Therapy with Janine

15/05/2026

Most people don’t really know what to expect when they first come to see me.

Often they’ve been holding a lot in, and trying to carry on - but at some point they’ve realised that they don’t have to struggle alone.

There is no formula for healing.

It takes time.

It takes empathy and compassion.

It takes honesty and courage to face the things that we might have tried really hard to push down.

The first step to healing is to stop pretending you’re ok when you’re not. Healing begins when you allow your feelings to exist and you stop hiding the pain from yourself.

What I can promise as your therapist:

💗 I will show up as my full authentic self. I will hold the space for you to do the same, and if that’s hard, we will explore this together.

💗 I will listen with empathy and compassion - not just to what you say - but to what you don’t.

💗 I will meet you right where you are. There is no need for you to be anything other than you. No expectations. No pressure.

💗 I will not judge - judgement is a barrier to empathy. I cannot empathise fully if I’m sitting in judgment. I am not a perfect human being!! (Very well aware of my flaws thank you!! 😁)

💗 I will gently challenge you. I will encourage you to be open to new perspectives. I will not collude with you and tell you everything you want to hear. I will be honest and I might even tell you things that are hard to hear. But we will work through this together.

💗 I will be with you in your pain. As you allow yourself to lean in to your feelings, I’ll be walking right beside you supporting you all the way and helping you to make sense of it all.

If you’ve been thinking about therapy but have talked yourself out it, why not have a chat with me to see if it might help.

Email me:

hello@therapywithjanine.co.uk

I’m here ready to support you whenever you’re ready.

Daytime and early evening appointments plus limited weekend availability. Get in touch for more details.

(Pic of my dog Ziggy, cos he’s cute! 🐾)

Ziggy says you should do it! 😁

29/04/2026

Have you been told that you have anxiety?

Or do you or others describe you as a worrier? 🤔💭

Anxiety is a normal part of life, but for some, it can spiral out of control and affect our lives and our health in negative ways.

There are many factors that may be playing a part in the anxiety we feel. Below are just some but there will be many more:

➡️ Past traumas
➡️ A nervous system stuck in ‘fight-flight’
➡️ Health issues
➡️ Supporting someone else with health issues
➡️ Unemployment
➡️ The use of drugs or alcohol/addiction
➡️ Too much coffee
➡️ Bad sleep hygiene
➡️ Stress at work
➡️ Difficult family relationships
➡️ Feeling like we can’t be fully ourselves
➡️ Feeling stuck in playing a role
➡️ Being in a toxic relationship
➡️ Supporting someone with addiction issues
➡️ Having children with SEN
➡️ Finances
➡️ Fluctuating hormones and monthly cycles
➡️ Diagnosed or undiagnosed Neurodivergence

And then there’s the ever-changing world we live in and the constant stream of bad news. 🤯😵‍💫

I see anxiety as a reaction to something, and usually it stems from feeling out of control which is why when I work with anxiety in therapy, my approach is to help people explore it and find out what the root cause is, rather than just treat the symptoms. A big part of alleviating anxiety, is understanding what’s causing it.

I help my clients to recognise that often they are having a very normal reaction to the circumstances they find themselves in. They just need help to turn the alarm down. 🚨

I also hold the belief that sometimes there is wisdom in anxiety - on a deep level, our bodies know when things don’t feel right and if we are willing to get really curious, sometimes we discover that our anxiety was telling us that something in our life isn’t working anymore and things need to change. The problem is that most of us ignore the signs. 🚧⛔️⚠️❌

As part of my initial assessment with new clients, I always ask if they have been diagnosed with any mental health conditions. The reason I ask this is to find out what they’ve been told about themselves by other professionals such as the GP and to get an idea of how they might be viewing themselves.

For example if someone has been officially diagnosed with anxiety, it makes me curious as to how this label might be shaping their behaviour and experiences.

Diagnoses can be helpful for lots of people as it gives a name to their experience, but the downside is that often this label becomes a full stop which means that the label then limits their life.

Have you ever said - “I could never ______(fill in the blank), my anxiety wouldn’t let me!!”

Sometimes we can unknowingly let the label limit us and we give up trying to work through our issues. Often it becomes part of our very identity.

Which is why my core approach to therapy is humanistic and holistic, meaning I see the person, not just the labels.

Labels don’t ever encapsulate a person’s life experiences. They may give a name to certain struggles but therapy is about increasing capacity and encouraging personal growth, and helping people to meet themselves fully with an acceptance of where they are at.

You are not your anxiety and with support, things can improve. 💗

24/04/2026

Friday afternoon and the sun is shining!! ☀️☀️☀️☀️

It’s such a mood booster isn’t it!? 🕶️

I’m sitting here with my cabin doors open wide while
I type up client notes.

I was talking to a client earlier about noticing the glimmers ✨We are programmed for noticing the negatives in life and we often don’t notice the positives!!

So today I’m noticing how nice the sun feels on my face, I’m loving hearing the birds chirping and I’m thankful for another week of supporting my lovely clients on their journeys.

What are you grateful for today? 💗

18/04/2026

This !!👇🏼

If we can stop apologising for the things we have been led to believe we need to, we will start to free others to do the same. Free yourself and be kind to yourself and you are naturally doing the same for another. 🧡

18/04/2026

If you’ve been thinking about starting therapy, feel free to get in touch. I have a couple of spaces just opened up.

I know it can feel a bit daunting reaching out and knowing what to say, which is why I do a free phone consultation with all new clients so that I can introduce myself properly and I can tell you a bit about my approach to therapy and run through the details.

You get to hear my voice and decide if I would be someone you feel you can work with. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions too.

I aim to make the process as easy as possible for you, putting you at ease right from the start.

If you’ve been struggling for a while and want to share the load, send me a message. You don’t have to carry it alone. I’m here and ready to support you. 💗

You can reach me by email:

hello@therapywithjanine.co.uk

15/04/2026

I wanted to do a little post re-introducing myself for any new followers on my page, and also because there has been a bit of a shift in terms of the clients I support in my private therapy practice. So here I go…😀

I’m Janine - mum of two beautiful girls (both far too grown up for my liking), therapist, dog mum, animal lover, vegan, ex-teacher, tea drinker, hummus addict, nature lover, music enthusiast, gig goer, currently revelling in my 90’s grunge revival era. 🤘🏼🎸

I love art, music, theatre, cinema and philosophy. I enjoy a good mooch around the markets - Camden being a favourite hang out of mine. Handmade jewellery is my kryptonite! I own more rings than I have fingers!! 😆🙈💍

Almost 10 years ago, I had some counselling to help me navigate my divorce and it made such an impact on me that I embarked upon a career change at the ripe old age of 41 and re-trained as a counsellor.

This was the start of a really surprising journey for me - and what was a huge crisis and very turbulent time in my life turned out to be the beginnings of a beautiful blessing in disguise. (I can only say this now of course with the benefit of hindsight and therapy.)

Since qualifying, I have worked with a wide range of people; men, women, young adults and children. People from the LGBTQ community, religious people, non-religious people, trainee counsellors, survivors of abuse, unpaid carers - and I’ve supported a lot of vegans along the way too. 🌱

I never really wanted to settle into a niche as a therapist, as I wanted to be able to support everyone and thought that if I developed a specialism, that I would be excluding people that might need my help. And it’s been great as I’ve learned so much from all of my clients over the years.

However, as amazing as the last 5 years or so have been in terms of the wonderful clients I’ve been able to support, I’ve realised that maybe it’s ok to not be the right therapist for everyone. After all, you can’t be everyone’s cup of tea - and that’s okay!!

Where I live in Rayleigh, there are a host of other amazing counsellors and therapists and I know that if I am not able to support someone for whatever reason, that there is likely another therapist close by that can! I’m always happy to help with onward referrals wherever I can.

So a few weeks back I made the decision to follow my heart and go where the learning takes me. And where it has led me, is to the decision from this point forwards that I want to work exclusively with women. 💗

As much as I love working with men, I ADORE working with women.

I feel really passionate about supporting women in all stages of life and empowering them to fully meet themselves JUST AS THEY ARE.

Whether you are young woman just starting out, figuring out what you want in life, or a mum juggling family, work and other commitments, someone with a career or lots of responsibility or a mid-life lady struggling to keep it all together - I can totally relate, I’m part of the peri-merry club myself 😉 (Thanks to my client for teaching me this fab phrase!)

Women’s lives are rich and complex and often many of my clients come to me when they are experiencing burn out from carrying so much. They have been the glue holding everything together for everyone else for a long time and they reach a point where this is unsustainable. They realise that they need support and a safe space to put the load down and share with someone who gets it.

So, if you are a woman looking for support, or you know someone that is, send me DM or an email and I will arrange a free call with you to discuss how I can help.

Edited to add: I work face to face and online for those further afield. 😊

Thanks for reading what turned out to be quite an essay!!

Janine 💖

💻 www.therapywithjanine.co.uk

📧 hello@therapywithjanine.co.uk

(Picture of me on a recent weekend away in Cambridge.)

05/04/2026

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter 💐🐰

24/03/2026

Such a lovely thoughtful gift from a client whose time with me has just come to an end.

It’s a real privilege to support people who are going through hard things but it’s super lovely to hear how I’ve helped them along the way. It reaffirms why I do what I do.

I never expect gifts, but I’m feeling very appreciated right now which is lovely and affirming and makes me feel like I’m doing something right, even when my inner critic makes me doubt myself at times!

23/03/2026

Hi all,

I’ve been a bit quiet on my page recently, but I’ve been busy behind the scenes engaging in lots of CPD training!

Some of my recent trainings include:

💗 Shadow Side of The Feminine
💗 Dismantling Internalised Misogyny
💗 Embodying Feminine Intelligence
💗 The Narcissist and The Empath : The Magnetics That Draw Them Together
💗 When Therapists Become Activists
💗 Intro To Holistic Mental Health

As a therapist I am feeling myself naturally grow and change the more I learn and as a result, I’ve made a decision moving forwards that I want to exclusively support women.

I’m so passionate about empowering other women to shed the layers of expectation and the masks we wear and to connect with themselves more fully. More on this to come in future posts.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been redesigning and rewriting my website. It’s got a fresh new look and I thought I would share it here! 😊

Click the link to check it out.

👩🏻‍💻 www.therapywithjanine.co.uk

08/03/2026

🌼 International Women’s Day 🌼

I’ve written and deleted this post several times - I’m having trouble knowing where to start this year.

There is so much to say on the treatment of women in today’s world, but also on how amazing women are and all the ways in which we shine and embody strength, beauty, courage and wisdom - but I fear once I start, I may not stop!!

So I will just say this:

We must do better.

And by WE, I mean all of us.

We must continue to call out discrimination when it shows up, and to recognise our work as women to dismantle our own internalised misogyny.

It’s 2026, and women’s rights are STILL being stripped away and inequality and misogyny are STILL rife.

Well they would be wouldn’t they when we live in a patriarchy. A system which is designed for there to be oppression and dominance over women. In some parts of the world, the treatment of women and girls is nothing short of barbaric.

When women support each other, we are stronger together. 👭🏻 As a therapist, I’m more passionate than ever about advocating for and supporting women to find their own voice, to strip away the layers of conditioning that society piles on, to let go of all the ‘shoulds ’ and to start living authentically.

To return to a wholeness that that world has chipped away. There was a time when women were once revered, respected and valued for the wisdom and strength they possess. But over time, we’ve been devalued and conditioned to accept less than we deserve.

I’m wishing a Happy international Women’s Day to all of my wonderful clients, who are doing the work of healing, raising families, chasing their dreams and smashing their goals in a system that is pitted against them.

And to my daughters, who I watch with pride as they follow their dreams - don’t let anything hold you back or dim your light girls. 💗

I see you, and I celebrate you. 🎉

The world needs our strength but also our softness. Imagine how life could be so very different if women were in charge. 🤔💭