Are you ... struggling in life, or feeling stuck?

Trauma Therapy in Romford

You might know what happened to you — but still feel affected by it

Sometimes the difficult part isn’t understanding what happened. It’s understanding why it still affects you now.

You may have spent years telling yourself that you should be over it, that other people had it worse, or that what happened “wasn’t really that bad.”

But trauma doesn’t always disappear simply because time has passed.

It can show up in your relationships, your confidence, your ability to trust, the way you react to conflict or rejection, or the way you feel about yourself.

I’m Andrea, a trauma-informed therapist based in Romford, Essex, offering therapy in person and online.

My approach is warm, down-to-earth and non-judgemental. You don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what’s wrong or where to start. We can work that out together.

What can trauma look like?

When people hear the word trauma, they often think of one catastrophic event.

But trauma can also develop through experiences that happened repeatedly over time.

You might recognise:

- Difficult or abusive relationships
- Childhood emotional neglect
- Growing up around addiction or instability
- Controlling or unpredictable relationships
- Being criticised, rejected or made to feel that you were never quite good enough
- Feeling responsible for other people's emotions
- Bullying or abandonment
- Loss and bereavement
- Experiences that left you feeling unsafe, powerless or ashamed

Sometimes people come to therapy without describing themselves as having experienced trauma at all.

They simply know that something doesn't feel right.

How past experiences can affect you now

You might find yourself:

Overthinking everything you say and do.

People-pleasing because disappointing someone feels unbearable.

Struggling to say no without feeling guilty.

Becoming anxious when someone seems distant or upset with you.

Finding yourself repeatedly drawn towards relationships that aren't good for you.

Feeling responsible for fixing or rescuing other people.

Finding it difficult to trust your own judgement.

Feeling as though you're either “too much” or somehow never enough.

Using alcohol, substances or other behaviours to switch off difficult feelings.

Or perhaps you appear completely capable from the outside while privately feeling anxious, overwhelmed or exhausted.

These patterns can make much more sense when we begin looking at what you learned about yourself, relationships and safety earlier in your life.

Trauma therapy isn't about blaming your past

Understanding where something came from isn't the same as blaming everything on your childhood or the people around you.

It's about making sense of why your mind and body learned to respond in certain ways.

Many coping mechanisms develop for a reason.

People-pleasing may once have helped you avoid conflict.

Switching off emotionally may have helped you cope with something overwhelming.

Being hyper-alert to somebody else's mood may have helped you feel safer.

Addictive behaviours may have offered temporary relief from feelings that were difficult to manage.

The problem is that coping strategies which once helped us survive can eventually begin to keep us stuck.

Therapy gives us somewhere to understand those patterns without shame — and begin developing different ones.

How I work

There isn't one type of therapy that works for everybody.

I work integratively, which means I can draw on different therapeutic approaches depending on you and what you need.

My work can include CBT, EMDR, inner-child work and trauma-informed therapy, alongside exploring attachment, relationships, boundaries, shame, self-worth and coping strategies.

Sometimes our work might involve understanding a pattern.

Sometimes it might involve learning practical ways of responding differently.

And sometimes it might mean carefully processing experiences from the past that still feel very present.

We work at a pace that feels manageable for you.

You don't have to tell me everything in the first session.

And you don't have to relive every painful detail for therapy to be helpful.

Trauma, relationships and self-worth

One area I'm particularly interested in is the connection between trauma and the way we experience relationships.

You may know logically that a relationship isn't good for you but still find it incredibly difficult to walk away.

You may repeatedly put other people's needs before your own.

You might understand that you deserve better while another part of you is terrified of rejection, abandonment or being alone.

That isn't simply a lack of willpower.

Often there are much deeper patterns underneath it.

Therapy can help you understand those patterns, recognise what belongs to the past and begin building a relationship with yourself that feels safer and more trusting.

Trauma and addiction

Trauma and addiction can also be closely connected.

For some people, alcohol, substances or other behaviours become a way of managing feelings they don't know what else to do with.

Rather than asking only:

“Why can't I stop doing this?”

I am interested in another question too:

“What is this helping me cope with?”

That doesn't remove personal responsibility, but it can remove some of the shame that often keeps people trapped in the cycle.

Understanding what sits underneath a behaviour can be an important part of changing it.


Whether you're struggling with something that happened recently or patterns that seem to have followed you for years, you don't need to have a perfect explanation for why you're seeking therapy.

Sometimes:

“I don't want to keep feeling like this”

is enough of a starting point.

Thinking about starting therapy?

Finding a therapist can feel daunting, particularly if you've had experiences that have made trusting people difficult.

That's why I offer a free 15-minute consultation before you decide whether you'd like to book a session.

It's an opportunity to tell me a little about what's bringing you to therapy, ask questions and get a sense of whether you feel comfortable talking to me.

There is no obligation to continue.

Book your free 15-minute consultation

The Healing Nest | Trauma Therapy in Romford, Essex & Online

I offer both face-to-face and online sessions:

• Free 15-minute initial consultation
• 50 minute therapy session £50
• I believe therapy should be accessible to all. I offer a limited number of reduced-rate sessions depending on availability 

Payment can be made by bank transfer, Paypal, or in cash.