PAUL GRIMMER

Hi, my name is Paul. I am a Psychotherapist t with 15 years of experience supporting people who are struggling with emotional and psychological distress. I offer a non-judgemental space to explore your difficulties with curiosity, compassion and sensitivity. I believe deeply that therapy can support healing, growth and recovery from adversity, trauma and distress, helping us to reconnect with feelings of safety in the present.

I trained originally as a fine artist and my journey to become a therapist began as a volunteer, supporting survivors of trauma through expressive arts. As a qualified therapist, I have worked in a range of NHS roles including the veterans complex treatment service, primary care psychotherapy and forensic services. Most recently, I have worked in a specialist trauma informed team providing consultation and training to local authority teams.

I am trained in a number of therapies including Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). I am also trained in Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP), an approach designed to work with the caregivers of young people who have experienced developmental trauma. My approach integrates elements of these therapies to create a bespoke intervention.

Therapy can feel daunting and confusing at first. We will begin by exploring together what brings you to therapy and creating a shared understanding of your unique life story. From here, we can begin to make connections between your history and your present difficulties, whatever they may be. My role is to empower you, offering choices and working together to plan the direction we take in therapy.

My approach is human centred, compassion focused, and trauma informed. I believe that every person is shaped by their life experiences and has their own unique strengths and challenges. As such, I do not use symptom lists, diagnostic labels, or manualised treatments. If you are looking for a therapist who works in this way, I may not be the best practitioner to support your needs.

I respect and admire the courage it takes be vulnerable with another human being and I feel honoured when someone chooses to share their story with me. I have taken this step myself a number of times in my life and know what a difficult decision it can be to reach out for support. If you choose to take this step, I look forward to meeting you.

• Post Graduate Diploma (PGDip) Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing)
• Attachment Focused EMDR
• Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
• Dynamic Dyadic Psychotherapy (DDP) level 1
• BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy