ABOUT
Sharon Simpson
I’m Sharon Simpson, a UKCP-registered psychoanalytic psychotherapist. I am also a member of CPJA (Council for Psychoanalytic and Jungian Analysis). I offer one-to-one psychotherapy to adults, and I also offer couples therapy. I am a qualified group practitioner and can offer working with people who would prefer to engage in a group setting.
People often come to therapy when something feels stuck or overwhelming — perhaps difficulties in relationships, anxiety, the impact of trauma, or a sense of repeating the same painful patterns. I aim to offer a thoughtful, steady space where we can begin to understand what you’re living with and what you might need to feel more grounded and free.
Experience and Background
I have worked for many years in the NHS and private practice and more recently in specialist services, including a forensic setting, working with people with more deep-seated emotional difficulties. Such difficulties are often referred to as ‘personality disorders’, but I find it more helpful to think about them as attachment issues that can be deep-seated and related to early life difficulties.
My working history includes working with clients in the following settings:
- I trained and qualified as an MH Social worker at the University of Kent and have worked with families and individuals with severe and enduring mental illness.
- Worked in the NHS in mental health and forensic settings (as Clinical Lead).
- Providing support to women who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse within a specialised environment.
- In a staff support service, offering staff training and group training.
- Working in a therapeutic community setting with people with a diagnosis of BPD.
- Working with people who have experienced complex trauma, PTSD, and relational difficulties.
Professional Registration and Training
I am a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist registered with the UKCP and have been practicing for 15 years.
- Master of Clinical Science (Psychotherapy) (MClinSci)
- Post Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapy
- Post Graduate Diploma in Group Analysis (IGA) Institute of Group Analysis
- Group Work Practitioner (IGA)
- Introductory training in MBT (Mentalisation Based Therapy)
- Supervision training
What to Expect in Our Sessions
Although my training is in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, I have significant experience and am informed by psychodynamic, attachment and trauma-informed practice. I am particularly informed by Attachment Theory, and I seek to help clients free themselves from conflicts and other struggles which limit their capacity to live as fully as they are able.
As a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, I understand the importance of creating such a safe and supportive relationship with my clients. I believe that change can only happen if the therapeutic relationship with the therapist feels safe and trusting. I am committed to providing a safe, confidential, and non-judgemental space in which to explore issues that may have developed over time or in your present life experiences in relationships.
Therapy isn’t something done to you. It’s something we create together — a relationship built on reliability, care, and honest reflection.
Working Together
I offer a safe, and regular therapeutic relationship within which you can feel understood. In this way, you can be helped to make sense of difficulties. Putting words to emotions and understanding what lies behind them can become the foundation for change.
We’ll work at a pace that feels manageable. My role is to help you think more clearly about what’s happening inside you and between you and others, so that over time you can experience greater steadiness, perspective, and choice.
Individual Psychotherapy
Sometimes people come to therapy with a specific issue that is causing them difficulty in their present lives, such as feeling anxious or low in mood and are seeking to make sense of these emotions.
For others, it may be that they have recognised that they are stuck in repeating patterns of behaviour that create problems in their intimate and other relationships. Issues from the past may be impacting on relationships with others.
I also offer couples therapy.
Group Work
You're Not Alone
It can be difficult to take that first step to seek help. I offer a free (no commitment) 30-minute session to answer questions and see if we are a good fit.
I look forward to hearing from you.