Counselling & Talking Therapies

Talking Therapies at the Tree of Life Centre

Our experienced and caring Talking Therapies team offers a wide range of therapeutic approaches to support your emotional wellbeing, mental health, relationships, and personal growth. Whether you’re navigating a specific challenge, feeling overwhelmed or stuck, or seeking a deeper understanding of yourself, therapy offers a safe and supportive space to explore what’s going on for you, feel truly seen and understood, and discover new resources and ways forward.

All of our therapists offer a free initial chat to help you explore whether they and their approach feel like the right fit for you. Each practitioner works differently, with their own specialist areas, therapeutic style, session length and pricing, so we warmly encourage you to explore their individual therapist profile pages to learn more.

If you’re unsure where to start, you’re very welcome to contact our clinic director Gaynor at gaynor@tolcentre.com, or speak with our friendly reception team (o1273 220159 / info@tolcentre.com), who are always happy to offer guidance and help you find the therapist who is best suited to support you.

Counselling & Psychotherapy

Counselling and psychotherapy provide a safe, confidential, and non-judgemental space to explore life’s challenges, emotional difficulties, and periods of change. People come to therapy for many different reasons and at many different stages of life - whether responding to a specific issue, an ongoing sense of distress, or a desire for greater self-understanding and growth.

This work is collaborative and reflective. Rather than offering advice or solutions, therapists work alongside you to explore your experiences, thoughts, emotions, patterns, and relationships. Through feeling genuinely heard, understood, and supported, you can gain new insights, reconnect with your inner resources, and find new ways of moving forward.

Our counselling and psychotherapy practitioners take an integrative and holistic approach, recognising the interconnected nature of mind, body, emotions, relationships, and life history. Therapy looks beyond symptoms alone, gently exploring underlying influences and supporting meaningful change without judgement or pathologising.

Counselling and psychotherapy can be helpful for:

• Anxiety, stress, and emotional overwhelm

• Depression and low mood

• Low self-esteem and confidence

• Trauma and difficult past experiences

• Relationship and family difficulties

• Loss, grief, and bereavement

• Exploring identity

• Feeling stuck or facing life transitions

Counselling & Psychotherapy is offered by:  Katie Boucher, Lynn Hamilton, Jacob Ellwood, Rosie Scott, Sharon Clifton, Sarah Glen.

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Couples & Relationship Therapy

Relationships are at the heart of our lives and come in many forms - romantic partnerships, family relationships, co-parenting dynamics, friendships, and professional connections. Couples and relationship therapy offers a dedicated space to explore, strengthen, and heal these important bonds.

This work supports open, respectful dialogue and helps individuals and couples better understand patterns of communication, attachment, conflict, and connection. Therapy can support relationships that feel stuck or strained, help navigate periods of change, or simply provide a place to slow down and be heard.

There is no “right way” for a relationship to look in order to deserve care. Each relationship is unique, and therapy is shaped around the people within it.

Relationship therapy can be helpful for:

• Romantic relationships of any orientation or structure

• Communication difficulties and recurring conflict

• Trust, intimacy, or emotional distance

• Family and co-parenting relationships

• Friendships or work relationships causing stress

• Navigating change or life transitions together

Couples & Relationship Therapy is offered by: Katie Boucher.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing)

EMDR is an evidence-based therapy designed to help the brain process and integrate difficult or distressing experiences. It is particularly effective for trauma and experiences that continue to feel “stuck,” intrusive, or overwhelming in the present.

Through guided bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements), EMDR supports the nervous system to reprocess memories in a way that reduces their emotional intensity and impact. This allows new perspectives and adaptive responses to emerge, often without needing to revisit events in detail.

EMDR can be helpful for:

• Trauma and PTSD

• Anxiety linked to past experiences

• Phobias

• Distressing memories or emotional triggers

EMDR is offered by: Jacob Ellwood, Lynn Hamilton.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a practical, evidence-based therapy that helps people understand how their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours are connected. By becoming more aware of unhelpful patterns, CBT supports meaningful change by focusing on what’s happening in the present, and how things can move forward.

CBT can be helpful for a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, stress, low mood, overwhelm, sleep difficulties, low self-esteem, and challenges in relationships or day-to-day life. Sessions often include gentle exploration alongside practical tools and strategies that clients can take away and use between sessions, helping to build confidence, resilience, and a greater sense of control.

CBT is offered by: Jacob Ellwood, Gosia Vitale

Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapy recognises the deep connection between body and mind, and the ways stress, trauma, and emotional experiences can be held within the body. This approach gently incorporates awareness of physical sensations, movement, breath, and nervous system regulation alongside talking.

Somatic therapy can support you to feel more grounded, regulated, and connected, helping release held tension and build resilience from the inside out. Sessions are paced carefully and collaboratively, guided by your experience and comfort.

Somatic approaches include:

• Body-based awareness and regulation

• Breathwork and gentle movement

• Working with the nervous system

• Integrating physical and emotional experience

Somatic Therapy is offered by: Emily Kennedy-Barnes

Hypnotherapy (Including Rapid Transformational Therapy – RTT)

Hypnotherapy is a gentle yet highly focused therapeutic approach that uses deep relaxation and guided attention to help change unhelpful patterns and access inner resources. You remain conscious and in control throughout, yet in a calm and enjoyably relaxed state, like daydreaming. 

Our expert hypnotherapist, Laura Paton, practises a specialised, evidence-based form of hypnotherapy known as Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT). RTT works by identifying and addressing the root causes of limiting beliefs, emotional responses, and habitual patterns, helping to create meaningful change at a deep level.

Laura guides clients to gently access subconscious patterns and understand how early experiences may continue to shape their present day. Through insight, reframing, and integration, these patterns can evolve into more supportive and empowering ways of thinking, strengthening emotional wellbeing, resilience, and self-confidence.

RTT can be helpful for:

• Anxiety, stress, and overwhelm

• Phobias and specific fears

• Low self-esteem and confidence

• Grief and unresolved emotional experiences

• Habit change and weight management

• Life transitions and feeling stuck

• Mind–body conditions, including stress-related symptoms

Sessions may include hypnosis, regression, and reframing techniques, and clients benefit from a bespoke audio recording to support ongoing change between sessions. Many clients experience RTT as a highly effective and time-efficient approach, enjoying meaningful changes within a very small number of sessions.

RTT Hypnotherapy is offered by: Laura Paton

Coming Soon: Child & Adolescent Therapy

We are currently developing specialised therapeutic support for children and young people. This will offer age-appropriate, developmentally informed therapy to support emotional wellbeing, mental health, and family life. Further details will be shared soon.

Choosing the Right Therapist for You

Choosing a therapist or approach can feel daunting, but you don't need to do this alone. We warmly encorage you to:

• Explore individual therapist profiles

• Book a free initial chat with a therapist

• If helpful, contact our reception team for guidance on 01273 220159 / info@tolcentre.com

• Email our clinic director at gaynor@tolcentre.com

We’re here to support you in finding the right care, at the right time, for you.