Confidential counselling and CBT — a calm, structured space to understand what's going on and change what keeps you stuck. In person in Manchester, or online across the UK.
Most people don't come to therapy at their worst moment. They come when the coping has quietly stopped working — when the overthinking, the flatness or the 3am dread has gone on long enough that "just getting on with it" no longer feels like a plan.
I'm a counselling psychologist with twelve years in practice: first in NHS primary-care mental health services, now in my own consulting room in Manchester's Northern Quarter. I work with anxiety and panic, low mood, loss, and the transitions that quietly rearrange a life — careers, parenthood, endings.
Warm, but purposeful. I'm trained in both open-ended counselling and structured CBT, so the work follows what you need rather than the one method I happen to offer. We review honestly and often — you should always be able to say what the therapy is for and whether it's working. And when it has done its job, we end well. Good endings are underrated.
Sessions happen in a quiet room on Edge Street — no waiting-room fish tank, no clipboard — or over secure video anywhere in the UK.
DPsych Counselling Psychology · BACP Registered Member · BABCP-accredited CBT Practitioner · Enhanced DBS · Fully insured
You're awake at 3am again, going over the same conversation, the same decision, the same worry.
Everything looks fine on paper — job, home, people who care — and somehow you feel flat, or far away from your own life.
Something has ended or changed: a relationship, a role, a person. You're still standing, but you haven't caught up with it yet.
Panic arrives out of nowhere — in meetings, on trains, in the supermarket — and you've started arranging your life around avoiding it.
You've been the strong one for so long that you're not sure you'd know how to say any of this out loud.
Everything starts with a message and, if it feels right, a free 20-minute call. From there we choose the shape of work that fits — open-ended counselling, structured CBT, or online sessions that fold around your life.
50 minutes · £60
Open-ended, one-to-one talking therapy for whatever you're carrying — anxiety, loss, low mood, or the sense that something needs to change before you can quite name it.
Weekly 50-minute sessions, in person or online · Led by what you bring, at your pace · Open reviews of how the work is going
About individual counselling50 minutes · £65
A practical, evidence-based programme — usually eight to sixteen sessions — for specific patterns like panic, health anxiety, low self-esteem and unhelpful thinking habits. Clear goals, visible progress.
Agreed goals and a session plan · Between-session practice that fits real life · Progress tracked with recognised outcome measures
About structured cbt50 minutes · £55
The same care, wherever you are in the UK. Secure video sessions for people who travel, parent, or simply think more clearly from their own sofa.
Secure, GDPR-compliant video platform · Early-evening slots for working weeks · Same confidentiality, same structure
About online therapyTell me roughly what's going on — you don't need the right words, and you don't need a diagnosis.
A free 20-minute call. You ask anything you like; I'll be honest about whether I'm the right person to help.
Weekly sessions at a regular time, reviewed openly as we go. You'll always know why we're doing what we're doing.
A practical, time-limited programme for panic, health anxiety and the thinking habits that keep you stuck — with progress you can actually see.
£65 per session · 50 minutes · usually 8–16 sessions · In person or online
Not sure whether counselling or CBT fits better? Say so in your message — deciding that together is part of the work.
Read how CBT worksYes. What you share stays between us, with the standard professional exceptions — if I believed you or someone else were at serious risk, I would talk with you about involving other support, wherever possible before anything else happened. I explain exactly how confidentiality works in our first session, in plain language, and you can ask about it at any time.
Counselling is open-ended and led by what you bring each week — it suits grief, relationships, and untangling long-standing patterns. CBT is shorter and more structured, with agreed goals and practice between sessions — it suits specific, current problems like panic or health anxiety. Many people use both at different points; the consultation call is where we work out which fits now.
For CBT we usually agree a block of eight to sixteen sessions and review as we go. Counselling is more individual: some people find six sessions enough, others stay for a year. I'll never keep you in therapy longer than it's useful — we review openly, and ending well is part of the work, not an afterthought.
Yes — and asking is sensible, not rude. I hold a doctorate in counselling psychology, I'm a registered member of the BACP and a BABCP-accredited CBT practitioner, and I have ongoing clinical supervision, full professional insurance and an enhanced DBS check. You're welcome to see certificates and registration numbers before we start.
I don't prescribe — I'm a psychologist, not a medical doctor. Therapy sits comfortably alongside medication if that's part of your picture, and with your consent I can coordinate with your GP. If I ever think you need support I can't provide, I'll say so plainly and help you find it.
Then you're doing it right. There's no performance required — silences, tears and "I don't know where to start" are all normal parts of the room. My job is to keep the space steady enough that you never have to manage my reactions on top of your own.
Honestly: the relationship matters more than the method, and you can't judge it from a website. That's what the free consultation call is for. If it doesn't feel right, you won't offend me — and I'm always glad to point you toward other good therapists in Manchester.
I put therapy off for years because I didn't want to be analysed. Rachel never did that — she listened, asked the right questions, and gradually I could hear myself think again.
The CBT block we did for my health anxiety gave me tools I still use every week. Structured but never cold — I always felt like a person, not a case file.
I finished counselling eight months ago and the steadiness has lasted. Even the ending was handled with the same care as everything else.
Tell me a little about what's bringing you — a few lines is plenty. I'll reply within two working days, and if it feels right we'll arrange a free 20-minute call to see whether we're a good fit. No obligation, and no pressure to decide quickly.
Get in touchFree 20-minute introductory call · daytime and early-evening appointments