Joanna Woods

I work daytimes Monday to Thursday

I am a humanistic therapist offering short-term and longer-term counselling and psychotherapy. I work in-person in Brighton & Hove, also offer outdoor therapy and online sessions.

Realising that you might need to talk to someone is the toughest, and also the bravest first step. Therapy can provide some much-needed calm and space in our busy lives and fast-changing world. You might want to use this space to navigate through a difficult time, continue personal development, seek emotional healing, set yourself some goals, or simply see what comes up. You might wish to improve ways of managing trauma and distress, increase self-compassion, or replace old patterns of behaviour or relationship dynamics that are no longer working for you. Therapy can also help you to recognise or re-discover your beliefs, strengths, resilience, and sources of healing, support and joy.

My approach prioritises the relationship between us as a safe and confidential place, and I will respect you as a whole person rather than focus solely on a problem, label or any diagnosis. I understand that everyone is unique, and everyone has their own experiences and understanding of the world we live in, our relationships and the things that have happened to us.

My humanistic training emphasises our in-built capacity for autonomy, growth, and the freedom to shape and give meaning to our lives. My approach is influenced by theoretical teachings such as Person-centred, Existential Psychotherapy, Focusing, Transactional Analysis, Internal Family Systems, and Trans-personal psychology. My therapy is inclusive and affirming of gender, sexual and relationship diversity, and LGBTQ+ identities.

You would be free to choose how you use your therapy sessions. I will be alongside you as you explore and make sense of your thoughts, feelings and experiences in any area of you life, and I aim to bring compassion, acceptance, attentiveness and honesty in our work together.

You might be in the middle of a crisis, feeling stressed, overwhelmed or disconnected, or wanting to come to terms with something that happened long ago. Or possibly you are feeling stuck in a cycle of difficult feelings, thoughts and behaviours, struggling with a significant relationship, or feeling unable to find meaning, peace or happiness in life.

Starting therapy is making an important investment in yourself and it can become a potent resource for personal exploration and growth. Therapy may not always feel easy, but bringing your curiosity and a commitment to engaging in the process can help you to get the most out of it.

Whilst I work with any issue someone might bring to therapy, I have a special interest in:

• Preparation and integration for expanded states of consciousness experiences with psycho-active substances and breathwork

• Life transitions and coping with change and loss

• Depression, anxiety

• Exploration of sexuality and identity, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual, asexual, and changing or questioning sexuality.

• Diversity of gender identity and expression, including trans, non-binary, masculine, feminine and fluctuating gender identity, and its impact on sense of self and relationships

• Diversity of relationship models and/or sexual practices, e.g. monogamous, poly, open, casual, kink/BDSM, etc.

In addition to my private practice, I am a psychedelic therapist on clinical research trials for depression. I have also previously worked as a secondary school counsellor, and as an honorary counsellor for an LGBTQ mental health charity. I have worked and volunteered in the support and care sector since 1994 in a range of support and managerial roles, supporting adults and young people around their mental health, homelessness, LGBTQ identities, disabilities, etc. 

If you are interested in finding out more, the next step would be to arrange a free initial 20-minute conversation by phone or Zoom. It is important to find a therapist you feel comfortable with, and this session is for us to see whether we feel that we could be a good fit in working together.

After that, if you would like to go ahead and book some sessions with me, we would generally arrange weekly sessions for an agreed number of weeks, eg 6-12, or leave things open-ended.

After the first few sessions we will review how things are going, and have other check-ins from time to time throughout our work– anything that you would like more of or less of, working towards goals, reviewing progress, anything you are noticing, etc. I welcome feedback at any time about how you are finding the sessions.