News Spring 2021
As we slowly begin to emerge from what we all hope will be our last lockdown of this COVID pandemic, many of us are taking stock of the toll that the past year has taken on our mental health. Some people will have gone through great loss: of loved ones lost to the virus, redundancy, the loss of our home. We have been unable to mourn these losses in ways which help us to begin to heal from them.
Many of us have worked through extremely challenging circumstances in front line jobs, and may be suffering from PTSD as a result. We have all had to live with and process the unfolding horror of what has happened across the world. Routines have been disrupted as we have juggled working from home with caring responsibilities and home schooling.
Through all this, we have been cut off from our usual sources of support: friends and families have been separated, lockdowns have prevented wider contact, social and sporting spaces have been closed. Of course, for some people, lockdowns have meant closer and inescapable proximity to abusive partners or parents. For some it has meant months of painful isolation and loneliness.
People may have experienced anxiety and depression for the first time, or have experienced pre-existing conditions worsen. Some psychologists are claiming that humanity has gone through a collective trauma. We have no clear idea yet of how things will look on ‘the other side’. Furthermore, we know that other challenges continue and need to be faced: global warming, social and racial injustice, poverty. It’s overwhelming.
If you are considering getting mental health support, the therapies I offer can help you in the following ways:
My services in Sheffield:
EMDR: is an evidence-based therapy for trauma. whether you have PTSD from a single incident, or more complex PTSD from ongoing trauma, EMDR allows your brain to process events so you no longer have to live with the very debilitating and distressing symptoms of PTSD or CPTSD. Symptoms can range from: flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, panic attacks, hypervigilance, being triggered by cues in your environment or within yourself which remind you of the trauma.
HYPNOTHERAPY: puts you into a deeply relaxed state so that unhelpful beliefs, thought patterns and behaviours can be changed. It’s great for helping people to overcome anxiety or anxiety-based issues like OCD, phobias and panic attacks. If you have picked up some unhealthy habits in lockdown, hypnotherapy can help you stop smoking, stop or reduce drinking alcohol, and also help with weight loss.
PSYCHOTHERAPY: perhaps you need to talk, to have a witness to everything you have been through, to make some sense of how you are feeling. Psychotherapy gives you a caring and confidential space in which to do this, and also helps you to make meaningful connections between what you are experiencing now, and issues in your past. The insight gained from making these connections helps us to be more in control of our responses and choices.
When people come and work with me, we decide together which approach best suits their needs, using different therapies in combination if that’s appropriate.
My fee is £65 per hour
Phone: 07957 713 102
I am open Mon to Fri from 09:00 am to 20:30 pm
I am based in the neighbourhood of Crookes, only 15 minute drive east from Sheffield city center.
