Who This Page Is For

This page is for adults who are starting to recognise that some of what they are dealing with now does not really begin now. The anxiety, the relationship patterns, the inner critic that never lets up, the body that will not relax, the sense of being too much or not enough — for many people, the roots of these reach back further than the present circumstances explain.

You do not need to have a clearly traumatic story to belong here. Some childhoods leave a mark through what was done. Others leave a mark through what was missing, or through years of low-level fear, instability, or emotional absence. Both can shape an adult life in lasting ways, and both deserve careful, skilled work.

How Childhood Trauma Often Shows Up in Adulthood

  • Anxiety, hypervigilance, and a nervous system that struggles to settle
  • Difficulty trusting, opening up or letting people get close
  • An inner critic that is harsh in a way that does not match your own values
  • Patterns in relationships that repeat even when the people change
  • Emotional numbness, dissociation, or feeling cut off from your own body
  • Anger that feels disproportionate or shame that feels permanent
  • Perfectionism, people-pleasing, or chronic over-functioning
  • Symptoms of PTSD or complex PTSD: flashbacks, intrusive memories, sleep difficulties

How I Work With Childhood Trauma

I am a BACP accredited counsellor and trained EMDR practitioner. My approach to childhood trauma is integrative and paced. We do not start by going straight into the painful material. We start by understanding how trauma is showing up in your life now, building stabilisation skills, and making sure the work feels safe enough to be useful.

From there, depending on what you bring, we may use EMDR to process specific events or themes, IFS-informed parts work to understand the inner protective strategies that developed in childhood, psychodynamic exploration to make sense of relational patterns, and nervous-system-informed approaches to help your body learn that the danger is no longer present.

The aim is not to dwell in the past. It is to release the grip the past still has on the present, so you can live in your current life rather than through the lens of an old one.

What This Work Can Address

  • A single distressing childhood event that still intrudes on the present
  • Complex or developmental trauma from prolonged difficulty across childhood
  • Childhood emotional neglect and the legacy of unmet needs
  • Growing up around addiction, mental illness, domestic conflict or instability
  • Bullying, isolation, or experiences at school that left lasting marks
  • Loss, separation or significant disruption in early relationships

What to Expect from Sessions

The first few sessions focus on understanding your history, your current life, and what you want this work to do for you. We move into deeper processing only when there is enough stability and trust in place. The pace is yours: some weeks we go further, some weeks we consolidate. Trauma work is rarely linear, and that is normal.

Sessions are 50 minutes and cost £70. They take place online across the UK via a secure video platform, which many clients find helpful for trauma work because they can stay in their own safe environment. There is also a free 15-minute consultation if you would like to ask questions first.

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as childhood trauma?

Childhood trauma is any experience that overwhelmed your capacity to cope as a child, especially when there was no adult who could help you process it. That includes obvious things like abuse, neglect, loss or violence, but it also includes more hidden experiences such as growing up around addiction, mental illness, chronic conflict, or emotional unavailability.

Do I need to remember everything for therapy to help?

No. Trauma is held in the body and the nervous system, not just in conscious memory. We work with what surfaces, with what is happening in the present, and with the patterns that show up in your life now. You do not need a full chronological account of your childhood for the work to be effective.

Is online therapy safe for trauma work?

Yes, when it is done carefully. We move at a pace that keeps you within your window of tolerance, and we build the foundations of safety and stabilisation before doing any deeper processing. Many clients actually find it easier to do trauma work from the safety of their own home.

How long does childhood trauma therapy take?

It varies. Some clients work with one specific event using EMDR over a focused period of weeks. Others have layers of complex developmental trauma and work over a longer arc. We discuss what is realistic for your situation in the early sessions, and review regularly.

How much does it cost?

Sessions are 50 minutes and cost £70, online via secure video. There is a free 15-minute consultation if you would like to ask questions before booking.

Further Reading

You Do Not Have to Carry It Alone

The past cannot be changed, but its grip on your present can be. Book a session and we will start somewhere that feels manageable.

Book a Session