforward it tends to be to work things through. If you're wondering whether couples counselling might be right for you, this post is

Grief is one of the most profound and disorienting experiences a person can go through. Whether you've lost a parent, a partner, a child, a friend, or someone else who mattered deeply to you, the pain of bereavement can feel overwhelming — and completely unlike anything you've encountered before. There is no right way to grieve, and no set timeline. Some people are flooded with emotion from the start; others feel strangely numb for weeks or months before the loss truly lands.

Taking the step to book a first counselling session can feel like a big deal. For many people, it takes weeks or even months to get to that point — and then when it actually comes to attending, there's often a nervousness about not knowing what to expect. This post is here to help with that. Whether you're coming to see me in person at my practice in Bedford or joining me online from anywhere in the UK, here's what typically happens in a first session — and what you don't nee

Online counselling has grown enormously over the past few years, and for good reason. For many people, being able to speak with a qualified counsellor from the comfort of their own home — without having to commute, take time off work, or navigate unfamiliar places — removes some of the biggest practical barriers to getting support. I offer online counselling to clients across the whole of the UK, and in my experience it can be just as effective as face-to-face therapy — somet

Depression is one of the most common reasons people seek counselling — and yet it's also one of the experiences that makes reaching out hardest. When you're depressed, the very thing you need to do — ask for help — can feel impossibly difficult. The energy isn't there. It doesn't feel like it will make a difference. And sometimes, it just doesn't feel like you deserve it. If any of that resonates, I want you to know that those feelings make complete sense — and they're also n

For decades, ADHD was widely understood as something that affected hyperactive young boys. The quiet girl at the back of the class who daydreamed constantly, forgot her homework, and felt overwhelmed by things her peers seemed to manage easily — she was rarely identified. She was just seen as disorganised, emotional, or not trying hard enough. If that sounds familiar, you're far from alone. A growing number of women are receiving ADHD diagnoses in their thirties, forties, and

One of the most common questions people ask before booking their first counselling session is: how much is this going to cost? It's a completely reasonable thing to want to know, and being upfront about fees is something I believe every therapist should be. The cost of counselling in the UK varies quite a bit depending on the therapist's experience, their location, and whether sessions are in-person or online. In this post I want to give you a clear, honest picture of what yo

Being neurodivergent in a world that often feels designed for neurotypical people can be exhausting. Whether you've recently received a diagnosis of ADHD or autism, have suspected for years that your brain works differently, or are simply trying to make sense of patterns in your life that have always felt hard to explain — counselling can offer a genuinely helpful and validating space. As someone with lived experience of neurodivergence myself, this is an area I feel particul

When you're looking for a counsellor — whether in Bedford, online, or anywhere else in the UK — you'll often come across letters like BACP, UKCP, or BPS after a therapist's name. It can be confusing to know what these mean and whether they matter. This post focuses on BACP accreditation specifically, and why it's a meaningful thing to look for. What is the BACP? The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is the UK's largest professional body for counsell

If you've been looking into couples counselling, you may have come across the term Emotionally Focused Therapy — often shortened to EFT. It's one of the most well-researched and widely respected approaches to couples therapy available, and it's the method I specialise in. But what does it actually involve, and how is it different from other forms of couples counselling? What is Emotionally Focused Therapy? Emotionally Focused Therapy was developed in the 1980s by Dr Sue Johns