About Counselling with Tori
About Tori
I am a queer, autistic, BACP registered (416699) and UKCP trainee (2011184364) psychotherapeutic counsellor, and my pronouns are they/them. I have a particular interest in working with queer and neurodivergent clients, although I welcome clients from all walks of life. My own experiences of navigating a heteronormative and neurotypical world help me to understand how much harder it can be to manage distress when you are also facing the pressures, barriers and exclusions that come from belonging to a minority group.
I believe that the problems that bring people to counselling often originate in the ways we have had to adapt in our early relationships (particularly with our caregivers) as well as to a world that does not always recognise who we are or what we need to thrive. My approach to counselling is not about ‘fixing’ you but about creating a space and a relationship where you can start to understand and accept yourself more fully, as you are now.
I hold BACP registration and am working towards UKCP full clinical membership, adhering to the BACP Ethical Framework and the UKCP Code of Ethics. I completed my Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling and BSc (Hons) in Integrative Counselling at Matrix College of Counselling and Psychotherapy in March 2025, and I have worked as a volunteer counsellor at Nottingham Women’s Centre since January 2023. Before training as a counsellor, my career focused on providing different forms of support to children and adults through various public and third sector organisations.
How Tori works
My approach to counselling is integrative, which means that I draw on a range of therapeutic ideas and traditions based on my personal beliefs and experiences of what helps people. I do not follow a rigid procedure and will work flexibly and collaboratively with you to find the right way of helping you.
At the core of my work is the person-centred approach, which means that I aim to offer you empathy, acceptance, and authenticity. I want to meet you as a real human being, not as a detached professional, and I see the relationship between us as the most important part of our work. I hope to create a space where you feel safe to allow your full self to be seen and heard, including parts that you may have learnt to hide, and I believe that experiencing this warmth and authenticity in our relationship can be a powerful tool for change.
I also draw on psychodynamic ideas, which suggest that our early experiences and relationships continue to shape how we relate to ourselves and others now. For me, this sits well alongside attachment theory, which considers what we learnt in infancy about how others responded to our basic human needs for safety and connection. Through our work, we might notice patterns together, such as finding it hard to trust, feeling responsible for others, or fearing rejection.
I pay attention to more than just words, noticing body language, tone of voice, and what might be happening between us in the room, as this can offer us clues to experiences that are difficult to put into words. Sometimes I might offer information or ideas about how our minds and bodies respond to stress and relationships, if I think it would be helpful to you. Occasionally, I might share something about how I am experiencing you in the room, if I believe it will help you to understand your own experiences.
Underlying all of my decisions about how to respond to you in the room is a commitment to supporting you towards greater self-acceptance and authenticity - I want to help you to feel less stuck and more able to be yourself, not by telling you who you are, but by creating a space where you can discover that for yourself.
‘When I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.’
Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person
