Menopause marks the end of women’s menstrual cycles. Perimenopause is the years leading up to this moment, the transitional period prior. While there is more awareness than ever about the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, the impact on body and mind can be more difficult to navigate than we expect – but you don’t have to go through it alone. With the right support and guidance, this time can be positive and fruitful, the beginning of a new phase of life and growth.

Hormonal changes during perimenopause have a profound effect on our body’s delicate ecosystem. Physically, this manifests as changes in your menstrual cycle, often accompanied by hot flashes, headaches, loss of libido, night sweats and disturbed sleep, and lack of energy. Mentally, brain fog, having trouble concentrating and experiencing overwhelming and extreme emotions are common. This combination can have a huge impact on our emotional wellbeing and mental health – if you’ve struggled with anxiety and depression in the past, you might find your symptoms return, potentially manifesting in slightly different ways.

Factor in the usual stresses of life and questions of identity, body image and purpose that the menopausal transition can bring up and this time can be incredibly overwhelming. Cheryl’s compassionate and evidence-based approach helps women to reclaim their power in these years. Through helping you to understand the psychological impact of menopause, she can work with you to identify sources of negative thinking, providing the tools to reframe self image, and guide you in seeking new goals and sources of joy.

All this change can be an isolating experience. Cheryl has also found uniting women in menopause support groups to be a powerful way of finding new meaning and connection.

Relationships are the cornerstones of the human experience. Feeling connected, secure and respected in a couple is crucial to our mental and emotional wellbeing. If this breaks down, it can leave you feeling isolated and conflicted, which has a profound impact on your interactions with the world and other people in your life.

Therapeutic Approaches

If trust has been broken, communication or intimacy is amiss, or you feel there’s a lack of transparency or a space between you, Cheryl can help you to move forward. Through guided conversations you can improve communication, resolve conflicts and deepen emotional intimacy. Couples therapy provides a safe space to express your feelings, understand each other's perspectives and develop healthier interaction patterns – tools that can be used in all your relationships. By working on these core elements, you can rebuild trust, enhance mutual respect and create a more fulfilling and resilient partnership.

Depression is characterised by persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness and a lack of interest in things that usually excite you. Some common symptoms include:

- Persistent sadness or feeling numb
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities
- Changes in appetite or weight
- Difficulty sleeping or sleeping more than usual
- Fatigue or low energy
- Feelings of worthlessness or helplessness
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Thoughts of death and dying

If you relate to these symptoms, know that you’re not alone – the World Health Organisation estimates that 5% of adults worldwide experience depression.* And there’s no singular reason for it. For some people, triggers for depression can be identifiable, like a relationship breakup or loss of a loved one. Sometimes depression just comes knocking one day, for no apparent reason at all. Working with a counselling psychologist can help to identify your why, empowering you with the tools to feel like yourself again.

Ever struggled to sleep before a big job interview? Did you get butterflies the morning of your wedding day? That’s anxiety. It’s not inherently a bad thing, it’s our nervous system’s natural fear response, often manifesting when we’re nervous about something that’s about to happen. It’s a normal mental and physiological reaction to big moments in life.

If you feel persistently or disproportionately anxious – or cannot attribute your anxiety to anything – and it’s preventing you from living your life, that’s when anxiety becomes a problem. Severe anxiety can manifest in a number of ways, each with a distinct set of symptoms:

Symptoms of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

If you’re always worrying about something (like work, relationships or finances) or consistently finding you’re thinking about the worst case scenarios, you could have GAD. As it’s a broad disorder, your experience might be very different to someone else’s, but common symptoms include chronic restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension and irritability.

Symptoms of Panic Attacks

Panic attacks are often intrinsically linked to other anxiety disorders, but can sometimes occur in isolation. They can be very scary and overwhelming, usually coming on unexpectedly: sudden, intense episodes of fear accompanied by symptoms like a rapid heartbeat, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, chest pain and dizziness.

Symptoms of Social Anxiety

This is an intense fear of social situations, to the point where you feel people are always talking about you or judging you. If you have social anxiety, you will typically worry excessively about embarrassing yourself, sometimes to the extent of avoiding meeting friends or family. You might also experience physical symptoms, like sweating, blushing and a rapid heartbeat when you’re in social situations.

Symptoms of Health Anxiety

Health anxiety is characterised by excessive worry about having or developing an illness, despite reassurance from medical professionals. You might book frequent doctor’s appointments, go down rabbit holes online about health conditions, and also worry about loved ones getting sick.

Therapeutic Approaches

No matter which form, or forms, of anxiety you’re suffering with, Cheryl can support you in taking action against racing thoughts. Life is too short to be plagued with worries, Cheryl will meet you where you are and guide you back to living in the present.

The first step is an initial assessment where Cheryl can get to understand you better. She often uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or and other therapeutic approaches to provide clients with the tools to reframe their thoughts, helping to understand the mind-body connection and how physical and lifestyle factors can play into mental wellbeing.

Experiencing trauma is part of life’s journey. Most of us will experience some kind of traumatic event in our life, but there’s no rule as to what that looks like – it’s how we react to trauma that impacts us. If we don’t process trauma properly, the consequences on our physical, mental and emotional health can impact our wellbeing significantly.

Depression is characterised by persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness and a lack of interest in things that usually excite you. Some common symptoms include:

When something terrible happens, our self-preservation instincts can kick in – unconsciously locking away the memories, rather than dealing with them. We need to feel the feelings in order to truly move forward. If we don’t, they can resurface in distressing and visceral ways in the months and years to come.

Our brains have a natural capacity to heal and soothe us. But if you’re still experiencing any of the below symptoms a month after a traumatic incident or are struggling to go about your daily life, you might benefit from speaking to a therapist.

What Are the Symptoms of Trauma and PTSD?

- Having intrusive thoughts and vivid flashbacks
- Avoiding certain places, people or situations in case of triggered memories
- Experiencing a heightened state of alertness or anxiety
- Having trouble sleeping
- Irritability or difficulty concentrating
- Feeling detached from yourself or others
- Persistent negative feelings about yourself, including guilt, shame or worthlessness

Therapeutic Approaches

Recognising and addressing trauma is key to moving on and enjoying life to the fullest. That’s where a trained psychologist or counsellor can come in, providing a safe space to explore feelings and experiences, and help you to understand and cope with them. Tailored EMDR and CBT therapies have proved very effective in helping to process memories and reduce the associated pain.

Cheryl is a firm believer in a holistic approach. Everyone processes trauma differently and there are many factors that play into this – from our background to our lifestyle. In your initial assessment and as you get to know each other, she will tailor her guidance and approach to best help you find peace and fulfilment.

Stress is commonly defined as a state of worry or mental tension – it’s our body's natural response to feeling threatened. Juggling work, family time, relationships and our social lives is the norm in today’s fast-paced world, the demands of which can exacerbate feelings of stress. We can all sometimes feel overwhelmed and exhausted by priorities pulling us in different directions.

Experiencing periods of stress is one of the most universal experiences of modern life. When you feel stressed, cortisol and adrenaline are released into your bloodstream, triggering the ‘fight or flight response’. Sometimes this is a good thing. These hormones make us feel more alert, motivating us to hit a deadline or manage a tricky situation. But consistent and prolonged stress can be very damaging to our physical and mental health, manifesting in a variety of ways.

What Are the Symptoms of Stress?

- Anxiety, irritability, mood swings
- Feeling continuously overwhelmed or worried
- Headaches, muscle tension or chest pain
- Excessive fatigue
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Difficulty concentrating or forgetfulness
- Changes in appetite
- Withdrawal from social activities
- Leaning on alcohol or drugs

Therapeutic approaches

Effectively managing stress usually starts with talking about it – Cheryl will work with you to understand what causes you stress and will discuss what could work best for you personally to manage it. For some, stress might be triggered by daily life, for others there might be a major life event like moving house or a breakup. This all plays into how best to help you move forward.

Prolonged periods of stress have been shown to increase our risk of heart disease and diabetes – a clear indicator of the dynamic interplay between our mind and our bodies. Cheryl can teach you how to recognise and strengthen this connection, helping to build resilience and better recognise the initial signs of stress.

The relationship we have with ourselves can be one of the most tumultuous, but is one of the most crucial to nurture – how we feel about ourselves plays a big part in our mental health, overall wellbeing and happiness. Although often used interchangeably, self esteem and self confidence are different concepts, both of which significantly influence our thoughts, emotions and behaviours. While self-esteem is about how we value and perceive ourselves, self-confidence refers to our belief in our abilities and talents.

There are many potential causes of low self esteem and self confidence. Perhaps you received a lot of criticism or were subject to trauma in your formative years? Or keenly feel unrealistic societal pressures and tend to compare yourself to others? These can all diminish our feelings of worth.

What are The Symptoms of Low Self Esteem and Self Confidence?

- Being overly critical and judgemental of yourself
- Feeling inadequate or incapable in various aspects of life
- Avoiding new experiences or challenges for fear of failing
- Withdrawing from social activities
- Seeking perfectionism and setting unrealistically high standards

Therapeutic Approaches

There are many approaches that can help to build self esteem and self confidence. For some, CBT can help to reframe negative thoughts about yourself and to build self-acceptance. For others, active listening in couples therapy or supportive psychotherapy can be more valuable. It’s very personal. When you first meet, Cheryl will walk you through the options that could work best for you.

Enhancing self-esteem and self-confidence starts with being kind to yourself: when you learn to value yourself, your mental wellbeing will improve and you’ll find strength in other elements of your life. With Cheryl’s guidance, you can start saying “no” to things you don’t want to do and “yes” to the life you really deserve.

Losing a loved one is a profound experience that touches every part of your life. While grief is a natural response to loss, it can sometimes feel overwhelming. It may sound cliche, but time does heal – if you are struggling with grief, know that living a full life again is within your reach.

In certain circumstances the grieving process can become more complicated, it can feel like you’re trapped in your grief and struggle to go about your daily life. This can happen when your relationship with the person was complicated or how you lost them was particularly sudden or traumatic.

What Are the Signs of Grief?

Grief can rear its head in mental, emotional and physical ways – affecting your whole life. Some common signs of grieving include:

- Deep sadness, anger, guilt or confusion
- Feeling empty or disconnected
- Fatigue
- Changes in eating and sleeping habits
- Aches and pains
- Difficulty concentrating
- Becoming more insular and avoiding social situations

Therapeutic Approaches

It goes without saying that grief is an incredibly personal journey. Navigating grief involves finding a balance between mourning and living in the present. Depending on you, a combination of therapy, mindfulness, help from support networks, and sometimes creative expression, can help to bring comfort and acceptance.

Cheryl offers a safe space to explore your emotions, in which you’ll also be able to explore the best route forward for you. For those who are experiencing traumatic grief, EMDR can help you to cope with your loss by easing the emotional impact of distressing memories.

Our minds and bodies speak the same language. Our physical health is deeply intertwined with our mental and emotional health – recognising this connection is key when seeking counselling for physical health difficulties. Chronic illnesses or life-changing accidents can understandably impact our mental wellbeing, but vice versa, stress and anxiety can exacerbate physical symptoms.

Therapeutic Approaches

Cheryl’s approach seeks to help you better understand the mind-body connection, providing you with the tools to meet the challenges of living with health conditions. Supportive psychotherapy can offer emotional validation, as can support groups, which offer a safe space and connect you with others in a similar boat. If negative thinking is impacting your day-to-day, CBT can help to reframe your outlook.

Taking a holistic approach is always important, but particularly so for people dealing with health problems. Employing mindfulness techniques like meditation or breathwork can impact stress levels, which in turn can reduce physical symptoms. Improved diet, exercise and sleep patterns can do the same. By working with Cheryl to see your mental and physical health as a whole, you will be better able to understand yourself and feel empowered to think positively about the future.

Perhaps you feel stuck in a job that doesn’t make you happy and don’t know how to change lanes. Maybe you’re a parent finding it hard to see yourself outside of that role. Or it could be that you can’t put your finger on it, but something’s not right. Personal development is the intangible thing we’re all seeking, it’s getting to truly know yourself and consequently feel empowered to make steps towards the life you really want.

There’s plenty of tools for self-development out there, but we tend to be our biggest critics. Often when we try to work on ourselves alone, we set unrealistic goals or don’t grant ourselves the compassion we might have for a friend. Working with a counsellor or psychologist can be valuable as they can teach you to be kind to yourself, plus can better see your blind spots – barriers to your self growth that you might not be aware of.

Therapeutic Approaches

Through working with Cheryl you’ll increase your self awareness, gaining a deeper understanding of your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, and how they influence your life. By building a stronger sense of self-worth and confidence and developing tools to manage stressors effectively, you’ll feel inspired to make decisions that truly better your every day.