My path to psychotherapy wasn't a straight line. I began in the NHS in 1996 as a mental health nurse, and over the next 24 years I worked across some of the most demanding clinical environments in London — inpatient wards, community teams, crisis and A&E services, and secure settings. I became a Matron in Hammersmith and Fulham, managing busy acute mental health units while continuing to work directly with patients who were often in the most difficult moments of their lives.

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Throughout that time, I kept returning to the same feeling: that medication and short-term interventions weren't enough. People needed something deeper — space to be truly heard, and time to understand what was actually happening for them beneath the surface.

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In 2012, while still working full-time as a Matron, I began training at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust — one of the world's leading centres for psychoanalytic thought. I completed my Postgraduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in 2014, then continued into the D59I Intercultural Psychodynamic Psychotherapy programme, qualifying in 2017. I funded and attended this training in my own time, working extra hours to make it possible.

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At a turning point in 2017, I was offered three different roles. Two would have taken me further into management. One was a clinical post as a Nurse Specialist in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust itself. I chose the Tavistock — because people, not systems, are where I've always wanted to be.

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I worked there for four years as a qualified psychotherapist within the NHS, gaining experience in trauma, complex grief, group psychotherapy, risk management, and long-term depth work. In 2020 I moved into private practice, which is where I am now.

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I've also been in my own personal therapy throughout my career — something I consider not optional but essential. It keeps me honest, grounded, and genuinely present for the people I work with.