Warm, considered telephone and online counselling from a practitioner with nearly thirty years' experience. Working in English and French, with people in Devon and around the world.
Registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP membership 060440), working to the BACP Ethical Framework.
My counselling work began after a first career in art, design and fashion. Something in me was searching for a different kind of creative fulfilment, and through a series of unexpected encounters I found my way into counselling training — first person-centred, then psychodynamic.
I started in social work, with children and families, then in adult and older people's mental health within a multi-disciplinary team. That work taught me to recognise the difference between what counselling can hold and what needs other kinds of help, and to work compassionately with people in great distress.
For sixteen years I lived and practised in France, where I came to understand the particular loneliness of being an expat — the slow erosion that happens when you live somewhere your language is not spoken, away from the people and places that knew you. That experience has shaped a great deal of my work.
"I bring my training, my experience, and my intuition in equal parts. After thirty years, I am still learning from every person I work with."
Every person who comes to counselling brings something unique. These are the areas where my experience runs deepest — but if your situation isn't listed here, please still get in touch. The first conversation costs nothing and helps us both decide if we are a good fit.
The frustration, anxiety, and unspoken sadness of living somewhere your language and culture aren't your own. Drawing on sixteen years of practising in France, I work by telephone and video with British and other expats around the world.
Untangling the long shadow of a childhood where your needs were not seen, or your feelings were turned against you. The work is gradual and unhurried — recognising the patterns, grieving what was missing, and slowly building a self that gets to be central in its own story.
The aftermath of coercive control is rarely about anger; it is more often about losing trust in your own perceptions. Counselling provides a steady space to reconnect with your own judgement, at the pace that feels safe for you — whether you are still in the relationship or some distance from it.
Bereavement, retirement, changes in health, the loss of a sense of purpose, or the surprising weight of memories that surface in later years. Older clients deserve counselling that meets them with the same depth and respect as any other generation.
One of the harder truths of expat life is that it can quietly become more difficult, not easier, as the years pass. The early excitement gives way to the long stretch of doing ordinary things — bureaucracy, illness, conflict, parenting — in a language that doesn't quite hold you. The friendships you make may not have the depth of those you left behind. And the option to talk in your mother tongue about what you really feel can become harder to find.
I spent sixteen years living and working in France. I know that landscape from the inside. Many of the people I work with are British, but I also speak French fluently and work with French-speaking clients and with expats of other nationalities who want to talk in English.
I had not imagined that telephone counselling could work so well. Angela very quickly allowed me to express years of muddled feelings and confusions. Supportive when I was low, then gently encouraging me to question my own behaviour — over time, this helped me find the bravery to make serious decisions and changes to my life that I had previously avoided for so long.
— Client of one year, English expat in rural France
Long-form pieces on the issues that bring people to counselling — expat life, family patterns, recovery, and the deep work that becomes possible in later life.
There is a version of expat life that gets sold to us. Croissants on a sunny terrace. That version exists — but it tends to live in the first year or two, and what comes after is something quite different.
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— Article 02This is not a piece about diagnosing your mother or father. It is about the shape that adult life can take when you grew up with a parent who was unable to see you as a separate person.
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— Article 03People often arrive expecting fury, and find doubt instead. The aftermath of coercive control is rarely about anger. It is about reassembling the apparatus by which you know what is real.
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— Article 04There is a quiet assumption that counselling is for the young. But later life brings its own substantial themes — and a depth of reflection that can make this stage one of the richest for the work.
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Telephone and video counselling work just like in-person counselling, but you speak to me by phone or video from wherever you feel comfortable and safe. Sessions are usually fifty minutes, scheduled in advance. Many clients find the privacy of being in their own space actually makes it easier to open up than sitting in a counsellor's room.
Yes. The first session is free and lasts up to thirty minutes. It gives you a chance to talk to me, get a sense of how I work, ask any questions, and decide whether you would like to continue. There is no obligation at the end of it.
Yes. I lived and practised in France for sixteen years and speak French fluently. I work with French-speaking clients and with British or other English-speaking expats in French-speaking countries who want to talk in their own language.
The terms are often used interchangeably. In practice, both psychodynamic and person-centred counselling and psychotherapy generally involve deeper exploration of long-standing patterns. My specific training is in both person-centred and psychodynamic counselling, but I have experience of other disciplines which tend to focus on present-day issues and specific challenges, so I can work in either mode depending on what you need.
It varies enormously. Some people come for a few sessions to work through a specific issue; others find a longer relationship helpful, sometimes over many months or years. We will talk about what feels right as we go. There is never any pressure to commit to a particular length.
Yes, with the standard limits required by the BACP Ethical Framework — broadly, if there is a risk of serious harm to you or someone else, I may need to seek further support. I would always try to discuss this with you first wherever possible. I also have regular clinical supervision, where I may anonymously discuss aspects of my work.
Please get in touch to discuss current fees. The first session is always free.
I aim to respond to initial or emergency enquiries within twenty-four hours, and I keep some slots free for urgent situations each week. Just send me an email or use the contact form, and I will come back to you as quickly as I can.
Reaching out for counselling can feel like a big step. There is no pressure — the first session is free and gives us both a chance to see how we work together. Use the form, or contact me directly using the details below.