Testimonials

“I was in a very dark place.  I had lost my marriage, home, job, self-respect and nearly my life.  Luckily, I have some amazing friends who had helped me restabilise my life and get me on my feet again.  But I still did not know who I was.  The physical side of my life had been restored, home, job etc.  But there were clearly deeper unresolved issues in my life that I had never dealt with.

I had been opening up a bit to a close friend and after a while she knew I needed more help than our talks could offer, someone who could strip away the layers of defence I had subconsciously built up over the years and help me get to the root cause of my anxiety and mental health issues which I had well and truly buried.

This in many ways was the first big step, admitting I needed professional help.   I trust my friend implicitly, so I decided I would give it a try.

Sarah and I first spoke on the phone and she outlined how she operates.  There is no quick fix, no one size fits all when it comes to mental health.  Every process is tailored to fit the individual and what they require.  Therefore, I would be very much in control of how the sessions developed – provided of course I chose to pursue the therapy as there was absolutely no obligation.

It’s strange but from the moment I first spoke to Sarah on the phone I felt a calmness that I hadn’t felt for a long time.  We arranged a first consultation where we could discuss where I am, what Sarah could offer in more detail and the outline of a timeline for sessions.

The initial consultation was in November and by the end of the session we had agreed to meet a further 4 times in the lead up to Christmas.  By which point Sarah had worked out I would need a break, so the Christmas period would fit in well with that.  It was also long enough for me to see if this treatment was going to be beneficial for me.  After the first full session I knew I had come to the right person.

Sarah’s style is very calming, she has a certain way of making you feel safe, no matter what you are trying to talk about.  We would go over the fact that this room was my ‘safe space’ and I could talk freely without judgement.  Something that became particularly important to me as we progressed through the sessions.

As I mentioned earlier there is no one size fits all where this type of therapy is concerned, and this is where Sarah comes into her own.  Our sessions never felt scripted.  They just flowed.  Sarah has this way of asking the right question at the right time, then just pulling gently at the thread all the time keeping a particularly good watch on how you were dealing with the scenario.  Then as the session would be nearing the end Sarah would in some way always bring me back to a happier place or time so that I never left a session feeling down, always on a positive note.

One thing that became clear from the start was that some of my issues were very deep rooted and would need care and time to expose.  We spoke of it being like a gunshot wound.  You can’t just put a plaster on it and expect it to heal.  We had to go deep, expose the wound, clear away the damaged and poisoned flesh and then carefully rebuild so as not to leave scars.  Something I am proud to say we accomplished.  Though it was not easy.  At the time I found it hard to express how I was feeling and would struggle with what I wanted to say.

This is where Sarah uses art to add to her calm, thoughtful, probing questions.  My friend had told me about the medium of art that Sarah uses in some of her sessions.  My immediate thought was of painting and drawing.  Not my strong point!  But the quality was not of importance.  I did manage a couple of drawings which helped me realise I felt I was trapped in isolation, looking out through a window at the world passing me by.  But ‘art’ is much more than pictures, there’s also music and song.  This is where the bespoke therapy really came to the fore.  Drawing was not my strong point, but I love musical lyrics.  Between sessions I would hear a song and it would strike a nerve with me, so I would bring it up at the next session and we would go over the lyrics and use that to delve into my psyche and help uncover what it meant to my past and why I related to it.  Then we would talk about that period and develop a way to deal with it.

In one session I really could not let my anger out.  I could not find the words I needed to let my anger flow.  Pushing the bespoke therapy further I brought my guitar along, so when I could not express how I felt with words I would strum my guitar as to how I felt.  It may sound strange but thrashing out some chords whilst upset or angry really did help me progress.  A few sessions later I was able to enter full rant mode, thanks to being able to explore another avenue for expressing how I felt.

After stripping away many layers of my emotional onion I am in the best place I have ever been.  I am comfortable when it comes to talking about mental health.  I have been on one hell of a journey from being suicidal to now being engaged and planning my future.

One thing I am certain of, I cannot thank my friend enough for is putting me in contact with Sarah.  Without the help I received from Sarah I would not be writing this now”.