Sarah Skinner

Therapist specialising in Anxiety, OCD and PTSD

Do you constantly have anxious or obsessive thoughts running through your mind? Does your anxiety stop you living the life you want? Anxiety attacks can be overwhelming and make coping with everyday life difficult. Sometimes you may be stuck carrying out safety behaviours to try and keep yourself safe. 

If you have suffered a trauma reliving the event on repetition through visual or emotional flashbacks can be scary and confusing. 

I understand the challenges that Anxiety, OCD and PTSD can bring and the feeling of isolation that may go with it. As horrible as it is to suffer from any of these the good news is that they can be overcome! I am a therapist that specialises in these areas meaning you will get the support you need tailored to your unique needs. 

Together we can work towards giving you the life you deserve free from the grip of Anxiety, OCD or PTSD. This usually involves the following steps.

• Exploring the root of your anxiety through psychotherapy, bringing you understanding of the unconscious beliefs that are the driving forces behind your anxiety. By understanding what is keeping your anxiety going we can then take steps towards change.
• Teaching you new skills through CBT to help you manage your anxiety successfully.
• Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) to help you face your fears in a gradual and safe way. This is great for OCD and Phobias. 

As your therapist, I hope to provide you with a warm and friendly environment in which you feel comfortable and safe to talk about whatever is on your mind without fear of judgement. I hope you will leave sessions feeling listened to and valued! 

My counselling approach is tailored to your unique needs, I don't believe in a one size fits all approach as many can experience with CBT. I have experience working with working with clients with neurodiversity. Therapy is aways set at the pace that you are comfortable with. 

I have extensive experience working with different types of OCD including sexual and harm related themes. I recognise that these subsets of OCD  can be extremely difficult to talk about for many so if you are struggling in these particular areas I would like to reassure you that I will provide a safe and non judgmental space to work on these issues. 

In your first session you can expect to be greeted warmly and helped to feel at ease. I understand that it is often quite a big step for someone to meet with a counsellor for the first time so it is my number one priority to ensure that you feel comfortable. At the beginning of the session I will explain how the counselling journey works and answer any questions or concerns you may have. Together we will explore what issues you may want to work on, what your goals are for therapy and how we will work towards achieving them. By the end of the session you will hopefully feel heard, understood and have an insight into what to expect from your therapeutic journey.