“Elizabeth”
“I sought therapy as I didn’t feel that I was coping well with the stresses of my life and had considered suicide more than once. I wanted to talk through some specific issues that I didn’t feel I had a useful outlet for at home or with friends and hoped to find some coping mechanisms for my anxiety…I had just started taking anti-depressants for the anxiety but really wanted to be able to manage without them if possible. On meeting Claire I was nervous, but she was so friendly, I immediately felt comfortable with her. She asked me lots of questions and was calm and kind. Claire really made me think about a lot of things that I’ve never really faced up to (or even acknowledged to myself) and really helped me to see why I do some of things I do – the best part is that Claire guided me to the answers without ever trying to put words in my mouth or tell me how I felt or should be feeling. Claire identified a type of therapy that suited my personality style well, and gave me the skills to go away and work things through, then come back and discuss and develop them. The process we went through opened my eyes to myself, in a really positive way, and helped me to remember all the things that I used to love to do that I had (for various reasons) lost along the way. I learned so much about myself and how to cope better with stressful situations and logically think through the sources of my anxiety. My anxiety is currently gone, I have made some major life decisions that I was previously unable to face (and am so glad I’ve made!), I’m very happy and am no longer taking the anti-depressants. It is so important to find someone that you get on with and trust, and Claire certainly fit that bill for me. Thank you Claire!”