Hello, I’m Laurie
I’m a BACP accredited psychotherapist and supervisor based on the South Coast in Poole, Dorset.
Before becoming a a therapist, I spent almost a decade working in HR, coaching and leadership development in both the private sector and NHS. A combination of grief, work-related stress, burnout and a general feeling of unhappiness, led me to seek therapy for the first time and I found the experience transformative.
While I originally went to therapy to process losing a parent in my early 20s, I discovered a space where I felt truly heard, validated, understood, and seen as the real me; which meant that this support started to ripple out into other areas of my life too.
I finally had the time and space to really listen to myself and start paying attention to my own needs. From this, I started to realise how I was stuck in a cycle of pleasing others, striving for perfection, lacking boundaries, anxiety and depression; all while feeling trapped in unhealthy relationships and work environments.
Like most of us, I have experienced multiple traumas throughout my life but it was the grief and trauma of losing a parent that was the catalyst for change. As I began to see my limiting beliefs for what they really were, I finally had space in my life to figure out what I wanted. It was from building this new foundation that I finally retrained as a psychotherapist – my teenage-self’s dream! I was also able to reconnect with my messy, perfectly-imperfect self and learnt to embrace the power of being an introverted HSP and intuitive empath.
Once qualified, I opened my online-exclusive practice and went on to do further study, which provided me with the opportunity to undertake significant research into the effects of grief, loss and relational trauma. As a result of this knowledge, combined with my personal and clinical experience, 2025 will hopefully see the publication of my first book.
Outside of work, you’ll find me attempting to learn boxing, in a love-hate relationship with strength-training, reading anything and everything I can get my hands on (Matilda-style), soaking up the sea air on the Dorset coast, going on long walks, daydreaming, doodling and going on spontaneous adventures with friends and family. I also love learning new things and hope to start learning British Sign Language (BSL) next.
While my formal training, ongoing CPD, research and professional experiences inform my work, so do my experiences of being human and I truly understand the courage it takes to acknowledge where we are and ask for help.