Annabel Nicholson

Please contact me to check availability. 

I am interested in building a strong, supportive relationship. I understand that for some people starting therapy may feel daunting.

My style is warm, genuine, non-judgemental and hopeful. I strongly believe in hope, you may come to therapy feeling ‘hopeless’, if you do, I believe my role is to carry hope, until you are ready to do so yourself. I am interested in people’s stories and finding meaning and making sense of patterns and repetitive unhelpful behaviour. I will encourage self-kindness and quietening internal harsh voices. I may challenge false beliefs about yourself. Our work together will help you develop a better understanding of yourself and your relationships, help you make connections between the past and present and develop greater insight and awareness. I work creatively and intuitively. Humour is something I also value and to some clients’ surprise is something that will probably feature in sessions.

Having a strong connection is an essential element in therapy, I encourage openness and honesty, but I also understand that each client needs to go at their own pace and disclose aspects of their past only when they are ready. 

I work for example with people experiencing anxiety, depression, grief and post-traumatic stress. You may recognise that you are struggling or need support and space to explore unresolved feelings

I have a special interest and knowledge of grief and loss. Grief is surprisingly not always recognised by the person experiencing it. Loss can encompass many areas; the loss of a relationship, friendship, divorce, work, health, the feeling of a loss of self and the death of a loved one or even a pet. We have been living through an unprecedented amount of loss and change. Past experiences that may have been buried may have resurfaced. I believe that grief is an individual process. Therapy can help explore the complexities of grief. I do not believe that grief is something to ‘work through’ or ‘get over’, I believe that it is a process of learning to adapt. Everybody experiences grief in their own unique way and at their own speed. My role is to hear your stories and to understand your own personal experiences in a warm, caring, compassionate and non-judgmental environment.

I am an integrative psychotherapist. I use a range of therapy approaches which are adapted to suit your own individual needs. My main model is Transactional Analysis, but I also use other theories and models, I am particularly interested in guided imagery and using metaphors. 

I offer face to face, online or telephone psychotherapy and counselling sessions. 

Generally, I seem to work longer term with clients, but I am happy to work short term which is usually 6 or 8 sessions. Again, this is very individual and is something we can discuss together.

I generally suggest that we have a short chat on the phone, to give you the opportunity to ask questions and see if you feel comfortable talking to me. At this point we discuss if you want face to face, online or phone therapy, availability and how many sessions you initially feel you would like.