Hi, I'm Hannah :)
I am passionate about meeting people just as they are, offering warmth and kindness and sharing knowledge that stimulates and empowers our life force energy so that we can make conscious choices that move us out of stuck places.

I have personal experience and empathy with people managing life alongside such challenges as anxiety and panic attacks, cyclical depression, debilitating mental and physical fatigue, suicidal thoughts, insomnia, voice-hearing, and internal disturbance and struggle that is manifesting as unexplainable/undiagnosable physical pain.

Like many people’s Book Of Life, my story has a colourful and socially acceptable cover with many light and loving moments and tales of joy, connection and fulfillment… but some of the chapters also include experiences of abuse, trauma, loss, and grief. Engaging in various therapy modalities over the last decade has given me an insight into what is available, some offered me short and medium term relief and others planted the seeds for real change, but studying for my degree in Psychology With Counselling really cemented my desire to train in Psychotherapy so that I can go deeper than counselling with my clients when needed.

I believe in, practice and witness daily, the power of connecting to, listening to, and responding with understanding to what our bodies feel/do when we explore our stories and wounds with care and compassion. Here we learn how to navigate our emotions and bodily responses without shutting them down or getting consumed by them – an invaluable tool for processing the past, engaging with the present, and facing the future with confidence and self-trust. And finally, I am learning ways to live and work with (instead of within) the tones and traits of my unique neurodivergences in a neurotypical world, and I am enjoying sharing these tools and resources with relevant clients.

I provide counselling and psychotherapy sessions informed, in the main, by the modality of Transactional Analysis (TA) and I work with individuals, couples and groups.

TA provides us with a useful way of understanding our communications, attachment styles, relationships with ourselves and with others, and for gaining awareness and autonomy around our internal conflicts and patterns.

The core philosophies of TA are that people are OK, everyone has the capacity to think, people decide their own destiny and these decisions can be changed (Eric Berne, 1966).

In essence this means that relationships in the therapeutic space are founded upon the philosophical assumption that people have value, worth and dignity, self-acceptance for who they are and acceptance for others in the here and now, that they can decide for themselves what they want from their lives, and that changes to those decisions are an appropriate element of growth and development.

The therapy space I offer is held as an equal meeting place where, together and when you feel safe and ready to do so, we can explore your story and the chapters of your life so far, where we can get to know you and honour your feelings around your experiences.

The style of therapeutic relationship I endeavour to cultivate is one of open communication, where you can tune into your authentic voice without fear of judgement and develop your self-awareness in a co-compassionate space to utilise your own wisdom to make conscious choices and changes in your inner and outer worlds.

If you are interested in arranging therapy sessions with me, I offer an introductory assessment session on Zoom where we can get to know a little about each other, assess your needs, and decide if and how to proceed in working together to reach your aims. The assessment session is £45 and lasts for 1 hour. To arrange this simply email me at iokuoktherapy@gmail.com with a short introduction to yourself, your contact details, and an idea of your availability for the Zoom session and we’ll take it from there.