Counselling Online and in person, Southend, Essex, Tel:07548435830
You’ve probably been holding it together for a long time
Maybe since childhood. Maybe so long you can’t remember doing it any other way. You’re functional, capable, possibly the person everyone else leans on – but privately, something feels missing, flat, or just not quite right.
If that sounds familiar, you’re in the right place.
I know what it’s like to grow up learning to survive rather than thrive. My early experiences taught me to keep the peace, shrink myself, and put everyone else’s needs before my own, and it took me a long time, and my own therapy, to understand how much that had shaped everything: my relationships, my self-worth, how I moved through the world.
I’ve done the work. I continue to do the work. And I carry that lived understanding into every session – not as a therapist who’s read about this stuff, but as someone who genuinely gets it from the inside.
That experience led me to retrain as a counsellor. I now hold a BA (Hons) in Counselling & Psychotherapy from Anglia Ruskin University, and I’m accredited with the NCPS. My work has been featured in The Guardian, BBC Radio Essex, and Essex Life – though honestly, what I’m most proud of happens in sessions.
I work integratively, which in plain English means I don’t have one rigid way of doing things. I draw on person-centred therapy, CBT, inner child work, and polyvagal theory – whatever actually helps you, not whatever fits a programme.
Sessions feel more like an honest conversation than anything clinical. I’ll listen properly, but I’ll also gently challenge you when something’s worth looking at. I get things wrong sometimes, I say so, and we figure it out together. That’s not a flaw in the process; it’s kind of the whole point.
I specialise in childhood emotional neglect and its impact on self-esteem, relationships, and identity. A lot of my clients grew up in homes where they were safe enough, but their emotional world wasn’t really noticed. That tends to produce capable adults who privately feel empty, disconnected, or like they’re always falling short – without quite knowing why.
I’m a mum, an Essex girl with East London roots, and my accent moves somewhere between the West End and Dagenham market depending on how excited I am. Family is everything to me. I love music, vintage things, and weird and quirky experiences. I’m open to all ways of being — neurodivergence, big personalities, quiet ones, the ones who swear a lot and the ones who barely say a word. Humans are multifaceted, and I’m here for all of it.
“What was initially a slot in the week I felt I ought to fill became a space I actually looked forward to… knowing Hannah is available feels like getting back in touch with an old friend or teacher.”
“She doesn’t judge, but will dissect whatever it is you’re telling her until it makes sense.”
“I’ve been very happy with my progress — Hannah’s care in approaching things has made a real difference.”
The first call is free, it’s a short chance to get a feel for whether I’m the right fit for you. If I’m not, I’ll help you find someone who is