Kate Nicholls

I am currently accepting new clients.

Does this sound familiar?

Perhaps you've spent years wondering why you can't say no to a parent, feeling guilty for pulling away from family, or questioning whether you're the problem. Maybe you recognise yourself as the family scapegoat, or you've watched a sibling take on the role of golden child while your own needs went quietly unmet. Perhaps you find yourself walking on eggshells, people-pleasing, or caught in a cycle of guilt, obligation, and fear that keeps pulling you back in, even when a relationship leaves you feeling anxious and hurt.

You may have been quietly wondering whether you're overreacting, or found yourself searching for a word - narcissistic, toxic, difficult - that might explain what you've lived through. What matters most is not finding the perfect label or diagnosis, but learning to trust yourself that something has not felt right.

The effects of childhood emotional abuse, neglect, enmeshment, coercive control, or gaslighting within families are often subtle but deeply felt. In adulthood, this can leave you feeling anxious, isolated, unsure of your own perceptions, and fearful of abandonment long after childhood has ended. You may have spent years questioning whether your experiences were even real or valid.

What therapy offers

Therapy offers a space to gently untangle these long-standing patterns of relating - a place where you can feel genuinely heard, understood, and validated in your experience, at your own pace.

As self-awareness and self-confidence deepens, my hope is that you will begin to trust your own thoughts and feelings more fully, feel less swayed by the expectations of others, and become more securely grounded in who you are - separate, safe, and steady, whatever is happening around you.

Setting healthy boundaries, whether that means renegotiating a relationship or considering estrangement or no contact, is rarely simple. Only you will know what is right for you. My role is to help you find clarity and the confidence to make the choice that feels right.

When you've spent years being misunderstood, therapy can be the first place where your experience finally begins to make sense.

I am a fully qualified and insured Senior Accredited Psychotherapist, registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (Â鶹ԭ´´).

I hold an MSc with Distinction in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy from Birkbeck, University of London, and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology.

I am also a member of the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and the Birkbeck Counselling Association (BCA), and I am committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethical and professional practice through ongoing professional development, supervision, and reflective practice.

Get in touch

Please get in touch to arrange a free 20-minute introductory call. It's a chance for us to talk about what's on your mind, and to get a sense of whether we're the right fit to work together.