Kirsty Cartwright

What if the way you feel now could begin to make more sense? Perhaps something has happened that still feels present, even though you know it is in the past. You may find yourself reacting strongly to situations that seem as though they shouldn't affect you so much, feeling anxious or overwhelmed, becoming easily triggered, or noticing patterns that you understand intellectually but still find difficult to change. You may have been holding things together for a long time. Perhaps you have become very good at carrying on, putting other people first, staying in control or managing how you appear to those around you. Yet underneath, things may feel harder than they look. I'm Kirsty Cartwright, a qualified counsellor and MBACP member, offering counselling for adults in Tewkesbury and online. My approach is warm, relational and trauma-informed. I work integratively, bringing together Person-Centred and Psychodynamic approaches with EMDR, where this is appropriate. For me, the relationship between us is an important part of the work. Feeling understood, safe enough to be honest, and able to retain choice and control over what we explore can provide an important foundation for therapeutic work. EMDR EMDR can be helpful when experiences continue to affect you in the present, whether through distressing memories, triggers, emotional or physical reactions, beliefs about yourself, or patterns that seem difficult to shift. You don't necessarily need to have experienced one clearly defined traumatic event. Sometimes difficulties have developed through repeated experiences, relationships, loss, experiences of being unsafe, or situations where you have had to adapt and cope in ways that were helpful at the time but no longer feel helpful now. I don't see EMDR as something we simply move into because someone has experienced trauma. Understanding what is happening for you, establishing sufficient safety and stability, and making sure the approach feels appropriate are important parts of the process. We work collaboratively, and you remain involved in decisions about what we work on and when. Depending on your circumstances, EMDR may involve reprocessing particular memories or experiences. It can also be used to work with present-day triggers and difficulties and the beliefs or responses connected to them. The aim isn't to erase what has happened, but to help experiences become less overwhelming and less controlling, so that the past can feel more like the past and you have greater freedom in the present. How I work I believe therapy needs to be more than simply having someone listen. Being heard and understood matters, but so does having the opportunity to become curious about what is happening beneath the surface. Alongside compassion, I may gently challenge patterns or assumptions when it feels useful to do so. We might explore where a particular response has come from, what purpose it may once have served, and whether you still need it in the same way today. My Person-Centred training brings a strong emphasis on empathy, acceptance and the therapeutic relationship, while my Psychodynamic training supports exploration of the experiences and relationships that may have shaped how you understand yourself and relate to others. Trauma-informed practice helps me hold these experiences with an awareness of how the nervous system, past experiences and present circumstances can interact. I also recognise that people experience and process the world differently. I aim to understand you as an individual rather than making assumptions based on a label, diagnosis or particular experience. You don't need to arrive knowing exactly what is wrong, and you don't need to decide beforehand whether EMDR is the right approach for you. We can take time to understand what you're experiencing and consider together what might be most helpful. My aim is not simply to help you cope with what is happening, but to support you in developing a greater sense of choice, understanding and possibility in how you move forward.