Emily Duffy Therapy

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United Kingdom
Waltham Cross
Emily Duffy Therapy

She/Her
Online Integrative Therapist in the UK
I work with identity e.g. I'm an ENM & LGBTQ+ affirmative therapist.

sexuality, gender, neurodivergence, chronic illness, and mental health, the relationship with "self", and how you then relate to the outside world and the people around you. I work in an integrative approach meaning I adapt my way of working to your preferences, where possible, in a collaborative way. We will talk about what it is you would like to get out of counselling and look at ways we can do

this. My core way of working is offering a safe and non-judgemental space through person centred counselling and it's core conditions, which are to hold you with unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruence. From here I layer on tools and techniques from other approaches such as gestalt ways of working (metaphors, 'here & now' work, somatic exploration), ways of working from MBCT/SFT/CBT (using mindfulness techniques to explore our ways of thinking, looking at how this can be different, and how this can then impact our behaviour/emotions), and CFT/ACT (looking at our internal narrative, how we can be more compassionate and accepting to ourselves). Depending on what it is you're wanting to explore, how long we work together, and your preferences, will depend on the techniques used in our sessions. If you are considering short term work with myself then we will look at the most pressing issue you would like to focus on, whereas longer term work will allow more breadth of work.

22/05/2026

I'm so chuffed 🥰

My CPD for Working with Chronically Ill Clients is currently being reviewed and I have had my first testimonial:

"Whatever your starting position be it a chronically ill therapist, an able-bodied therapist, or any mental health practitioner working with chronically ill folx, this course will change your practice for the better. For me I loved the balance of research and self-reflection woven throughout the course. Having finished it, if someone was to ask me 'what do I need to know about working with chronicallv ill folx?', I would point them here"

This is such amazing feedback and it's made me even more excited to share it soon!!

If you want to stay updated please do leave me your email here as I'll be emailing you when it's officially released 🥳

https://forms.gle/yGC7Hj9pSibErBwR8

18/05/2026

If we ask for help, we NEED it! 😢

Someone with chronic pain is often in pain 24/7

If we verbalise our pain, it means PAAAIINNN

If we actively can't hide the pain anymore e.g. are doubled over that means PPAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNN!!

Our pain tolerance and rating system is different. Someone without pain can actually live with 0 pain. We might be living with 3+ pain on a daily basis.

I'm currently in a 7-8 pain day 🙃 but it's also a part of my normal and something I can "mostly" manage..... But other people might seek help by this point if they're not used to it.

The best tip I've learned for those of us with chronic pain is this pain new and unmanageable?

Like if this was a new pain I'd not experienced before I'd probably be seeking help!

16/05/2026

I love offering text based therapy options 💚

I currently have a couple of sessions available for UK residents!

Some people really click with it in a way they weren't able to with "in person" therapy, whether video, phone, or face to face.

I've found:
✨️ It can be so useful for people who are coming to therapy who've found other mediums of therapy haven't been effective and they have something specific they want to work on.
✨️ It tends to be a lot more directive and solution focused than in person therapy
✨️ It tends to be shorter term work

It works well for people who:
💚 Want therapy but can't get anywhere nor have a reliable internet connection for video
💚 Don't like to verbalise their emotions but don't mind writing them out
💚 Need flexibility in when they can attend - I still have a set time and day to send the email by but clients can write and send it any time before then!
💚 Don't have a space to talk out loud for sessions without being overheard

It's not so great for:
💔 People in crisis who need in person support (although most therapy isn't full crisis support)
💔 Don't have a space where people can't see your screen
💔 People who struggle to wait on responses and want to respond immediately
💔 Wanting someone to guide you through things in real time e.g. doing a therapy exercise in session like breathing exercises.

My website to includes a little quiz to see if email therapy is suitable for you here - www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/what-i-offer

And I have a couple of spaces you can book in for here - www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/book-online

Have you tried email therapy? What're your thoughts?

15/05/2026

New blog post - A guide to endometriosis 💚

It's been 4 weeks exactly since my laparoscopy and I wanted to detail the challenges and journey of what it's like to live with endo!!

Check it out here or link via bio - www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/post/a-guide-to-endometriosis

Lemme know what you think below and if there's anything more you'd like to know!! 💫

14/05/2026

Did not expect this to blow up like it did! 🤯

But I also think it's indicative of how many of us have been mistreated, dismissed, gaslighted, neglected, and in some cases abused by medical professionals (and I include mental health professionals in this too).

So many of us experience medical trauma. We go for support and we get ignored. It's dehumanising!

Most of the experiences shared on this post made me so angry for a common experience many of us have had.

In my mind, therapy and medical appointments are where the patient/client brings their lived experience and knowledge, and the professional brings their expertise, knowledge, and experience and they work together...... BUT.... it feels like this sometimes ends up so the professional works against the client/patient in expense for their own narrative/beliefs/ego.

I really implore for professionals to take a step back and think about:
💬 What you're saying
💬 If it's in the clients benefit
💬 If it's relevant
💬 How you would feel in their situation
💬 If you're pushing your opinion or if you're following the clients/patients experience and needs

Remembering you're in a position of power and you can really do harm to the person in front of you who's often in a vulnerable position and asking for support.

To all clients and patients, advocate for you! You don't have to take their word for it, you can challenge, and you can get a second opinion (I'm in the UK so based on our system). You are worthy of support and care 💚

How do you look after and advocate for yourself against medical trauma? 🔥

09/05/2026

I am so pleased to share this!! 💚

I am so excited to annouce that my course, "Working with Non-Monogamy in Therapy" is now approved and quality checked by the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society 🥳

This doesn't change anything about the course, other than hopefully adding a layer of trust around myself as a provider and for those looking to purchase it knowing it has been checked over by a professional membership body.

I do have to highlight that;
“This course has Quality Checked Distance Learning training recognition with the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS).

This course alone is not a route to the Accredited Register, nor does it equip a participant to refer to themselves as a qualified counsellor or as a ‘specialist’ in this area of work unless they have obtained relevant qualifications and experience to do so.”

So please do check it out 💚

It is £60 one off fee for lifetime access (for as long as I am hosting or Wix is around) or pay what you can from £10 | Self-paced | Written based with audio read throughs | around 4 hours of CPD.

www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/courses

08/05/2026

It's been 3 weeks since my surgery 😳

I am still very much recovering but I am looking forward to seeing clients again next week!

I have had lots of rest with my dogs and getting sent care packages by family 🥰

But this is definitely a lesson in knowing your body and listening to your body.

I've not been that great at this in recovery, with my mind wanting to do but my body needing to not do. I have to stop and check myself before I do anything, especially as my energy levels are still quite low!!

I had a big day yesterday with voting and other things going on. So now today I've needed to rest even more with heavy fatigue 🙃

This is a constant battle for so many of us with chronic illness.

I am working on a blog post - a guide to endometriosis - which will be out in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for this! 👀

04/05/2026

You can take all that pressure off yourself in therapy 💚

**Obviously there is nuance to this post and it is dependent on finding a therapist you feel safe(r) with and comfortable with.**

There are so many things you don't need to do in therapy. You don't have to:
💚 Protect your therapist. That's not your role. It's great if you care about us too, but that shouldn't stop you saying whatever you need to say!
💚 Protect others. They're not in this space. Therapy is your space and you're allowed to be unfiltered in that space.
💚 Apologise for "rambling". This is your space. Often what you see as rambling is still important and can just be getting used to having dedicated time to talk about yourself!
💚 Hide your emotions. It's okay to cry, be angry, laugh....etc. it's purposeful and good.
💚 Hide parts of yourself. Therapy gets to be a space where you can be yourself and explore who that is.
💚 Lie. Therapy is a space where you don't need to filter the truth.
💚 Talk about anything you don't want to. You "shouldn't" feel forced to talk about anything you don't want to explore. Take it at your pace.
💚 Only talk about the bad stuff. You can let us know about your achievements, joys, funny moments, all of it.

The space is for ALL of you, whatever that looks like! ✨️

30/04/2026

I did it 💚 1000 hours in private practice, small steps still count!!

"Slow progress is still progress! No one can deminish that achievement; it happened".

Before I left for my surgery I hit 1000 client hours in my private practice since setting up 5.5 years ago!! I was so freaking proud and excited... but then I had that pesky inner critical voice pop up telling me it wasn't enough and I should have more by now; "If only you weren't so unwell, imagine what you could have done" 🫠

But you know what, f**k that voice.

My progress still stands, and those hours are just a small snippet of all I've done in my private practice too. It doesn't account for all the learning to market myself, not being full practice for a bit when starting up, note taking, supervision hours, CPD, course making I've done, blogging, website building and maintenance, resource building, networking, emailing, admin, cancellations, holiday, surgery time off, managing my health... the list goes on.

And I think this is testament to a lot of slow progress. In the immediate moments it can feel overwhelming, impossible, and challenging, like nothing is happening. We can get frustrated at ourselves and the world. We can even hit set backs. But when we break down the progress we see how much more was involved than we realise and take account of.

Sometimes we need that step back.

And we definitely need to celebrate ourselves more, especially the small steps that we do because they make up the bigger picture 💚

So yeah, freaking 1000 hours in private practice 🥳

I'm celebrating myself today, what small step are you celebrating? ✨️

29/04/2026

When you live in fight or flight constantly 😂

But seriously, have you ever noticed not being able to switch off.

Being half asleep but noticing you're still scanning for threats around you?

And also how the people around you can set you off too? Just like my dogs show!

This can be so hard to live with and can come from so many aspects of life.

We often get told to rest, but rest can't be fully restorative if we're not able to switch off...

So how can we?

Learning to regulate is a process and one that takes time with support, learning safety, learning coping skills, and patience with yourself. I have to co-regulate my dogs to bring them back down, therapy can help you co-regulate too. To switch that inner guard dog off, or at least calm it down enough to rest!

28/04/2026

And it comes with stigma too 💔

I have always hated cancelling plans, and I have had to more than most people in my life because I've always had health issues and limited capacity.

Unfortunately not everyone understands or is able to have continued patience for it - which is fair - it's so frustrating on both sides. I've had someone tell me "you clearly don't care enough to try" when I cancelled for the third time due to my health.

Cancelling plans isn't a whim though. As much as people may say we're "flaky" or "unreliable" it's not something we do lightly.. I had a cry the other month cancelling plans with a family member becuase I hate it, but at the same time I'm respecting my body and it's limits which are unpredictable. Thankfully the people in my life now understand, care, and are able to hold that frustration 💚

I hate it whether I'm cancelling as a client, therapist, friend, family member, or any other capacity. And it really doesn’t get any easier becaise of that stigma that can turn into internalised ableism:
😞 but you were able to the other day...
😞 are you really that unwell?
😞 you're so flaky/unreliable/incapable
😞 you should be able to....
😞 you're a bad person for letting them down

Some options:
✨️ Sometimes it could mean changing plans rather than cancelling - maybe you can get to your friend instead.
✨️ Maybe it could be changed to an online meet up
✨️ Sometimes it means patience and trying to understand we want to but genuinely can't

This is a reason a lot of us chronically ill folk end up in online communities, because that expectation to be physically present isn't as heavy.

How do you handle cancelled plans?

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Waltham Cross

Telephone

+447508387585

Website

https://www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/

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