Peak Pathways Counselling

Peak Pathways Counselling Professional counselling service in the High Peak

� Face to Face
� Online
� Walk and Talk

Now open .newmills - a purpose made, warm and secure space for you to explore the things that have brought you to therap...
19/04/2026

Now open .newmills - a purpose made, warm and secure space for you to explore the things that have brought you to therapy. 🪺🌱
I have developed this space alongside another therapist, Dr. Ailsa Parsons, and we have designed it to embody its name - a nest or cocoon-like space which feels natural yet protective.
I am holding all my face-to-face appointments here from now on - please get in touch if you are interested in enquiring about counselling.

If you are a counsellor, massage therapist or other wellness practitioner and are interested in hiring the space for an hourly rate, please get in touch either through this page or The Nest .newmills Instagram page.

I've got some plans in the pipeline. Hoping to announce something soon 🌱In the meantime, I am planning to get some nouri...
03/03/2026

I've got some plans in the pipeline. Hoping to announce something soon 🌱
In the meantime, I am planning to get some nourishment from this beautiful spring weather and the opportunity to be outside more.

awakening

As a therapist, I see how much pressure people feel at the start of a new year, especially neurodivergent clients who ar...
12/01/2026

As a therapist, I see how much pressure people feel at the start of a new year, especially neurodivergent clients who are already navigating a world not built for them.

Sometimes growth can look different to change.
It can look like keeping what works, it can look like rest.
Sometimes it looks like fewer goals, not more.

If your nervous system is asking for steadiness rather than momentum this year, that’s wisdom you can choose to listen to. Growth sometimes needs stability in order to begin.

Is your nervous system craving momentum, or steadiness for 2026?


After trauma (especially relational trauma or domestic abuse) we often develop internal protectors.Not because we’re wea...
09/12/2025

After trauma (especially relational trauma or domestic abuse) we often develop internal protectors.
Not because we’re weak, but because our bodies and minds were doing whatever they could to survive.

You might recognise:
• a hyper-independent part
• a people-pleasing part
• a scanning-for-danger part
• a shut-down/numb part
• a “don’t get too close” part

These parts were survival strategies shaped by your experiences.

People are naturally adaptive beings, and these parts were necessary at one point in your life. They deserve gentleness while you heal and get to know them.

Which parts are you aware of today? Which ones are demanding the most attention, and which are hiding? Feel free to share in the comments, but only if it feels right to do so.

When you’ve lived through trauma, or maybe years of masking and pushing through as a neurodivergent person, your nervou...
25/11/2025

When you’ve lived through trauma, or maybe years of masking and pushing through as a neurodivergent person, your nervous system becomes finely tuned to danger and overwhelm, and unmet needs.

Hyperarousal, hypervigilance, emotional shutdown, or going blank may appear to be signs that you’re 'broken.'
However, things can start to shift when you begin to recognise them as tools that your system had to learn in order to survive.

Your body is still choosing protection over punishment.
What’s one thing your system needs today?

Sometimes, when we have never learned to acknowledge our own needs, this can be a difficult question to answer.

Building self-reflection, regulation skills and insight through therapy and other tools, can help you make that next step towards recognising what your system is asking for.






Complex PTSD develops when trauma is chronic, relational, and occurs during key developmental stages.It shapes the nervo...
20/11/2025

Complex PTSD develops when trauma is chronic, relational, and occurs during key developmental stages.
It shapes the nervous system, identity, and how we show up in relationships — often automatically, without us even realising.

None of these patterns are flaws, instead they’re adaptations which were once protective.

It's common for those with C-PTSD to feel as though they need to be 'fixed'. But healing tends to involve gently unlearning survival patterns that no longer serve you, and replacing them with ones of safety, connection, and self-trust.

-ptsd

It’s completely normal to want fast relief when you’re hurting.But most of what we work through in counselling — trauma,...
18/11/2025

It’s completely normal to want fast relief when you’re hurting.
But most of what we work through in counselling — trauma, attachment wounds, domestic abuse recovery, low self-worth, ND burnout — didn’t develop in a month.
So they won’t disappear in a month either.

Progress often looks like:
• noticing triggers sooner
• having language for your feelings
• responding instead of reacting
• setting one boundary
• being kinder to yourself
• not abandoning yourself when you struggle

These are huge.
Even if they don’t look dramatic from the outside.

If you feel like you’re “not getting better fast enough,” that usually means you’re actually in the work.

🌿 October is Domestic Abuse Awareness Month.When we hear the words "domestic abuse," many people think of physical viole...
01/10/2025

🌿 October is Domestic Abuse Awareness Month.

When we hear the words "domestic abuse," many people think of physical violence. But abuse can also be emotional, and though it may not leave visible bruises, the impact can be just as deep and long-lasting. Emotional abuse chips away at self-esteem, identity, boundaries, and a person’s sense of safety in their own skin.

At Peak Pathways Counselling, I work alongside survivors to gently untangle the trauma left behind. This often requires several ways of working which can include:

Rebuilding self-worth that has been stripped away

Exploring and strengthening boundaries

Working through layers of guilt and shame that are commonly left on survivors of abuse

Supporting clients to reclaim their power and sense of control over their own lives

💚Recovery is about slowly piecing back together what was taken, and discovering new strength along the way.

Signs of emotional abuse can include:

Constant criticism, belittling, put-downs

Isolation from friends/family/ support systems

Being made to feel guilty for expressing needs or boundaries

Gaslighting (making you question your memory/ feelings/reality)

Having your choices, time, or independence tightly controlled

If this speaks to you and you’d like support, you’re welcome to send me a DM here on Instagram or visit my website through the link in bio. 🌿

Links are in my bio, drop me a message if you would like to discuss therapy with me.
17/09/2025

Links are in my bio, drop me a message if you would like to discuss therapy with me.

🌈 Pride Month 🌈As many of you know, it's Pride Month — and I’ve been sitting with this post for a few days, wanting to f...
07/06/2025

🌈 Pride Month 🌈

As many of you know, it's Pride Month — and I’ve been sitting with this post for a few days, wanting to find the right words, because it matters deeply.

Pride is about inclusion, visibility, and meeting people exactly where they are. It's about turning shame into self-acceptance, and isolation into belonging. In many ways, the ethos of Pride overlaps with the heart of counselling: being seen, being heard, and being accepted without condition.

There’s a lot of hate circulating online right now, which is exactly why Pride remains so important.

So, if you're reading this — however you identify, wherever you are on your journey — I see you. I believe you. I accept you. Not just as a counsellor, but as a fellow human being.

I will never question your identity. Whether you're gay, straight, bi, trans, non-binary, or anywhere else on the spectrum — your truth is valid.

Sending warmth and solidarity this Pride Month, however you're feeling. 🏳️‍🌈

🏳️‍⚧️
🏳️‍🌈

ADHD & Burnout: The Cycle That’s So Hard to BreakSometimes it looks like:Trying to do 12 things at once because everythi...
16/05/2025

ADHD & Burnout: The Cycle That’s So Hard to Break

Sometimes it looks like:

Trying to do 12 things at once because everything feels urgent

Feeling wired but stuck

Pushing through the overwhelm... until the crash comes

Then the guilt creeps in, and the cycle starts again

This isn’t laziness or a lack of motivation—it’s your nervous system trying to cope with too much input and not enough regulation.

Burnout in ADHD isn’t just about doing too much, it’s about doing too much without enough rest that actually restores you.

If this resonates, you’re not alone—and you’re not broken. Small shifts in pacing, sensory regulation, and self-compassion can begin to interrupt the loop.

I see this often in my work, and feel this reality too at times...Gently finding rhythm is possible.

Ever felt overwhelmed for ‘no reason’? Or gone numb when you wanted to speak up?That might be your nervous system flippi...
23/04/2025

Ever felt overwhelmed for ‘no reason’? Or gone numb when you wanted to speak up?
That might be your nervous system flipping into survival mode.

Polyvagal theory explains how we shift between fight/flight, freeze, and social connection depending on how safe we feel—often without conscious control.

Trauma can disrupt that sense of safety.
In therapy, we work with your nervous system, not against it. The aim is to build a sense of safety, awareness, and regulation from the inside out.

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High Peak
SK22 2

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