Before I met Sarah I was struggling with a very stressful new job, also a move to another part of the country. I felt very upset, but Sarah was very easy to talk to and she helped me to understand I had symptoms of social anxiety, causing me to excessively worry about and avoid social situations.

We used a variety of techniques, including CBT, ACT and EMDR, to help me deal with my social anxiety. Sarah also helped me to work on identifying and stepping back from my emotions, rather than getting too wound up in them. This, along with meditation and techniques like RAIN, gave me really useful tools to help me understand and live with my emotions rather than fighting against them.

I now feel like I have a much healthier relationship with my own thoughts and emotions, and am much more confident to face everyday troubles and to deal with stressful situations. I’m very grateful for Sarah’s help!

(Female, age 37)

I was feeling overwhelmed and had lost any ability to focus both professionally, and in my personal life. I was not thinking or behaving as I normally would and was catastrophising, with an inability to focus on anything. I had been experiencing some difficult life events and felt unable to cope, which triggered feelings of low self-esteem. I had been signed off work.

I had arranged to meet Sarah for a in person face to face session but to due COVID-19 social distancing we decided to have sessions via Zoom. I found it was still really engaging and supportive.

It emerged through our sessions that I had social anxiety due to a past trauma in a difficult relationship, and that my social anxiety and low self-esteem were contributing to my overall sense of stress and being overwhelmed.

Through sessions with Sarah involving both CBT and EMDR I have found that my social anxiety has gone, and my sense of self esteem and confidence has improved dramatically. I don’t just feel like I’m back to being myself again, I feel like I am an improved version of myself, equipped with a toolkit of creative resources I can use. Learning how to control the focus of my attention has been particularly impactful in my professional life. Releasing the past trauma through EMDR has had a positive and life-changing impact on my self-esteem.

The person I was when I first spoke to Sarah is so different to the person I am now, and the journey has been an incredibly positive one. I now find myself excited for the future and embracing new challenges.

(Virtual sessions, female aged 41, July 2020)