About Fran
My path to this work was a personal one
I recognise what it is to present one version of yourself to the world while carrying something quite different inside. I understand what it is to have a voice in your head that quietly decides whether you have done enough, been enough, are enough. A voice so familiar it feels entirely your own. And I am familiar with what it is to reach adulthood with ways of being already in place that developed for good reasons, that kept you safe once, but that quietly got in the way of the life you wanted.
I believe that doing my own ongoing work makes me a better counsellor. That work has taught me something important: that feeling better is not about reaching a fixed point where everything is resolved. It is about developing a different relationship with where you have been – one that leaves you feeling more free, more like yourself, and more able to choose.
Many of the people I work with have been carrying something heavy for a long time. They have found ways of managing, of getting through, of keeping it together. And then something happens. Sometimes it is a significant event – a loss, a relationship ending, a moment that cracks something open. Sometimes it is something smaller that simply tips the scales. Either way, they arrive knowing that something needs to change, even if they cannot yet name exactly what. If that sounds familiar, you are in the right place.
When you work with me, you are working with someone who genuinely understands the particular weight of what you might be carrying. Not from a distance, but from experience.
How I work
I work gently, collaboratively and always at your pace. My approach is person-centred, which means that you are the expert on your own life. I won’t tell you what to do or how to feel. Instead, I’ll create a space where you can think out loud, explore what’s going on, and begin to make sense of things in your own way.
I specialise in working with adults who are carrying the lasting effects of a difficult or challenging childhood – though many people I work with wouldn’t use that word for what they went through. Whether those experiences show up as anxiety, low mood, low self-esteem, difficulties in relationships, or simply a feeling that something isn’t right, counselling can help. I offer in-person sessions in Deeping St James and Nottingham, as well as online counselling for adults across the UK.
Sessions are flexible and shaped around your needs. Some people come for a few months, others for longer. There’s no fixed programme or pressure to work at a pace that doesn’t feel right for you. What matters most is that you feel safe, understood, and free to be completely yourself.
What I bring to each session is not a programme or a set of answers. It is curiosity about you – about what has brought you here, about the picture that begins to emerge when we sit together and follow the threads. My hope for every client is the same: that you leave our work together feeling more free, more like yourself, and knowing that you were not to blame for any of it.
Qualifications and accreditation
I hold a Level 5 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling and am a fully accredited member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). I have over 5 years of experience providing private counselling for adults, both in person and online.
I am also a qualified Breathwork coach. Where it feels helpful and appropriate, I may gently introduce breathwork techniques within our sessions to support your nervous system and deepen our work together. I will always discuss this with you first.
I am committed to my own continued professional development and receive regular clinical supervision, which ensures that the service I offer is always safe, ethical and of the highest standard.
Ready to take the first step?
If anything on this page has resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch to arrange your free initial consultation call. There’s no obligation and no pressure, just a warm, confidential conversation to see whether we might be a good fit.
Some things have been carried alone for so long they feel like they are just part of you. They do not have to be.
FAQs
In practice, person-centred counselling means that our sessions are led by you, not by a fixed agenda or programme. I won’t arrive with a plan for what we should cover. Instead, I’ll follow your lead, listening carefully and helping you explore what feels most important to you at that time. It’s a collaborative process built on trust, and it moves at whatever pace feels right for you.
Yes, and it’s one of the reasons I do this work. I came to counselling at a point in my life when things had become difficult in ways I couldn’t quite explain. I recognised what it was to present one version of myself to the world while carrying something quite different inside – and to have spent years living out patterns that had formed in childhood, ways of being that had made sense once, but that were quietly getting in the way. Through that experience I began to understand where those patterns had come from, and gradually learned to meet myself with kindness rather than criticism. That understanding changed the direction of my life, and it shapes the way I work with every client.
I have been working as a qualified, accredited counsellor for over five years, providing private counselling for adults both in person and online. Before qualifying, I completed a Level 5 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling and have continued to develop my skills and knowledge through ongoing training and regular clinical supervision ever since.