Kassi Martin

I currently have appointments available for new clients and do not operate a waiting list. Daytime, evening and Saturday morning appointments are available.

Gretna, Cumbria, the Scottish Borders and online

I am a BACP Accredited counsellor in Gretna with 27 years of professional experience. I work in person with women from Dumfries and Galloway, Cumbria and the Scottish Borders, as well as online with women across the UK.

You may be someone other people rely on. You keep going, care deeply, manage what needs to be managed and carry much more than people realise.

Inside, you may feel anxious, exhausted, low, overwhelmed or simply tired of carrying life in the same old way.

Perhaps a relationship is hurting you. Something from your childhood or past may still be affecting your life now. You may be going through a difficult change, struggling with confidence or self-esteem, or know that something feels heavy, repetitive or unresolved.

You may even have had therapy before and understand yourself extremely well, yet know that something deeper still hasn't shifted.

Therapy with me is warm, relational, thoughtful and real.

My approach is humanistic, client-centred and integrative. I respond to who you are and what you need rather than expecting you to fit into one particular method or way of doing therapy.

There are no intake questionnaires or forms to fill in before we begin. We start with you, with a conversation, and with whatever has brought you to therapy.

We might notice emotions, relationships and patterns that repeat. We can also pay attention to what you experience in your body and to things that can be difficult to put into words.

You don't need to arrive knowing exactly what is wrong or what you want to change. And you don't need to make yourself easier to understand, hold everything together or say the right thing.

Some women come because something has happened and they need support now. Others have been carrying the effects of difficult childhoods, trauma or relationships for many years.

Over time, women often describe feeling clearer, steadier, more confident and more like themselves again.

You may seek therapy because something is happening in your life now: anxiety, low mood, a difficult relationship, family problems, loss, change, overwhelm or a period of crisis.

Or what brings you may have much deeper roots.

Experiences from childhood, difficult family relationships, trauma, neglect or the ways you learned to survive and adapt can continue to shape how you feel about yourself, your relationships and your life many years later.

You may understand some of this already. You might have read extensively, reflected deeply or had therapy before, yet find that understanding something intellectually hasn't necessarily changed how it feels or what happens inside you.

Sometimes there isn't one obvious problem at all. You simply know that something isn't right, that life has become harder, or that you don't feel quite like yourself anymore.

You do not have to arrive with everything neatly worked out.

I have many years of experience working with adults through both long-standing difficulties and periods of acute distress or crisis. We can begin with what is happening now and find our way from there.

The first session is a relaxed, exploratory conversation where we meet and begin to get a sense of whether working together feels right for you.

There are no intake questionnaires or forms to complete before we begin, and no formal assessment process. We start with you, with a conversation, and with whatever has brought you to therapy.

Some women arrive knowing exactly what they want to work on. Others simply know that something feels difficult, different or needs attention. Both are welcome.

There will be time for you to ask questions and I will explain anything you need to know about how we might work together, including confidentiality, sessions and fees.

There is no pressure to commit beyond that first session. If we decide to continue, we find our way together, at your pace and in a way that responds to what you need.