My Approach
At Attuned Minds, my approach as a clinical psychologist is grounded in the understanding that an attuned nervous system looks different for everyone. Rather than working toward a single, fixed idea of calm or regulation, I focus on helping you tune in to your own needs with compassion and curiosity. Sometimes this means supporting yourself to be angry or upset.
Often, we don’t need to be 'regulated' or calm, what we really need is for our emotions to be seen, heard, expressed, and our needs tended to. This is what true attunement is.
Together, we can begin to recognise patterns, process difficult experiences, and make sense of your inner world, while also building a more compassionate and supportive relationship with yourself.
Find out more below about the values and principles you can expect from me:
Trauma informed
Trauma-informed therapy recognises that past overwhelming experiences can shape how we think, feel, and relate to ourselves and others.
Trauma isn’t only about extreme events, it can also include experiences that were overwhelming, frightening, or where support and safety weren’t available at the time. These experiences can leave lasting impressions on the nervous system, sometimes showing up later as anxiety, low mood, emotional overwhelm, physical tension, or difficulties in relationships.
My approach focuses on creating a safe, supportive space where you feel respected and in control of the pace. Rather than rushing into painful memories, we work together to help you understand your patterns, support your nervous system, and process past experiences in a way that feels manageable.
Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to make therapy feel more comfortable or better suited to your needs.
Neuroaffirming
I do not view neurological differences, such as autism, ADHD, or other neurodivergent ways of being, as deficits to be corrected. Instead, I work with you to understand your unique processing style, strengths, and challenges, and to find strategies that align with how your brain and body naturally function. In therapy, this might include adjusting communication styles, sensory awareness, or pacing, so that you feel respected and supported as your authentic self.
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I will never…
- force you to make eye contact or analyse why you don’t, I’ll meet you where you’re comfortable.
- sit in silence just to ‘hold space’, silence will only be used if it helps you reflect and process.
- ask you to stop fidgeting, I encourage moving, stimming and stretching.
- sit looking blankly while you talk about sensitive topics, with me you will get a warm, genuine and attuned presence.
- push you in to talking about trauma before you are ready.
- pathologise special interests, I’m interested in what resources you have available to you.
Mind-body approach
A somatic approach focuses on the connection between the mind and the body. Emotions are not just thoughts or labels; they are physical sensations in the body such as tension, heaviness, or a racing heart. These sensations are messages from the nervous system, often reflecting how past experiences have shaped our patterns of protection and response.​
In therapy, a somatic approach helps you tune into these bodily signals with curiosity rather than judgment. By slowing down and noticing what’s happening in your body, you can begin to understand how your nervous system is responding, find new ways to express your feelings and tend to your needs. ​
Somatic work helps you to anchor through the storms no matter what life throws at you. You learn how to track your feelings, sensations, and attune to your needs.
Creative
Creativity plays an important role in my therapeutic work with both children and adults. For children, I use creative and playful approaches, such as drawing, storytelling, movement, or games, to help them express thoughts and feelings that can be hard to put into words. These methods create a safe, engaging way to explore emotions, build trust, and make sense of their experiences.
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With adults, creativity can open up new ways of understanding and connecting with emotions beyond talking alone. This might involve using imagery, metaphor, guided visualisation, or somatic and narrative techniques to help bring insight and movement to stuck patterns. Creativity allows us to approach therapy with flexibility and curiosity, making space for different ways of thinking, feeling, and healing.
With so many different therapy approaches out there, it’s natural to feel unsure about what’s right for you. In our first session, we’ll explore your needs together and decide what feels most helpful.
I practice integrative therapy, which means I draw from a range of different evidence-based approaches to create a style of therapy that fits your needs. This flexibility allows me to use methods and techniques that align with your goals and preferences. I am also trained to adapt therapeutic approaches for neurodivergent clients and for people with a variety of communication, sensory, or learning needs, ensuring that therapy is accessible to each individual.
Below are some of the main approaches I’m trained in and integrate into our work:
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR )
Animation to explain EMDR to adults
Animation to explain EMDR to children
EMDR is a therapy that helps people process and heal from traumatic or distressing memories. It uses gentle forms of bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements, sounds, or taps) while thinking about a memory, which helps the brain and body reprocess what happened in a less overwhelming way. EMDR has a focus on building safety and nervous system regulation. It can be used not only to reprocess trauma, but also to build skills for self-regulation and resilience, tailored to what feels safe for your body in the moment.
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Who Benefits from EMDR?
EMDR can be helpful for both children and adults. It is especially supportive for people who have experienced trauma, bereavement, anxiety, or other distressing events, and who want a gentle approach to healing that doesn’t always rely on talking in detail about the experience.
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How Does EMDR Work?
Traumatic memories can sometimes get “stuck,” making it feel as if the past is still happening in the present. EMDR helps the brain reprocess these memories so they can be stored in a healthier way. The memory doesn’t disappear, but it becomes less distressing and easier to cope with.
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What to Expect in Therapy?
Sessions begin with building safety and resources; practising ways to stay grounded and calm. When you’re ready, we then use EMDR techniques to process memories at a pace that feels safe for you. With children, this can involve creative or playful methods to help them engage comfortably. Therapy is always collaborative: we go slowly, check in often, and make sure the process feels manageable and supportive.
Somatic Psychology
(Body-based approaches)
What is the nervous system?
Somatic psychology is based on the understanding that the mind and body are deeply connected. Emotions and stress aren’t just experienced in our thoughts; they’re also felt and stored in the body. When we’ve been through something overwhelming, our bodies may hold onto the tension or protective responses from that time, which can lead to ongoing anxiety, low mood, or disconnection.
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Modern somatic therapy has been shaped by practitioners such as Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing), Pat Ogden (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy), and Stephen Porges/Deb Dana (Polyvagal Theory). Their work focuses on how the nervous system and body responses influence emotional wellbeing and trauma recovery.
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In therapy, a somatic approach invites you to listen to the innate wisdom of your body; learning to notice sensations, breath, or movement, and to respond with curiosity rather than judgment. When helpful, I may introduce practical somatic resources like breath awareness, movement, and sensory anchors (such as touch, sound, or visual focus), to help you begin to release tension, express emotions, and restore a sense of safety and connection in your body.
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​I am trained in Applied Polyvagal Theory and I am currently completing my Somatic Practitioner training which integrates approaches such as somatic experiencing, meditation, and focalising.​
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT advice for difficult thoughts or feelings
ACT is a practical, evidence-based approach that helps you build a different relationship with your thoughts and emotions. Rather than trying to eliminate difficult feelings or control what you think, ACT supports you to make room for your internal experiences while focusing on actions that align with your values; the things that really matter to you.
In therapy, we might use strategies such as mindfulness, defusion (learning to step back from unhelpful thoughts), acceptance, and values-based goal setting. These skills help you notice your inner voice without judgment, stay more present, and respond in ways that support wellbeing and growth, even when life feels hard.
ACT has been shown to help with a wide range of difficulties, including anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, chronic pain, burnout, and low self-esteem. It can be especially supportive for people who feel caught in cycles of self-criticism or avoidance.
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I am trained to use ACT with both adults and children, adapting the approach to each person’s developmental stage, neurotype, and unique needs. The focus is always on building flexibility, self-compassion, and a life that feels more meaningful; one small, intentional step at a time.
Narrative Therapy
What is the narrative therapy?
Narrative Therapy is a collaborative approach that helps you explore the stories you tell about yourself and your life. Sometimes, when we go through difficult experiences, we can become caught in limiting or painful stories for example, “I’m not good enough” or “I always mess things up.” Narrative therapy helps you separate yourself from the problem and see that you are not defined by your challenges.
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In sessions, we might gently look at the language you use to describe your experiences, trace where certain stories came from, and consider how culture, family, and life events have shaped them. Together, we work to re-author your story highlighting your strengths, values, and moments of resilience that may have been overlooked.
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Narrative therapy has been shown to help with a range of difficulties, including trauma, anxiety, depression, shame, identity challenges, and family or relationship issues. It is particularly effective for children and young people, as it uses curiosity, creativity, and storytelling to help them make sense of their experiences.
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I often integrate narrative therapy with other approaches such as compassion-focused therapy and EMDR. The goal is to help you make sense of your experiences, reduce shame, and create space for more empowering, hopeful stories about who you are and what’s possible for you.
Compassion-focused Therapy (CFT)
Our Threat, Drive and Soothing systems
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is an approach that helps people develop greater compassion for themselves and others as a way to improve emotional wellbeing. It was originally developed by Professor Paul Gilbert to support people who experience high levels of self-criticism, shame, or difficulty being kind to themselves, but it is now used to help with a wide range of emotional and psychological difficulties.
CFT is based on the idea that our minds have evolved with different emotion systems; a threat system that helps us stay safe, a drive system that motivates us to achieve, and a soothing system that allows us to feel calm, safe, and connected. When we experience ongoing stress, trauma, or criticism, our threat system can become overactive, making it harder to access feelings of safety or warmth. CFT aims to rebalance these systems so that we can respond to challenges with greater understanding, courage, and kindness rather than harsh self-judgement or avoidance.
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In sessions, we work together to understand how your emotions and patterns of thinking have developed, often with compassion for the ways your mind has tried to protect you. We then focus on developing your 'compassionate mind' through exercises and reflections designed to strengthen feelings of warmth, safety, and connection. Techniques might include soothing rhythm breathing to calm the body, compassionate imagery to build a sense of support and kindness, mindfulness and grounding practices, and working with self-critical thoughts to develop a more balanced and caring inner dialogue.
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CFT draws on ideas from cognitive-behavioural therapy, evolutionary psychology, attachment theory, and mindfulness, and research has shown it can be helpful for a range of difficulties including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, shame, trauma, and chronic stress. It can also support people experiencing eating or body image concerns and difficulties in relationships where shame or self-criticism play a role.
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My aim is to help you build a kinder and more confident relationship with yourself, so that you can face life’s challenges with compassion rather than self-criticism.
Internal Family Systems-informed Parts Work
What is IFS?
Parts Work is an approach based on the idea that we all have different “parts” or aspects of ourselves that take on certain roles to help us manage life’s experiences. These parts might hold different emotions, beliefs, or needs. For example, a protective part that tries to keep you safe, a self-critical part that pushes you to do better, or a younger, more vulnerable part that carries pain from the past. Rather than seeing these parts as problems, Parts Work helps us understand them with curiosity and compassion, recognising that each one has developed for a reason and is trying, in its own way, to help.
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In therapy, we explore these inner parts together to understand how they interact and how they may sometimes come into conflict. The aim isn’t to get rid of any part of you, but to help them work together more harmoniously under the guidance of your calm, compassionate 'core self'. Sessions may involve gentle reflection, guided imagery, mindfulness, and dialogue with different parts to increase understanding and self-compassion. As you build a more compassionate relationship with your internal world, it becomes easier to respond to challenges with balance and self-awareness rather than being driven by inner conflict or criticism.
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Parts Work draws on approaches such as Internal Family Systems (IFS), Ego State Therapy, and other integrative models that view the mind as naturally made up of many interrelated parts. Research has shown that Parts Work can be helpful for people experiencing trauma, anxiety, depression, shame, relationship difficulties, and low self-esteem. It can also support people who feel 'stuck', conflicted, or disconnected from their emotions.
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I am trained to integrate Parts Work with EMDR, as the two approaches complement each other well. EMDR helps the brain process and release distressing memories that have become 'stuck', while Parts Work helps us understand and support the different parts of ourselves that carry those experiences. Used together, these approaches can create a deeper sense of emotional balance, integration and self-compassion.
“This isn’t about fixing yourself; you are not broken. Your body isn’t working against you; it’s working for you, trying to protect you the best way it knows how. All of the strategies that you go to when you are burnt out or stressed are all attempts to cope, whether they’re adaptive or not… your nervous system is responding to a threat and it's working as it’s supposed to do.”
Rebecca Kase, EMDR Consultant