Counselling for Emotional Intensity & Complex Mental Health

You are more than your diagnosis, your emotions or the things you've been through.

Perhaps you've spent a long time feeling like your emotions are too big, your reactions are too much, or your experiences are difficult for other people to understand. Maybe you've been through periods of crisis, struggled with relationships, or found yourself repeating patterns that you don't fully understand.

You might have received a diagnosis such as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD), Bipolar Disorder or Complex PTSD (C-PTSD). Perhaps you've had significant involvement with NHS mental health services, experienced hospital admissions or have a history of psychosis. Or maybe you recognise some of these experiences without identifying with a particular diagnosis.

Living with emotional intensity or more complex mental health experiences can sometimes leave you feeling misunderstood, ashamed or defined by the difficulties you've experienced. You might have been given labels that don't feel like they capture the whole of who you are, or have had experiences of mental health support that have left you feeling unheard or judged.

I offer counselling in Folkestone and online across the UK, providing a warm, human and non-judgemental space where we can explore your experiences together. My approach isn't about fixing you or making you fit into an idea of what is considered normal. It's about understanding you as a whole person, developing practical ways to navigate difficult experiences and building a more compassionate relationship with yourself.

What might bring you to counselling?

There are many different reasons people seek support with emotional intensity and complex mental health experiences. You might recognise some of the following:

  • Emotional intensity and dysregulation: Experiencing feelings that can become overwhelming, rapid changes in emotional states, or finding it difficult to return to a sense of calm once something has affected you.

  • Relationships and attachment: Navigating intense relationships, fear of rejection or abandonment, difficulties with trust, or finding yourself caught in patterns that feel painful or difficult to change.

  • Self-image and identity: Struggling with how you see yourself, feeling unsure of who you are, or experiencing shame, self-criticism and a sense of being fundamentally different or flawed.

  • Impulsive or protective behaviours: Making decisions or responding in ways that might provide short-term relief but leave you feeling distressed or disconnected afterwards. We can explore what these behaviours might be communicating or protecting you from.

  • Trauma and past experiences: Making sense of difficult childhood experiences, attachment disruptions, trauma or relationships that have shaped how you understand yourself and others.

  • Experiences of crisis: Processing periods of significant distress, hospital admissions, contact with crisis teams or other experiences of mental health services.

  • Anxiety, depression and low mood: Understanding persistent emotional distress, feeling disconnected or hopeless, and finding ways to support yourself through difficult periods.

You don't need to identify with every experience, have a particular diagnosis or be able to explain exactly what's happening. We can start wherever you are.

Understanding your experiences without judgement

I believe that our emotional experiences and ways of coping often make more sense when we understand them in the context of our lives, relationships and environments.

Perhaps some of the ways you respond to difficult situations developed because they helped you navigate experiences that felt overwhelming or unsafe. Maybe you've learnt to protect yourself through withdrawing, becoming highly alert to changes in relationships, seeking reassurance or trying to manage difficult feelings in whatever way was available to you at the time.

Rather than judging these responses or viewing them as evidence that something is wrong with you, we can approach them with curiosity. We can explore where they might have come from, what purpose they serve and whether there are other ways of meeting the needs underneath them.

I also recognise that diagnoses can sometimes be helpful in making sense of experiences and accessing support, but they don't tell the whole story of who you are. You deserve to be understood beyond a diagnostic label.

My Therapeutic Approach

I offer an integrative and relational approach to therapy, drawing on different therapeutic frameworks depending on what feels helpful for you.

DBT skills

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) offers practical skills for navigating emotional intensity. I draw on DBT-informed approaches, particularly emotional regulation, distress tolerance and mindfulness, to help you develop ways of managing overwhelming feelings and responding to difficult situations.

This isn't about suppressing your emotions or expecting you to remain calm all the time. It's about understanding your emotional responses, finding ways to support yourself through difficult moments and developing more choice in how you respond.

Attachment-based and psychodynamic approaches

Our early relationships and experiences can influence how we relate to ourselves and other people. We might explore how you've learnt to understand relationships, respond to conflict, manage vulnerability or navigate feelings of rejection and connection.

The therapeutic relationship itself can also offer an opportunity to experience being heard, understood and accepted without needing to hide the parts of yourself that feel difficult to share.

Throughout our work, I'll aim to balance understanding and exploration with practical support. We can take things at a pace that feels manageable and find approaches that feel relevant to your individual circumstances.

Working with Complexity

I have experience supporting people with a range of complex and enduring mental health experiences, including:

  • Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD).

  • Bipolar Disorder.

  • Complex PTSD and experiences of trauma.

  • Personality disorder diagnoses and associated experiences.

  • A history of psychosis.

  • Long-term emotional distress and repeated periods of crisis.

I understand that having a history of significant mental health difficulties can sometimes make finding the right therapist feel particularly daunting. Perhaps you've experienced feeling judged, misunderstood or reduced to a diagnosis. You might worry that your experiences will be too much for someone else, or that you'll have to explain and justify your history before feeling understood.

I want to offer a different experience of therapy: one where you can be met with compassion and curiosity, and where your experiences are taken seriously without defining your whole identity.

Where appropriate, I'm also happy to work collaboratively alongside other mental health professionals and services involved in your care.

Taking Your Whole Self into Account

I recognise that emotional and mental health experiences don't exist in isolation. Our identities, relationships, health, social circumstances and environments all shape how we experience the world.

My practice is LGBTQIA+ centred and neuro-affirming, and I have experience working with people navigating chronic illness and disability. These experiences can intersect with emotional intensity and complex mental health in ways that deserve to be understood.

You don't need to separate different aspects of yourself or decide which difficulty is most important before coming to therapy. We can make space for all of it.

In-Person & Online Counselling

I offer counselling in person in Folkestone (CT20) and online via video call across Kent and the UK.

I understand that starting therapy can feel particularly vulnerable if you've previously had difficult experiences of mental health support. You don't need to arrive knowing exactly what to say or having everything figured out.

Our first session gives us an opportunity to explore what has brought you to counselling, understand a little more about your experiences and consider together whether working with me feels like the right fit.

Getting in Touch

You don't have to be in crisis to deserve support, and you don't have to be easy to understand to be worthy of it.

If you're looking for a therapist who can meet emotional intensity and complex mental health experiences with warmth, curiosity and compassion, I'd be glad to hear from you.

You're welcome to get in touch with any questions or to find out a little more about working together before making any decisions.