Joanna Willow

I am taking on new adult clients (age 18 +) with availability on week days.

I offer:

- Face to face therapy

- Online therapy via Zoom

- Telephone counselling

Hi, I'm Jo. I offer a calm and non-judgemental therapeutic space to explore who you are, your distress and worries, and what you are struggling with.  I work in a way informed by how the mind and body responds to trauma, threat, anxiety and stress.

I work with adults of all ages (18+) and genders, though especially with issues that affect young adults (under 40), and those who are neurodivergent, e.g. ADHD, autism (known or suspected). I am LGBTQ+ friendly, poly-friendly and to those who practice ethically non-monogamous (ENM) relationship structures.

I have significant experience working with men (though work with all genders), and with those who have been abused/assaulted (sexual, emotional, physical), or been through other difficult life and attachment experiences.

How you feel about yourself and being in a post-traumatic state can affect your psychological well-being, ability to cope day to day, and how you relate to others. It can be lonely and distressing not feeling valued, heard or acknowledged. Rather than being free to be yourself and live more fully, you feel restricted, conflicted, and on edge, wanting change and relief.

You might swing from feeling like you're either too much or not enough, or find it difficult setting boundaries, thus neglecting and not communicating your needs while pleasing others. It can be difficult to recognise or express your feelings.

I can help you manage the distress you experience now, which may involve beginning to recover from trauma/PTSD/c-PTSD. This may include shame, anger, flashbacks, anxiety, dissociation and depression. It can impact socially and in relationships, and on identity, self-esteem, mood and emotional regulation, and managing your thoughts and self-beliefs.

In processing and unpicking the difficult processes you experience now you may gain new awareness and fresh perspectives to help you to make changes to your life, and improve your mental health and relationships.

While therapy is not a magic fix and can take work and time, it can be life-changing. Time and space for you to freely explore what's making life difficult in a warm, supportive, and private therapeutic environment.

The way I work is that you set the agenda and I draw on my training, qualities and experience as a person to be able to sit with you in your 'stuff', working honestly and collaboratively. I will prize, value and understand you from your perspective, respecting your autonomy and drive to grow and change.

Through the therapeutic relationship and talking together I work therapeutically to hear and acknowledge your experiences. We will look at your processes of how it is being you and how you interact in the world.

I pay close attention to how you are in the 'here and now' of the therapy space, to my process of being with you in what you are exploring, and how I hear and feel it in me to make sense of you. As a therapist I have a richly visual and verbal mind, which I use to respond intuitively and spontaneously based on what arises as we talk, to conceptualise the uniqueness of your experience and processes within you.

I am a qualified psychotherapist, having been awarded an MSc in Person-Centred & Experiential Psychotherapy in Sept 2022 after completing a 4 year UKCP-accredited psychotherapy training programme at the Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute (SPTI). I have been in private practice since 2021 and volunteered/worked at counselling charities in Leicester as a counsellor between 2019-2022.

I am a UKCP Full Clinical Registered Psychotherapist and on the BACP register as a Registered Member.

I hold professional indemnity insurance and adhere to the BACP ethical guidelines. I have a GDPR policy outlining how your data will be managed and I am registered with the ICO.

The initial session is to start to build a picture of what you are seeking from therapy, whether I can meet those needs and if we might establish a trusting working relationship.

I aim to give you an opportunity to experience what it would be like to work with me so you can make a decision whether to continue with any further sessions on an ongoing basis.

With a safe, trusting relationship being at the heart of therapy and the importance of finding the right 'fit', I welcome your call or email to begin this process and to discuss booking an initial session in my room in Leicester, online or by phone. Initial sessions are chargeable at the usual session rate.

I work from my private, comfortable therapy room in Leicester city centre that is spacious, light and airy. It is a space where you can attend counselling that is discreet and confidential, close to the train station, bus and cycle routes and car parking. It is located on the 1st floor, accessible by stairs only. There are toilet and hand-washing facilities.