A bit about me...
Hi, I'm Rox 👋 (she/her), a neuro-affirming therapist and late-diagnosed ADHDer, based in Stoke-on-Trent.
For most of my life, I felt like I was working twice as hard just to keep up and usually put it down to being too sensitive, too anxious, too much. It wasn't until the past few years that I began to understand I am neurodivergent and a lot of what I'd spent years trying to change about myself finally made sense.
That understanding didn't happen overnight and therapy for me has been a huge support along the way. Some days are still harder than others. It's not something with a neat finish line, I'm still figuring bits out as I go and probably always will be as things change throughout my life.
But it changed how I saw myself and it's a big part of why I do this work, bringing that understanding along with me, not as a claim to know your experience but more as a part of why I show up to this work the way I do.
Outside of sessions, I'm a total homebody, mostly with a brew on the go, usually re-watching one of my comfort shows (currently watching This Is Us for the 4th time this year) or standing on the edge of a football pitch cheering on my son. My pug is my little sidekick, he follows me from room to room like I might disappear if he blinks and honestly, I'm not sure which one of us in more attached. I'm naturally a quieter, more reserved person and my dry sense of humour tends to show up somewhere inbetween!
-
A therapist who is also a messy human, I don't have it all figured out and I don't expect you to either
-
genuine reactions, facial expressions included
-
Honesty, even when it's easier to nod along
-
getting things wrong sometimes
-
gentle explorations and many tangents
-
dry humour
-
forgetting words
-
curiosity over certainty
-
Not claiming to have the answers
-
getting excited about a random tangent
-
using metaphors or analogies to try and help us both make sense of things
-
checking in to see how you're experiencing things between us
-
offering you a drink when you arrive
-
getting invested in your special interest once you start talking about it
-
sitting in the messiness with you
-
gently pointing out patterns I hear
-
getting the whiteboard out to map things out
-
using visuals because I can't always hold everything in my head
-
peeling back layers
-
checking I've remembered something right because my memory is not always on point
-
sharing useful books/podcasts
What to expect from me during our sessions together...
How I Work...
I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. This is a collaborative process, where we figure out together what works best for you, drawing on an integration of approaches, rather than expecting you to squeeze into one specific, fixed model or framework. Also, if talking isn't always the easiest way for you to communicate, I have creative methods we can draw on too, depending on what works best for you in the moment.
I've also thought really carefully about the therapy space itself. I've considered many sensory aspects like lighting, seating, noises etc because the environment matters just as much as what we talk about. I encourage you to make yourself comfortable however that may be, take off your shoes, use a fidget tool or grab a blanket if you fancy one. There's no pressure to make eye contact or to sit in prolonged periods of silence, we build a space together that feels comfortable for you.
Qualifications & Registrations
I am a registered member of the BACP
MBACP: 413891
Qualifications:
PG Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling - University of Staffordshire
Certificate in Counselling - University of Staffordshire
Level 2 Autism Awareness - North Warwichshire and South Leicestershire College
TQUK Level 2 Certificate in Awareness of Mental Health - Cambridge Regional College
Some of my most recent CPD includes:
Neurodiversity and Trauma
OCD in Your Therapy Room - OCD Informed CPD for Therapists & Counsellors
Experiential Training for Working with High-Masking Autism, Burnout, PDA and More
Hot Topics in Autism
Providing Culturally Competent and Neurodiversity-Affirming Care
Family of Origin Wounds: Breaking the Patterns from our Past
OCD & Autism - Attwood & Garnett
Treating Trauma with Internal Family Systems Therapy
ADHD, Social Anxiety and Rejection Sensitivity: Moving Beyond Hello