Jessica Davies

My experience and interest are in working with young people, their parents and families.   I have an MSc in Pschodynamic Counselling with Children and Adolescents and have undergone additional training in Systemic (family) Therapy.    I am an experienced parent of three young adults and know how tough adolescence can be - and how hard parenting can be too.  My approach is to work collaboratively with young people and their families to help foster stronger relationships and better communication.   I offer a mixture of individual, parent and family sessions.   I try always to be compassionate, curious and guided by the needs and difficulties of each client.

"One of our children has had  complex medical issues which required a readjustment in our parenting style.  Jessica enabled us to see life from our child’s perspective to ensure we were supportive, calm and rational in our parenting style.  Jessica is able to balance her technical expertise with parenting experience: this enables her to be very empathetic and solution driven.  Finally, Jessica is an able communicator which meant we were able to implement techniques and develop new patterns of behaviour very quickly.”   Testimonial by J.S.

"I would highly recommend Jessica.  My teenage daughter has ASD and started to self-harm after a long-period of conflict at home. Jessica helped me to understand my daughter as rounded person as well as our situation at home and was able to expertly and intuitively uncover the root of the problem. Over the course of six sessions, she taught me some useful techniques to communicate more effectively and how to step-away and circumvent unhelpful conflict. The sessions were helpfully spaced to allow time for new techniques to settle in. 

Our family situation has much improved and I would not hesitate to recommend Jessica."   Testimonial by L.H.

I will usually see clients for between 8 and 12 sessions.   The touchstone of my therapy is the systemic approach, which means that I focus not just on individuals, but on relationships, interactional patterns and family dynamics.   Children and young people are very often referred to therapy because they are seen as a "problem".  In my practice I help clients and their families reframe the presenting symptoms (such as depression, anxiety, challenging behaviour) as being about more than just that one young person. Together, we unpick difficulties in relationships and communication,  build on what families do well, fostering hope, resilience and a reduction in worrying behaviour and symptoms. 

My first session is an assessment, where the client and/or their parent will describe their difficulty and how long it has affected them.   I will be curious about family stories, relationships, friendships and the things that they enjoy.  I will ask about sleep, food, any trauma and risk - which would include any self harm or suicidal thoughts.   In this first session I will begin to formulate ideas around what factors are causing and maintaining the client's difficulties; we may also start to think together about a treatment plan and goals. Most importantly, I will hope to begin the process of building a strong therapeutic relationship.