Testimonials & Case Studies
Helping you understand yourself better and recover.
Client Testimonials
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Birth Trauma
“Engaging in EMDR with Fiona has entirely changed my perspective, feelings and emotions surrounding my son's birth and enabled me to move forwards in our lives together. Of course, there still can be difficult days from time to time, but I'm no longer overpowered by the anxiety and distress I had before. I strongly encourage anyone considering seeking support with Fiona, to trust in the process and her expertise and to go for it, it has helped me beyond measure.”
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Couple Therapy
“Fiona’s approach provides a highly constructive, calm and safe space to talk. She is expertly able to provide opportunities for you to share how you feel with your partner and support you to understand your and their emotions and needs. She is highly likeable, professional and passionate about her work. We feel enormously grateful for the invaluable support she provided us.”
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Perinatal CBT and EMDR Therapy
“After years of terrible anxiety following the birth of my children, I am finally reaching my full potential thanks to the sessions I had with Fiona addressing painful and traumatic experiences. Fiona is an exceptionally skilled EMDR therapist and has a natural ability to facilitate healing. With compassion and validation I was able to process the most uncomfortable feelings that were holding me back in many aspects of my life. I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with Fiona as it has not only changed the trajectory of my life… my children are sure to benefit too. “
“I got in touch with Fiona after a hospital stay for postnatal anxiety and depression following the birth of my second baby. During our sessions, we worked together on rebuilding my confidence, gently revisiting past trauma and childhood experiences, and coping with negative thoughts. She provided a kind, empathetic and judgement-free space, combined with clinical expertise. Fiona's help was crucial to my recovery from a very difficult and painful time. I feel very lucky to have found her and wouldn't hesitate to recommend her services.”
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Young Adults
“ At 18 I was referred to Fiona to help find a way to deal with my troubling intrusive thoughts. Together we worked out that these were derived from an OCD problem involving worrying and checking. I've now learnt healthy mechanisms to cope with these thoughts effectively, helping me maintain a happier mindset than before seeing her. Fiona has been an amazing help throughout my experience with her. Not only has she always been extremely flexible with booking sessions to suit my availability and needs, but she is endlessly understanding and approachable.”
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Parent Infant Psychotherapy
“I felt comfortable and safe working with Fiona and so did my son from the beginning. For over a year my son and I have had continuous support from Fiona and it was one of the best choices I made. My son and I had a difficult start to our journey together and Fiona helped by encouraging me to be mindful and understanding of certain behaviours. Fiona’s skills helped cover more areas in my life that were affecting my bond with my son. She incorporated sessions with my Husband so that we were focussing on all of us as a family – and this helped incredibly. I honestly don’t know where I would be right now if it wasn’t for Fiona and her services.”
All these examples are completely anonymised.
Reading them may help you understand how treatment and recovery can work for you.
Birth Trauma
Catherine had longed for a baby and after two years of trying to conceive she and her partner went through the process of IVF and after 3 rounds she conceived her baby boy Joe. Joe’s birth took several days and required extensive intervention from midwifes and obstetricians. Catherine felt terrified and abandoned at certain points during the labour which led to an emergency caesarean.
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A year after her baby’s birth Catherine described her happiness and gratefulness for her baby Joe’s presence in her life but felt terrified that he would suddenly die or be stolen at any point. She worried she might have become overprotective of him because she couldn’t leave him out of her sight.
She identified feelings of failure because she hadn’t had the birth she had longed for, and had underlying feelings of anger and shame because she held such high standards for herself which she felt she had not met. Although she had symptoms of depression with tearfulness and low mood, Catherine was clear that her difficulties stemmed from the traumatic birth.
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Catherine participated in 18 sessions of EMDR through which I we worked through her traumatic memories and fears.
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Catherine felt completely free of her overwhelming fears of losing Joe. She felt proud of her achievements in the ways she had advocated for herself and her baby through the difficult labour. She was no longer depressed and felt empowered to make other much longed for changes in her life.
Recovery from Severe Postnatal Depression
Mary was a successful journalist who was referred to me by her psychiatrist because of severe anxiety and postnatal depression following the birth of her second child. With two young children under two years old, Mary had become unwell and had had an admission to hospital for more intensive support.
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Mary had been discharged from hospital remained highly anxious and shocked by what had happened to her. This was partly because her mother had had several hospital admissions and she feared she was going to become constantly unwell in the same way and that she would would let her children down. She felt terrified by her own anxiety and the level of despair she had been through. Mary was suffering from acute generalised anxiety.
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I worked with Mary using a cognitive behavioural approach over several weeks, alongside her psychiatrist, as she began to feel more empowered and learnt about the distorted ways in which her anxiety affected her thoughts, she was able to develop compassion and care for herself.
We then identified the extent of her fears of becoming like her mother and their forgotten roots. Using EMDR, we worked through the memories which fed her fears and she was able to put these behind her as she recognised how different she was from her beloved mother.
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Mary is enjoying all aspects of her life and parenthood free of the old fears. She has returned to live closer to her family and friends and is gradually weaning herself off the antidepressant medication with the support of her psychiatrist. Her career is flourishing.
Early Life Trauma and Recurrent Depression
Anita worked in the City of London, in a pressured part of the financial sector. She had always excelled academically and had a supportive loving husband and two young children. From the time of her first child’s birth, she had started to suffer from depression. She had taken antidepressants and had extensive CBT but was in despair because her depression kept recurring and she feared she would never be able to return to the strong, resilient person she had been before her children were born.
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During the assessment Anita was asked about her early life and her feelings about being a parent. She found talking about her childhood very difficult. Although she knew her parents loved her very much, she had sometimes witnessed her parents in extreme levels of rage, violence and despair. Her parents had been under huge pressure as immigrants to the UK, working 7 days a week, so she had taken on responsibility for her younger sister.
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I used EMDR for Anita who processed the complicated feelings of fear, responsibility and guilt which had been activated when she had her own child.
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Whilst she continued to take antidepressants, Anita felt greatly improved concentration, enjoyment of her life and children and general well-being and was able to leave her overvalued feelings of fear and responsibility behind.
Medical Trauma
Zara was referred to me by an obstetrician and psychiatrist because she was depressed and unable to enjoy her life with new baby. She had had a large tumour (benign) in her womb during the pregnancy and after it was removed she had needed extensive rehabilitation to be able to walk again. At that same time her father had died abroad.
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Zara was suffering from flashbacks and was socially isolated, she could not bear to settle her child in nursery as she experienced her baby as needy and clingy. She felt low and unable to help herself.
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Through the EMDR therapy we worked through her traumatic memories. She was able to grieve more deeply for her beloved father, and her daughter started to love being at nursery. Zara’s feelings of helplessness were replaced by returning to her former confident and optimistic self and looking forward to the future.
A Couple’s Evolution
Peter referred himself and his partner for couple therapy in despair. They had been together for four years, and had been deeply in love but had split up almost irretrievably due to spiralling arguments about Peter’s friendship with another woman which left them feeling depleted and alone.
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I offered each of the couple separate consultations to gain a clear understanding of their different perspectives on the difficulties. It became clear that both of them were haunted by aspects of their early life experiences in different ways which led to confusions and tangled communications.
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A series of face to face and zoom appointments followed initially weekly and, after they reconciled, less frequently.
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As they worked on the relationship each of the couple encountered huge stressors at work and stress within their relationship. However, they became much more understanding of one another and so able to meet one another’s emotional needs. This made them resilient as a couple and deepened their relationship so that they are now married and enjoying parenthood.