Frankie Roake

I offer a non-judgmental and confidential space where you can speak freely about how you feel, what has been affecting you and experiences from your past. I will listen to what you need to say and help you to explore and understand what it is you are going through.

Sometimes just having the space to talk and experience your emotions with someone else, is the most important thing – particularly if you do not feel that you can do this in your day-to-day life. Sometimes, people think that what they feel is going to upset other people, or be a burden to them – and keep their distress to themselves, or feel as though they need to manage everything alone.

Other times, an exploration of your upbringing, relationships and experiences may be needed, to begin to join together the dots and understand yourself more deeply, or differently. We can become locked-in to our personal narratives and understanding around why we are the way we are, and not always even realise we are doing it. Clients can be surprised at what emerges, and what they discover about themselves through this process.

When I begin work with a client, my priority is to build a compassionate therapeutic relationship. I will listen to what you have to say and what you are struggling with, and together we will identify what you need. I understand that trust takes time to build and respect the pace that you need to go.

There is no one-size fits all approach, and it will be determined by what you bring and what you need. I believe that this is a collaborative process.

I’m trained in psychodynamic therapy, and in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Psychodynamic therapy is about how your past shapes your present and understanding what may be going on underneath the surface. CBT is about understanding how your thoughts, feelings and behaviours all interact, exploring what beliefs you hold about the world and what you might practically be able to do, to begin to enact change – if that is what you want. I usually incorporate an informal CBT approach into my therapy, if it is helpful.