Executive therapy is for people whose work carries a particular level of responsibility, pressure and identity investment. It’s a recognition that work can be demanding, exciting and rewarding. It can also bring pressure, responsibility, uncertainty and expectations that are difficult to switch off.
It offers a confidential space outside your usual professional world to step back, think and understand what is really going on, but bringing your workplace, culture, and systems into the conversation when applicable.
Why might someone successful seek therapy?
Things don’t have to be in crisis for you to benefit from therapy. In fact, many people come because, on paper, things are going rather well.
You may have built a successful business, reached a senior position or achieved things you once wanted very badly. And yet something doesn’t feel quite right.
Perhaps you’re exhausted. Or anxious. Maybe you’re struggling with a relationship, or you might be finding it increasingly difficult to switch off, delegate or trust other people.
You might be questioning whether the way you’ve been working is sustainable. Or perhaps you’ve simply reached a point where you want to understand yourself better.
Sometimes the qualities that have helped you succeed — drive, independence, high standards, resilience, control — can become less helpful when circumstances change. Therapy gives you somewhere to explore that, and, more importantly, do something about it if needed.
What sort of issues do you work with?
There isn’t a set list of problems you need to arrive with, we will work with whatever you put on the table. Things I see quite often in my therapy room are:
stress, anxiety or feeling overwhelmed
burnout or exhaustion
difficult relationships
problems with trust, intimacy or communication
perfectionism and high self-expectations
difficulty switching off
feeling responsible for everyone else
problems with delegation or control
confidence or self-doubt
difficult decisions
career or business transitions
questions about identity and what comes next
feeling successful on the outside but unhappy or stuck underneath
recurring patterns that you understand intellectually but can’t seem to change
Sometimes the presenting problem is quite specific.
Sometimes you simply have the sense that something isn’t working anymore.
We can start there.
How is executive therapy different from coaching?
There is some overlap between the people who seek therapy and those who seek coaching, but the work is fundamentally different. Coaching tends to focus on performance, goals, behaviour and what you want to achieve.
Therapy is interested in what is happening underneath those things. We might explore your history, relationships, emotional responses, beliefs, patterns and the ways you have learned to navigate the world.
Sometimes that understanding leads to very practical changes in the way you live and work.
Who is it for?
Executive therapy may be particularly useful if you are a founder, entrepreneur, senior executive or leader, director or professional with significant responsibility.
You don’t need to have a particular diagnosis or be in crisis. You simply need to feel that there is something you want to understand, change or work through.
Who is it not for?
Executive therapy isn’t about optimising yourself into becoming a better machine.
If what you are looking for is a business strategy, leadership training, productivity advice or a programme designed to maximise performance, coaching or consultancy may be a better fit.
And if you are looking for treatment for a severe or acute mental health crisis, I may not be the right person for you. If you’re unsure, you are welcome to ask.
How do sessions work?
Sessions are an hour and take place online or in Folkestone, Kent.
We usually meet weekly to begin with, although the frequency can be discussed depending on what you need.
There is no fixed programme and no set number of sessions.
Some people come for a relatively focused period of therapy. Others stay for longer because they want the opportunity to work at greater depth. The first session is an opportunity to talk about what’s brought you to therapy, what you would like from it and whether we feel we could work well together.
You don’t need to prepare anything. Just come as you are. We’ll even have a cuppa as we talk if you like.
Fees and practicalities
Individual therapy is £160 per session. A session is 60 minutes. Everything discussed in therapy is confidential within the normal professional and legal boundaries of confidentiality. I do have early morning and Saturday appoitments available.
About me
I’m a qualified therapist and business psychologist.
Before becoming a therapist, I spent many years working in business and communications, including running my own PR business. I’ve worked with ambitious people in demanding professional environments and understand something of the particular pressures that can come with responsibility, visibility and success.
That experience informs my therapy practice, but therapy isn’t business consultancy. My approach is thoughtful, psychologically informed and human.
I won’t tell you what you should do. I’ll help you understand what is happening — and give you the space to work out what you want to do next.
Get in touch
You don’t need to have everything figured out before you contact me. We can have an initial conversation about what you’re looking for and whether executive therapy feels like the right fit. Book a chat here.
