About me
I'm Stella, an integrative therapist, and I believe therapy should feel supportive, grounding and spacious - a place where you can slow down, reconnect with yourself, and move at a pace that feels right for you.
Many of the people I work with are used to coping on their own. They spend a lot of time overthinking, pushing through, adapting to other people's expectations, or trying to hold everything together while privately feeling exhausted, disconnected from themselves, or unsure what they need anymore. Often, they can recognise their patterns intellectually, but still feel stuck in them emotionally.
Over time, it's easy to lose touch with yourself as you adapt to difficult experiences, relationships or the demands of everyday life. Therapy can be a place to gently reconnect with who you are beneath those patterns and begin creating a life that feels more true to you.
How I work
I believe many of the struggles people bring to therapy—such as anxiety, depression, burnout, self-doubt, people-pleasing or relationship difficulties—are not personal failings, but protective patterns that developed for a reason.
Together, we'll explore these patterns with curiosity and compassion, helping you better understand yourself, reconnect with your needs, and build greater self-trust. I work at a gentle pace, guided by what feels right for you, creating space to reflect while also offering practical tools and ways of coping where they may be helpful between sessions and beyond.
My work is grounded in an integrative, relational approach, drawing from person-centred counselling, Gestalt therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), attachment theory, nervous system-informed approaches and somatic awareness, depending on what will best support you.
Training and experience
Prior to moving into private practice, I spent 18 months in a clinical setting supporting adults at a low-cost counselling service. During this time, I worked with a wide range of experiences including anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma, identity exploration, neurodivergence, LGBTQ+ experiences, relationship difficulties and life transitions.
Working with such a diverse range of clients reinforced my belief that every person's story is unique, and that therapy is most effective when it's shaped around the individual rather than the diagnosis.
I hold an Advanced Diploma in Counselling and continue to deepen my practice through ongoing professional development, including further training in Polyvagal Theory with Deb Dana. I am also committed to regular clinical supervision and am an accredited member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS).
Outside the therapy room
Alongside my professional training, my interest in therapy has also been shaped by my own experiences of anxiety, burnout, self-doubt and navigating periods of change. I know how easy it can be to lose connection with yourself while trying to cope or simply keep going.
Those experiences don't mean I'll assume your story is the same as mine. Rather, they've deepened my appreciation of how vulnerable it can feel to ask for support, and how important it is to have a therapeutic relationship where you feel genuinely heard, accepted and able to explore things at your own pace.
I don't believe you need to have everything figured out before starting therapy. Sometimes it's enough to notice that something no longer feels sustainable, or that part of you is longing for life to feel different. From there, we can begin - one gentle step at a time.