Trauma does not always show itself in obvious ways. You may know that something difficult happened to you, particularly in childhood, but find it harder to understand how it is affecting you now. Or you may simply find yourself struggling with feelings, relationships or patterns in your life that seem difficult to change.

I work particularly with adults affected by childhood trauma, abuse or neglect, including people who experience dissociation. This can range from relatively subtle experiences through to depersonalisation, derealisation, OSDD or Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

You do not need to know exactly what is happening, or have a diagnosis, before contacting me.

How trauma or dissociation may show up

People respond to difficult or overwhelming experiences in many different ways. Sometimes the connection between what happened in the past and what is happening now is clear. Quite often it is not.

You might, for example, find that you:

  • become overwhelmed by feelings that seem difficult to explain or control
  • shut down, go blank or feel emotionally numb
  • feel detached from yourself, your body or what is happening around you
  • sometimes feel that you or the world around you are unreal
  • lose touch with what you are feeling or find it difficult to know what you want
  • experience gaps in memory or periods that feel difficult to account for
  • have very different ways of feeling, thinking or behaving at different times
  • repeatedly find yourself in painful or confusing relationship patterns
  • experience strong shame, fear or self-criticism
  • react intensely to situations that seem relatively minor in the present
  • understand intellectually why something happens, but still find yourself unable to change it.

Some of these experiences may involve dissociation. Dissociation is not one single thing and does not necessarily mean having a dissociative disorder. It can be understood broadly as a way in which aspects of experience — feelings, memories, awareness, identity or a sense of connection with yourself or the world — become separated or difficult to hold together.

For some people this is occasional and relatively mild. For others it can be much more disruptive and may include clearly well-known, well-documented experiences. These include depersonalisation, derealisation, OSDD or DID.

The label is not the starting point for the therapy. What matters first is understanding what you are experiencing and how it is affecting your life.

How I work

My approach is mainly relational and psychodynamic, informed by my training and continuing professional development in trauma and dissociation.

This means that we can look not only at the difficulties you are facing now, but also at the patterns and emotional responses that may lie beneath them. Experiences in childhood can shape how we come to see ourselves, what we expect from other people and the ways in which we protect ourselves when relationships feel difficult or unsafe.

Some of these ways of coping may once have been necessary or helpful. They can nevertheless become painful or restrictive later in life.

Therapy does not mean forcing you to revisit traumatic experiences or describe things before you are ready. We can work at a pace that takes account of what you can manage. Talking about the past is useful only where it helps us understand what is happening to you in the present and offers the possibility of something different in the future.

The relationship between us can also become an important part of the work. Patterns that occur in other relationships can sometimes become visible within therapy itself. Exploring them together can provide a way of understanding them more clearly and, gradually, finding different ways of relating.

I also draw on other approaches where useful, including ways of helping you manage anxiety and dissociation.

There is no assumption that one form of therapy is right for everyone. If your main difficulty is acute PTSD symptoms, for example, I may discuss with you whether a shorter-term trauma treatment such as EMDR might be more appropriate.

Experience and professional background

I am an experienced psychotherapist with a particular interest in working with adults affected by childhood trauma and with people experiencing dissociative symptoms, from relatively mild experiences through to more complex dissociation.

My core professional training includes an MA with Distinction in Contemporary Therapeutic Counselling, a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and a Diploma in Counselling. I trained initially in person-centred counselling and subsequently for five years in a contemporary psychodynamic model.

My additional specialist training in trauma and dissociation includes Complex Trauma & Dissociation training provided by the European Society for Trauma & Dissociation; attachment-based training in Dissociative Identity Disorder through the Bowlby Centre; training in the SCID-D Structured Clinical Interview for Dissociative Symptoms and Disorders; and specialist training in traumatic bereavement.

I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and work within its ethical framework.

You can read more about my qualifications, training and experience on the About Juline page.

Where sessions take place

I offer face-to-face psychotherapy in central London, including Bloomsbury and Camden, as well as online psychotherapy.

Working online can be useful if travelling into London is difficult, if you live elsewhere in the UK, or simply if online sessions fit more easily into your life.

Whether we meet in person or online, we can discuss what arrangement is most appropriate for you when we first speak.

Taking the next step

You do not have to decide in advance whether what you are experiencing is “trauma”, “dissociation” or something else. And you do not need to know exactly what kind of therapy you need.

The first step can simply be a conversation.

I usually offer a free short telephone or video consultation, which gives you an opportunity to tell me briefly what is bringing you to therapy and to ask questions about how I work. It also gives us both an opportunity to consider whether I may be the right therapist for you.

Alternatively, you can arrange an introductory session if you would prefer to meet for a full session before deciding whether to continue.

If you would like to explore whether psychotherapy could help, please use the Contact page to get in touch.