Hello, I’m Colette. I don’t know you yet, but if you’ve found your way here, I imagine you’re going through something difficult or painful.
Perhaps there are parts of you that you struggle to accept, parts that are in conflict with each other, parts which are ashamed, vulnerable, angry or wounded. From childhood we are given messages about the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways to feel, think and behave – messages that can teach us that we must hide or supress aspects of our authentic selves in order to be acceptable to others.
There are also a lot of deeply painful experiences in life which we have very little control over. You might have lost a loved one, experienced abuse or trauma, developed a life-changing illness, or been discriminated against for who you are. As if experiencing these things weren’t bad enough, there is also often a pressure to put on a happy face or conform to someone else’s idea of what the ‘right’ emotional response to your situation should be.
On the other hand, you might be feeling overwhelmed, anxious, empty, lost or stuck, and not know exactly why. Maybe you have been minimising your feelings or keeping them to yourself because you are worried about burdening or upsetting your loved ones. This, too, can take an awful toll on you.
If you’re an LGBTQ+ person, your sexuality and gender might completely unrelated to what has brought you to counselling, but you still want to know that your therapist will accept and respect these parts of you. As a queer therapist, my personal experience may be very different from yours, but you can be confident that I am affirming of diverse sexualities, genders and relationship styles.
In my online therapy room, you are invited to be your whole uncensored self in the company of somebody who values you unconditionally and really listens.
