Dr Rachel Seymour

I had learnt to block out so much of my childhood, but because of recent traumatic events everything came to the surface; I had a difficult and abusive childhood, including having an emotionally abusive and neglectful mother, which left me feeling deeply anxious, self-critical, fearful, and disconnected from my own sense of worth. Therapy has helped me to revisit and make sense of incredibly difficult times in my life that had been blocked from my memory for my own survival. I have come to terms with the past; it cannot be changed, but it can be processed and put away in a healthy way. This has enabled me to learn who I am, to feel happier and more confident, to stand up for myself, to care for myself so that I can care for others, and most importantly, to know that I am enough… I would wholeheartedly recommend Rachel. Throughout this very difficult journey she has consistently shown me genuine compassion and understanding. This has given me the strength and confidence to move forward into a new chapter of my life.

I was experiencing anxiety, depression and anger; wanting my husband [who passed] back so we could do all the things we used to do. Therapy with Rachel improved self-understanding and emotion – I lost the anger and now look back positively to the things I used to enjoy. I have less anxiety and depression. I would recommend Rachel.

I do highly recommend Rachel, she has been a kind, considerate, compassionate and professional person. From the very start I immediately felt heard, understood and reassured about my problems. Our sessions have always been insightful and well planned. You can tell that there is so much care in the work that she does. It has been an absolute privilege to have had Rachel as a therapist. Before therapy I was experiencing frequent panic attacks resulting in being sick, feeling out of control of my body, thoughts and emotions. Dealing with past trauma from ex partners and family members. Out of touch with what I needed to take care of myself mentally and physically and using bad coping mechanisms to 'get by' in life. Therapy has massively increased my self-awareness, self-understanding, my regulation skills which has resulted in a decrease of panic attacks, feeling low and being critical about myself. I learnt how to successfully encourage myself through social situations that I struggled with, these usually caused panic attacks, but with the tools Rachel taught me, I started regulating these feelings and created more successful experiences. These successes added up over with time and with practising more techniques this has lead me to start living with a more happier, kind and confident version of myself.

I definitely would recommend Rachel. From the very first call, I found Rachel to be incredibly caring and knowledgeable. She asked insightful questions, offered thoughtful advice, and shared her initial impressions. This made a lasting impression on me—I had never experienced such a detailed and engaging consultation before, and I immediately felt confident that I would learn a great deal from working with her. My partner and I at the time were experiencing a lot of issues in our relationship that stemmed from my personal traumas and anxiety. My self-confidence was at an all-time low, and I struggled to keep my emotions under control and felt helpless about how else I could improve. I've greatly improved my self-confidence and learned how to live more effectively with anxiety. I started therapy with almost paralyzing anxiety and was no longer able to find enjoyment in day-to-day activities. I also had difficulty processing my emotions, which led to frequent panic attacks. Through therapy, I discovered the root causes of my anxiety and became more accepting of it. At the start, my anxiety triggered destructive coping patterns that caused numerous relationship problems. Thanks to therapy, I've learned how to prevent those self-destructive behaviours from resurfacing. Overall, my quality of life and sense of contentment have increased significantly over the course of therapy. Schema therapy with Rachel has been truly life changing. It provided me with lifelong tools that I will continue using to manage my anxiety. I've seen a drastic improvement in my quality of life from the beginning of therapy to the end.