I’m a counsellor in private practice in Northern Ireland, working with people experiencing anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, grief, and other life struggles.
Before training as a counsellor, I studied computer science at Ulster University. That background taught me to think carefully about complex problems. But over time I realised I wanted something more personally meaningful: work that involved people, not just screens.
My long-standing interest in psychology led me to counselling, where I could support others in understanding themselves better and making meaningful changes in their lives.
I trained in integrative counselling and psychotherapy, and my approach draws on person-centred, psychodynamic, and cognitive-behavioural perspectives, always guided by what the person in front of me actually needs. I’m interested in more than relieving symptoms. I want to understand what someone’s difficulties actually mean to them and how they came to be, because that’s where lasting change comes from.
What draws me most is how the struggles people experience now often make sense when we understand how earlier relationships shaped them. Not to dwell on the past or assign blame, but to see why someone learned to protect themselves in certain ways; ways that might have helped then but get in the way now. I’m particularly interested in working with shame and the inner critic, which often isn’t a thinking problem but something deeper, learned early.
I offer sessions in person in Coleraine and online throughout Northern Ireland and beyond, depending on what works for you.
I’m a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy. I understand something about having to find your own way. I bring what I know to our work; you bring what you know about your life. Together we explore, with curiosity, until new understanding and meaning become clearer. Sometimes that means practical skills; sometimes it means sitting with difficulty long enough to understand it.
I hold a BSc (Hons) in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy from IICP Dublin (First Class Honours) and a Foundation Degree in Integrative Counselling Practice from Northern Regional College and Ulster University (Distinction). I’m a BACP Registered Member.
