My Approach
Gestalt Psychotherapy
About Me
I am a fully qualified Gestalt Psychotherapist with over 18 years of professional experience. I provide a safe and understanding place to explore difficult feelings and help you understand how your personal experiences may have impacted your life and your relationships with others. We will work together to understand your feelings, behaviours and emotions that arise. By doing this, we can help you find ways to expand your choices and live life more fully. I have experience of working with teenagers, young adults, adults and couples .
I work with
- Couples
- Groups
- Individuals
- Private healthcare referrals
Special Interests
Like all UKCP registered psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors I can work with a wide range of issues, but here are some areas in which I have a special interest or additional experience.
As a Gestalt psychotherapist, I have a particular interest in working with themes around adoption, attachment, and early relational experiences. I offer a compassionate and grounded space for individuals—whether adopted themselves, adoptive parents, or those affected by the adoption process—to explore the complex emotions and identity issues that can arise from these experiences.
Gestalt therapy focuses on the here and now, bringing awareness to how past experiences, especially those rooted in early relationships, continue to shape our present lives. My approach helps clients uncover and gently process unfinished emotional business, including loss, disconnection, or questions around belonging and self-worth.
Attachment forms the foundation of how we relate to others and ourselves. When early attachments are disrupted—as can happen through separation, adoption, or inconsistent caregiving—the effects can ripple throughout a person’s life. In our work together, I support clients to safely explore these patterns, develop greater self-understanding, and foster a stronger, more secure sense of self in the present.
Whether you are navigating the lifelong impact of adoption, exploring your identity, or seeking to understand patterns in relationships, I bring a sensitive, relational approach that honours your unique story and supports your journey towards healing and wholeness.
As a Gestalt psychotherapist, I have a special interest in working with individuals and couples around relationship issues. Whether you're navigating challenges in an intimate partnership, family dynamic, friendship, or even your relationship with yourself, I offer a supportive and relational space to explore what’s happening beneath the surface.
Gestalt therapy invites awareness of how we relate in the present moment—how we connect, how we withdraw, and the patterns we bring into our relationships, often shaped by early experiences. My work focuses on helping clients become more aware of these patterns, understand their needs and boundaries, and develop more authentic, meaningful connections.
Relationships can be a source of great joy, but also deep frustration and pain. Together, we can explore cycles of conflict, communication difficulties, or feelings of disconnection, always with compassion and curiosity. I support clients in developing greater emotional awareness, honesty, and the capacity to stay present with themselves and others.
Whether you're seeking to improve your current relationship, process a breakup, or understand recurring relational patterns, my aim is to help you build deeper, more nourishing connections—starting with the relationship you have with yourself.
As well as my clinical work, I bring a strong commitment to training and supporting others in their development as therapists. I have worked as a primary tutor on an MSc Psychotherapy programme, where I’ve had the privilege of guiding students through both the academic and deeply personal aspects of training.
I particularly enjoy providing personal therapy to trainees. It’s a role I value deeply, offering a unique opportunity to support emerging therapists as they explore their own process, develop self-awareness, and grow into their professional identity. I understand the challenges and rewards of training from both sides, and I aim to offer a safe, grounded, and encouraging space in which trainees can reflect, question, and evolve.
I believe that becoming a therapist is not just about gaining knowledge, but about engaging with who we are in relationship. My approach to both therapy and teaching is relational, supportive, and collaborative. I’m invested in each person’s journey, offering thoughtful guidance that integrates theory with lived experience, and always honours the individual path each person is on. Whether you're at the beginning of your training or further along, I aim to provide a therapeutic space that supports your growth, resilience, and confidence as a practitioner.
Types of Therapies Offered
- Gestalt Psychotherapist
What I can help with
Types of sessions
- Face to Face - Long Term
- Face to Face - Short Term
- Online Therapy
- Telephone Therapy
Office
OX10 8HT
United Kingdom (UK)
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UKCP College
- Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy College (HIPC)
Phillipa Henderson
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