Professional Experience

Shirley has over a decade of experience as a clinical psychologist. She works with young adults and adults, with particular expertise in issues stemming from adverse childhood experiences, personality differences, self-exploration, and pregnancy and fertility-related challenges. She also provides interventions for relationship difficulties, family issues, complex trauma, and more.

Shirley enjoys working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Having lived between two cultures herself, she is particularly sensitive to the challenges this can bring, such as navigating family expectations or intergenerational tensions, and is passionate about supporting those with similar experiences.

Shirley is compassionate, genuine, and attuned. She brings her whole self to her practice, showing up both as a person and a psychologist. Her goal is to ensure her clients have a positive experience of therapy, particularly if it is their first. She is respectful of the ambivalence or struggles that can accompany making change. She provides a safe place for her clients to explore difficulties and painful experiences, working alongside them to develop a path forward that feels meaningful and hopeful.

In her sessions, Shirley builds a strong therapeutic alliance, listens with empathy, and fosters deeper understanding of the self and emotions. Guided by her belief in exercising compassion towards oneself and others, she helps clients recognise their unique strengths, especially those forged through life’s challenges, and supports them in developing self-compassion and feeling empowered toward change.

Shirley’s therapeutic approach is integrative, drawing on cognitive therapies, mindfulness, and an understanding of different parts of the self. In recent years, she has developed a strong interest in EMDR and customises treatments to incorporate EMDR where appropriate. She has seen many positive changes through this approach and is enthusiastic about integrating EMDR into therapy.