Samantha Fairgrieve

Monday 9.30am to 3pm

Tuesday 9.30am to 3pm

Wednesday 8.30am to 3pm

Thursday 9.30am to 4pm

Friday 9.30am to 3pm

I work with people who struggle with difficulties in relationships, including anxiety around closeness, low self-esteem and repeating patterns such as withdrawal, over-adaptation or reactive behaviour. I’m a UKCP-accredited, BACP-registered psychotherapist with over ten years’ experience in private practice.

You may find yourself caught in familiar relationship patterns — pulling back, over-adapting, becoming guarded or reacting strongly — even when you understand where they come from. Despite insight or previous therapy, these patterns can still feel hard to shift, leaving you disconnected from your own needs or from others.

My work focuses on helping you understand and change the emotional patterns driving these difficulties — not only at the level of thinking, but at the deeper emotional level where they were formed. Sessions are active, focused and collaborative. From the outset, we work to clarify what is happening internally and what will help you move forward.

I have particular experience working with relational difficulties, anxiety linked to closeness or trust, chronic self-doubt, emotional overwhelm and self-defeating patterns that interfere with intimacy, confidence and connection.

My approach is informed primarily by Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), an evidence-based method that works directly with the emotional drivers of long-standing difficulties. ISTDP focuses on patterns that operate outside awareness and continue to disrupt relationships, self-esteem and emotional wellbeing.

Rather than staying only at the level of reflection or discussion, the work focuses on what is happening emotionally in the moment. This allows us to identify and work through habits and protective patterns that maintain difficulties, such as people-pleasing, withdrawal, self-criticism, emotional avoidance or guardedness.

I offer in-person therapy in a quiet, confidential space in Bath, as well as online sessions throughout the UK. Therapy provides a structured and supportive environment to explore these patterns safely and at a pace that feels manageable.

I offer a free 30-minute introductory online consultation. This gives us an opportunity to discuss your situation, explore whether this way of working feels right for you and decide whether we would be a good fit.

In the first sessions, we’ll focus on understanding the difficulties you want help with, how they manifest in your life and relationships and what your goals are. We’ll explore the emotional patterns involved and begin to identify what may be keeping these difficulties in place.

These early sessions also help us establish whether this approach is likely to be helpful for you. You’ll gain a clearer sense of how I work and what therapy might involve, as well as whether you feel comfortable working together.

From the outset, sessions are focused and collaborative. We work at a pace that feels safe and manageable, with attention to emotional experience and anxiety regulation. The aim is to build a shared understanding of what’s happening and what work is involved in order to achieve meaningful change.

Monday 9.30am to 3pm

Tuesday 9.30am to 3pm

Wednesday 8.30am to 3pm

Thursday 9.30am to 4pm

Friday 9.30am to 3pm

I work with people who struggle with difficulties in relationships, including anxiety around closeness, low self-esteem and repeating patterns such as withdrawal, over-adaptation or reactive behaviour. I’m a UKCP-accredited, BACP-registered psychotherapist with over ten years’ experience in private practice.

You may find yourself caught in familiar relationship patterns — pulling back, over-adapting, becoming guarded or reacting strongly — even when you understand where they come from. Despite insight or previous therapy, these patterns can still feel hard to shift, leaving you disconnected from your own needs or from others.

My work focuses on helping you understand and change the emotional patterns driving these difficulties — not only at the level of thinking, but at the deeper emotional level where they were formed. Sessions are active, focused and collaborative. From the outset, we work to clarify what is happening internally and what will help you move forward.

I have particular experience working with relational difficulties, anxiety linked to closeness or trust, chronic self-doubt, emotional overwhelm and self-defeating patterns that interfere with intimacy, confidence and connection.

My approach is informed primarily by Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), an evidence-based method that works directly with the emotional drivers of long-standing difficulties. ISTDP focuses on patterns that operate outside awareness and continue to disrupt relationships, self-esteem and emotional wellbeing.

Rather than staying only at the level of reflection or discussion, the work focuses on what is happening emotionally in the moment. This allows us to identify and work through habits and protective patterns that maintain difficulties, such as people-pleasing, withdrawal, self-criticism, emotional avoidance or guardedness.

I offer in-person therapy in a quiet, confidential space in Bath, as well as online sessions throughout the UK. Therapy provides a structured and supportive environment to explore these patterns safely and at a pace that feels manageable.

I offer a free 30-minute introductory online consultation. This gives us an opportunity to discuss your situation, explore whether this way of working feels right for you and decide whether we would be a good fit.

In the first sessions, we’ll focus on understanding the difficulties you want help with, how they manifest in your life and relationships and what your goals are. We’ll explore the emotional patterns involved and begin to identify what may be keeping these difficulties in place.

These early sessions also help us establish whether this approach is likely to be helpful for you. You’ll gain a clearer sense of how I work and what therapy might involve, as well as whether you feel comfortable working together.

From the outset, sessions are focused and collaborative. We work at a pace that feels safe and manageable, with attention to emotional experience and anxiety regulation. The aim is to build a shared understanding of what’s happening and what work is involved in order to achieve meaningful change.