PRIVATE THERAPY & LIFE COACHING IN FERNDOWN, DORSET
Private therapy and psychologically informed life coaching for adults struggling with stress, overthinking, anxiety or burnout — or seeking greater clarity, confidence and direction.
In person in Ferndown, convenient for Bournemouth, Poole and Wimborne · Online across the UK
You might:
You may understand your difficulties quite well, yet still find yourself feeling or responding in the same familiar ways.
Whether you’re struggling with anxiety, stress or overthinking — or simply want more from life — the starting point is often the same: understanding what’s getting in your way.
That is where our work begins.
Support that fits where you are now
Choose the type of support that best fits what you need right now.
For anxiety, overthinking, stress, burnout, low mood and other difficulties affecting your life.
We’ll start with understanding you—not just the problem. What’s happening in your life? What have you already tried? What would you like to be different?
Our sessions can draw on different ways of helping you understand and work through what’s keeping you stuck.
For greater clarity, confidence, direction, performance and meaningful change in your work or life.
Coaching combines psychological insight with practical conversation to help you understand what is getting in your way and move forward with greater confidence and clarity.
Explore Life CoachingMy approach
Psychology without the jargon.
My work brings together evidence-based psychology with a practical understanding of how people actually think, feel and change.
As a BABCP-accredited CBT psychotherapist, life coach and former Senior Lecturer in CBT, I can draw from CBT, ACT, mindfulness and transformative approaches rather than trying to fit every person into one approach.
Sometimes the work is about overcoming anxiety, depression or stress. Sometimes it's about confidence, performance or figuring out what you really want.
Often, there is more overlap between those things than we imagine.
Grounded in CBT, ACT, mindfulness, psychological science and neuroscience.
Understanding is useful when it makes a difference to how you actually live.
No unnecessary jargon and no one-size-fits-all formula. We focus on what is actually happening for you.
I use the term psychological blindspots to describe familiar assumptions and ways of seeing things that can be difficult to notice in ourselves.
Perhaps you feel you must get everything right, or that you need to feel confident before taking a step forward.
Part of my work is helping you notice those assumptions and explore a different perspective—not telling you what to think, but helping you discover something useful for yourself.
I’ve spent much of my working life exploring what helps people change—from corporate leadership to psychology, NHS therapy, university teaching and coaching.
I spent 14 years working in the NHS and five years teaching CBT at university. Across my clinical and coaching work, I’ve worked with more than 6,000 people.
What matters to me is how I use that experience with the person in front of me.
I’ll listen carefully, ask questions and help you look at things from different angles. I’ll take what you’re experiencing seriously, without making it more complicated than it needs to be.
More about me and my background →
BSc (Hons) Psychology · PGCert · PGDip CBT · BABCP Accredited
Testimonials
“Chris stands out as an exceptional therapist and life coach. I refer to him with confidence and hear great feedback from clients who’ve benefited from his broad skills and experience. I would always turn to Chris in my time of need.”
“You won’t find anyone as dedicated to helping people as Chris is. I feel so much lighter, less stressed and my heart and my brain are so open that it’s so easy to enjoy and live life. All parts of my life — my work, my business and my relationships — are the way I want them to be.”
“Chris has a unique ability to get to the nub of an issue or problem. He helped me, in just a couple of sessions, to overcome some struggles — quite extraordinary really. I would highly recommend Chris to anyone who needs support to develop themselves.”
The philosophy behind my work
The Less Is More Mindset to Wellbeing & Performance
My book explores a simple idea that runs through much of my work: we often function best not by adding more techniques, strategies and thinking, but by understanding what we can stop doing.
It looks at why our minds can become unnecessarily complicated, how overthinking gets in the way of wellbeing and performance, and why greater clarity often emerges naturally when we stop interfering with it.
Discover A Clear Mind‘This Book Will Help You Go From Overthinking & Feeling Stuck, To Feeling Happy & Being Free’
Michael NeillBestselling Author of The Inside-Out Revolution & The Space Within
Where I work
I work with adults in person from my practice in Ferndown, Dorset, including people travelling from Bournemouth, Poole, Wimborne, Verwood, Ringwood and the surrounding area.
Looking for a life coach locally? Explore my life coaching in Ferndown, welcoming people from Bournemouth and Poole.
I also offer online therapy and coaching across the UK.
Individual therapy and coaching sessions are £95 for 55 minutes. The introductory 20-minute call is free.
You don’t need to decide before we speak.
In my therapy work, we focus on psychological difficulties that are causing distress or getting in the way of your life.
In coaching, the focus is more often on what you want to move towards—such as greater confidence, direction, fulfilment or effectiveness at work.
We can talk about what you need and which form of support seems appropriate.
You can tell me a little about what’s happening, what you’ve already tried and what you would like help with.
I’ll explain how I work, answer your questions and discuss whether I think I’m the right person to help. It’s a chance to get a feel for working together, rather than a full therapy session.
We’ll meet on Zoom, or you can request a telephone call instead. There’s no obligation to continue.
You can start wherever makes sense to you.
You might know exactly what you want help with. Or you might simply know that something isn’t right and you don’t want to keep feeling this way.
You don’t need a diagnosis, a particular therapy in mind or a perfectly worded explanation to begin a conversation.
A simple first step
You don’t have to work it all out before asking for help.
Tell me a little about what’s happening, ask the questions that matter to you and see whether working together feels right.
Meet me on Zoom, or request a phone call. No obligation to continue.