Florence Atkins

Therapy Practice Outline

Availability

I currently have some availability and would welcome enquiries. I offer flexible appointment times and understand the demands that can come with work, family life, and other commitments.

Session Options

• Weekly therapy sessions

• 60-minute sessions

• 90-minute sessions

• Flexible appointment times where possible

How Sessions Are Offered

My practice includes face-to-face meetings, providing a supportive and confidential space to talk through what is happening for you.

What I Can Offer

• A calm, confidential, and non-judgemental therapeutic space

• Support to explore current challenges, emotions, patterns, and relationships

• Time to reflect, understand yourself more deeply, and consider meaningful change

• A flexible approach that takes account of your individual circumstances and pace

Enquiries

If you would like to find out more about availability, session length, or whether therapy may be the right fit for you, please get in touch to discuss your needs.

About Flo Atkins

My name is Flo Atkins, and I offer compassionate, specialist therapeutic support for individuals, couples, parents and families navigating emotional distress, relationship difficulties and major life transitions.

With more than 38 years’ experience across the NHS and private practice, I bring a deeply informed understanding of emotional wellbeing, trauma, loss and the mind-body connection. I am a dual-trained psychodynamic counsellor and parent-infant therapist, with a professional background as a registered nurse in both general and psychiatric care.

I work with people across the lifespan, supporting adults, couples and families with experiences including trauma, bereavement, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, fertility challenges and the emotional impact of becoming a parent.

Perinatal, Postnatal and Parent-Infant Therapy

Pregnancy, birth and early parenthood can bring unexpected emotions, vulnerabilities and memories of earlier experiences. For more than 21 years, I have provided specialist therapeutic support to parents and babies, helping families strengthen emotional wellbeing and build secure early relationships.

Parent-infant therapy offers a gentle, non-judgemental space for expectant parents, partners and parents of babies to explore difficult feelings, low mood, anxiety, birth trauma, isolation or a sense of disconnection from pregnancy, birth or the baby.

This work may support you with:

• The psychological and physiological impact of pregnancy, birth and birth trauma.

• Postnatal depression, anxiety, grief, loss and adjustment to parenthood.

• Infertility, IVF and the complex emotions that may accompany fertility treatment.

• Unresolved childhood experiences that may affect bonding, confidence or the parent-child relationship.

My Approach

My counselling style is empathic, intuitive, reflective, warm, and approachable. Together, we can explore what is happening in your life now while also making sense of the deeper patterns, relationships, and experiences that may be shaping how you feel and respond today.

I work from a psychodynamic perspective. This means listening carefully not only to what you say, but also to the recurring themes, emotional patterns, and early relationships that may be influencing your present experience. Together, we can gently explore past trauma, complex emotions, and difficult experiences in a secure, consistent space where you feel emotionally supported and understood.

Every individual and family is unique, so I integrate a range of therapeutic approaches tailored to your specific needs. My work draws particularly on psychoanalytic models and attachment theory, helping us consider how earlier experiences may affect current relationships, wellbeing, and patterns of behaviour. Whether you are processing recent trauma, historic abuse, or a difficult life transition, we will work at a pace that feels safe and appropriate for you.

The counselling process is client-led, and sessions can focus on whatever feels most important to you, from day-to-day experiences to family history, relationships, trauma, or moments of change. 

My Professional Standards and Qualifications

I work within recognised professional and ethical frameworks, supported by regular clinical supervision and ongoing professional development.

• Over 38 years of clinical experience, including extensive specialist work within the NHS.

• Accredited registered member, adhering to BACP ethical guidelines.

• NMC registered.

• Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling, 2009.

• Diploma in Parent-Infant Therapy, OXPIP.

• Enhanced, up-to-date DBS certificate.

• Ongoing professional development and monthly clinical supervision.

Finding the Right Fit

Therapy is deeply personal, and it is natural to want to feel comfortable before beginning. I offer a free, 30-minute initial conversation so you can gently explore whether working together feels right for you.

During this introductory chat, you are welcome to share as much or as little as feels right, ask any questions, and talk through what you may be looking for from therapy. We can also consider together whether a longer-term or shorter-term approach would best support you.

There is no pressure to make a decision straight away; the conversation is simply a calm, confidential space to feel heard, ask questions, and decide at your own pace whether I am the right therapist for you.

I currently have availability on Mondays and Wednesdays but can be flexible.

About My Practice

Hello my name is Flo...

With over 38 years of experience across the NHS and private practice, I offer a safe, deeply compassionate space to help you navigate life’s most profound and challenging transitions. As a dual-trained psychodynamic counsellor, parent-infant relationship specialist, and former registered nurse (in both general and psychiatric care), my approach is grounded in a thorough understanding of the mind-body connection.

I work with individuals, couples, and families across the lifespan, specializing in trauma, loss and bereavement, relationship struggles, and anxiety or depression.

Perinatal, Postnatal & Parent-Infant Therapy

The journey into parenthood can stir up unexpected emotions, vulnerabilities, and past hurts. I offer a gentle, specialised space for expectant mothers, partners, and parents of babies (birth to three years old) to process:

• The psychological and physiological impact of pregnancy and birth trauma.

• The complex emotional journeys of infertility and IVF.

• Postnatal depression, anxiety, grief, and loss.

• Unresolved childhood experiences that may be impacting your ability to bond with your baby.

Together, we will work to understand these feelings, allowing you to heal and build a secure, healthy relationship with your child.

My Therapeutic Approach

Every individual and family is unique, which is why I integrate a variety of therapeutic modalities tailored to your specific needs. My work draws heavily on psychoanalytic models and attachment theory, allowing us to explore how your past might be influencing your present patterns, relationships, and well-being. Whether you are processing recent trauma, historic abuse, or navigating a difficult life transition, we will work at a pace that feels safe for you.

My Approach

My counselling style is empathic, intuitive, reflective, warm, and approachable. We might explore the everyday events of your week, but we will also look beneath the surface to understand how your history shapes your present.

Rather than relying on rigid assessments or quick fixes, I practice from a psychodynamic perspective. This means I listen deeply not just to your words, but to the underlying patterns, recurring themes, and early relationships that influence how you move through the world today. Together, we will gently unpack past trauma and untangle complex emotions in a secure, consistent space where you feel genuinely contained and understood.The work is client driven. I always offer a free 30 minute initial conversation ,for both of us to get some sense, of whether I am the  right therapist for you.

I provide a safe, non judgmental containing space, to explore your life, to find your voice and to discover the change you are seeking.

Next Steps

Reaching out for support can feel daunting, but you do not have to carry these burdens alone. Whether you are looking for support for yourself, your relationship, or your growing family, please feel free to get in touch to discuss how we can work together.The decision to embark on the journey of therapy is a courageous one. It its a place to feel known and understood, a place to overcome painful experiences. I am committed to working very gently and deeply with your life story and issues that have made you seek out therapy.

Finding the Right Fit

Therapy is deeply personal, and the relationship between counsellor and client is key. To help you decide if I am the right therapist for you, I offer a free, 30-minute initial conversation.

During this introductory chat, we will explore what is bringing you to therapy at this point in your life and the specific issues you would like to address. There is never any pressure—I am never offended if you feel we aren't the perfect fit. I offer a dedicated and confidential space for sessions. The face to face appointment will give you time to talk about what brings you into therapy. This meeting will be an opportunity for you to ask questions, for us to talk about some of your history and if working with me will feel right for you.

Following this time together we can think whether you will prefer to work in a longer-term way or alternatively in a much more time limited or short term way.

Professional Standards & Qualifications

Experience: 38+ years of clinical experience, including extensive specialised service within the NHS.

Accreditation: Accredited Registered member adhering strictly to professional ethical frameworks and BACP guidelines.

Psychodynamic diploma (2009)

Parent Infant therapy Diploma (OXPIP)

Safeguarding: Enhanced, up-to-date DBS certificate.

Quality of Care: Maintained through ongoing professional development and monthly clinical supervision

NMC Registered