Samantha McEwan

I see clients in person in my office in Kilmarnock town centre, and also online over Zoom for clients who live further afield. I see my clients Tuesday to Friday daytime, with some evening availability Tues-Thurs, and on some Saturday mornings.

My background includes extensive experience supporting people with a wide range of issues in their personal, relational or working lives relating to: 

Emotional wellbeing: anxiety, panic, stress, depression

Mind & body: binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa, chronic physical illness, physical anxiety symptoms, burnout

Identity, confidence & purpose: poor self-esteem or sense of self, feeling stuck in relationships or career

Trauma & recovery: PTSD, complex PTSD, childhood emotional, physical, sexual abuse, neglect, unstable caregiving

Relationships & connection: difficulties with relational and communication patterns, abuse 

My approach is active and compassionate. I help my clients explore the underlying causes of their difficulties, not just the surface symptoms, and support them to move forward with renewed sense of self, direction and confidence.

I offer a free of charge, no obligation, introductory 30 min call to carry out a brief assessment of your needs. This is a safe space where you can discuss your goals for therapy, ask questions, and decide afterwards whether I’m the right therapist for you. I can also refer you to another colleague who might be more able to help.

My clients often feed back that they feel heard, understood and supported by my warm and professional approach, while quickly being enabled to make new insights and progress.

My therapeutic approach, tailored to client needs, includes:

CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) 

ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)

Compassion Focused Therapy

Elements of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for emotional regulation and behaviour change

Mindfulness based CBT (trauma informed)

Attachment and relational based approaches

Schema informed therapy

Trauma therapy using above therapies, somatic approaches, imagery rescripting, cognitive processing therapy

In my first session with clients I carry out an assessment of what has been happening to lead to therapy, significant life experiences over the years, and current symptoms -for example, symptoms of depression, anxiety or trauma. 

We set goals together, so that we can track improvement and progress, and develop a treatment plan. At this time we agree an approximate number of sessions. While there is flexibility in this, my approach is ethical and I will ensure not to allow therapeutic 'drift' where the focus of therapy is lost. I aim for each of my client sessions to feel purposeful and valuable.