Anita Duke

Hello and a very warm welcome to my practice.

My core weekly practice hours are Tuesday - Friday (8am - 6pm) with occasional availability outside of this. I welcome all enquiries and will respond as soon as possible within my working hours.  

Details of any latest availability can be found on the home page of my website which I regularly update. Please find a link from this profile.

Are you struggling or feeling overwhelmed? Is anxiety, stress or past trauma impacting wellbeing and relationships? I offer a calm, caring space, working with both mind and body to support finding balance and moving forward in life. Maybe I can help?

As an experienced and accredited integrative counsellor and trauma therapist, I take an intuitive, creative and compassionate approach to therapy, adapting to your needs and what, together, we find brings the emotional balance, understanding and changes you seek.

Firstly and foremost however, I offer a welcoming, consistent and respectful space to talk - and feel really heard. Time dedicated to gently exploring, unravelling and making sense of what has happened for you, whilst supporting connection to your natural inner resources and resilience for healing and wellbeing.

Being an integrative therapist means I draw from a range of counselling and psychotherapy approaches, including talking therapy, somatic (body-based) therapy, breathwork, mindfulness and CBT. If working longer term I may use deeper, creative and relational approaches to help identify unconscious processes that may be keeping you stuck. I also practice in EMDR, clinical hypnotherapy and NLP which can be integrated into sessions if suitable.

I offer both short and long-term therapy for:

• general wellbeing 

• anxiety / phobias

• stress / burnout

• trauma

• bereavement / loss

• relationship difficulties

• women's mid-life challenges

• personal development

Getting started

I believe that the therapeutic relationship is key to a successful outcome, so it's important you find a therapist you feel comfortable with. As such, I offer a FREE initial, no-obligation consultation by telephone or Zoom (20 mins) to get a sense of our ‘fit’ and how we might work together.

You may only need a few sessions for a specific problem or coping strategies, or may benefit from longer, deeper exploration. Together we’ll find what’s right for your circumstances and make space for this.

I have a keen interest in the mind-body relationship, particularly the impact of anxiety, stress and trauma on the body.  My practice is informed by modern understanding of the autonomic nervous system, and thus combines 'top down’ talking therapy with ‘bottom up’ somatic (body and breath-based) approaches.

When working with trauma, I use an evidence-based phased approach. This first looks to support your wellbeing and resilience, spending time, where necessary, to facilitate a sense of internal safety and stabilisation. I will then invite gentle, paced exploration of your story to support healing, release and repair, whilst helping you to find new meaning and purpose, reconnect with life and relationships, and so move forward.

Sessions

I work with individual adults of all ages, from students new to adult life through to those in or near retirement.

I work in-person in Bury St Edmunds (from my private, peaceful therapy room off the A134 Sudbury Road a few miles from the A14) and online across the UK.

Sessions are a full hour (60 minutes) with sessions offered Tuesday – Friday (8am-6pm).

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

I welcome working within diversity, making any reasonable adjustments to ensure my services are accessible. I aim to create a therapeutic space that feels trusted and fair for every client.

My practice centres around humanistic principles, valuing individual responsibility, choice and personal growth, whilst acknowledging how social inequities can impact this. Our life stories, skin colour, identities and abilities may present both differences and similarities, but I will endeavour to attune to your lived experiences and needs to the best of my ability.

Governance and Jurisdiction

I work exclusively in the UK in accordance with English law, adhering to the ethical frameworks of the BACP and GHR.

My practice is registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

Further details and current availability can be found at: www.anitaduketherapy.co.uk

I understand that starting therapy can feel daunting, confusing and even lonely so, if I have availability for new clients, I will always offer you a free, initial consultation. This is 20 minutes set aside for us to discuss what brings you here and how I can help, without it feeling overwhelming. 

When you then choose me as your therapist, I will start our first full (intake) session explaining and agreeing important ethical and day-to-day considerations, such as confidentiality, data protection and what to do if you can't make a session. I will also ask a few general questions around your health and wellbeing and invite you to complete a short clinical assessment. This helps me identify your therapeutic needs and supports ongoing reviews.

We will then begin gently exploring in more detail what brings you to therapy and what you hope to achieve. 

If you are distressed or anxious, I'll sit alongside you until the thoughts, feelings or sensations pass or feel more tolerable, perhaps supporting this by guiding you through an appropriate calming or balancing practice. You may be surprised to find yourself talking more than you expected, and noticing that already something starts to change, but if it takes longer to open to the process that’s fine.

Together, we’ll find a pace and working style that feels right for you, undertaking regular reviews along the way - because this is your therapy, and you are at the heart of what I do.