Perimenopause & Menopause

Therapy for Perimenopause, Menopause & Midlife Transitions

You don't feel like yourself anymore

You may be here because something, or a lot of things, about you feel different since perimenopause or menopause crept onto the scene. Perhaps you're more tearful than you used to be, or quicker to snap, or you walk into a room and forget why you went in. These changes may be mild or they may profoundly affect how you function in life, how you show up for work, for your family and, most importantly, for yourself.

How perimenopause and menopause show up in daily life

On the outside, it may look as though you're managing fine. Still doing the school run, still producing at work, still seeing people and making plans, holding things together the way you always have.

Privately, you might be waking at three in the morning with your heart racing, cancelling plans because socialising feels like too much, slowing down because your joints ache, or finding a task that used to take an hour now takes most of the day. Brain fog, exhaustion, irritability and a general sense of not being yourself are some of the things women describe to me most often during this stage of life.

What you might be hoping for

What you want might be simple. Your old energy back. Your memory to behave. To feel calm in your own body again.

You might be hoping to understand why this is happening, or to stop blaming yourself for struggling with things that used to be easy. Many women tell me they just want to feel like themselves again, even if they're not sure anymore what that self looks like

How therapy can help with perimenopause and menopause

Therapy for perimenopause and menopause isn't about fixing your hormones. That's the work of a medical professional, and you may well be working alongside one during this time. Therapy is a space to make sense of what's happening to you physically and mentally, and to work out how to live alongside it rather than fighting it or feeling ashamed of it.

Alongside clinical experience working with women at this stage of life, this is something I've navigated myself, so I understand from the inside how unsettling it can feel when your body and mind stop feeling familiar.

We start with what's happening in the present: the symptoms getting in the way, the situations where you feel most not-yourself, and what that's doing to how you see yourself and how you relate to the people around you. For many women, unhelpful patterns like perfectionism or people-pleasing make the symptoms harder to carry, because there's no room left to be anything other than fine. Where that's true, we'll look at where those patterns came from and whether they're still serving you well.

One of the hardest parts of this stage can be when physical or mental symptoms stop you doing the things that have always felt integral to who you are. A sport you loved, work you were known for, being the sharp, on-it person in the room. That loss can be genuinely disorienting and demoralising. It's behind the common complaint, "I just don't feel like myself anymore."

Part of the work is figuring out how you might live out that same identity in other, more manageable ways. Perhaps a different outlet for a competitive streak, or a gentler way of staying active that still feels like you. If identity is something you want to look at more closely, my page on identity explores this further.

What sessions involve

Sessions are 50 minutes, usually weekly to begin with, so there's room for themes to develop rather than just managing week to week. We start with what's happening for you now: the symptoms, the situations, the relationships feeling the strain.

Often the focus stays close to the present, because it's the day to day physical and mental symptoms, and the impact they're having, that are the most pressing thing to address. But that impact may be heightened where unhelpful beliefs are adding to the load. Does "I must do this perfectly" raise the stakes when you only feel able to scrape by? Does "everyone depends on me" need questioning so we can share the responsibility and the load you've carried for so long? Sometimes it helps to trace these beliefs back to where they began, so we can see how they were survival tools in times and situations that are no longer relevant. Then we can work on reframing them and loosening their grip.

Who this work is for

This page is for women navigating perimenopause, menopause or the wider midlife transition, wherever you're starting from. You might be at the beginning of this stage and confused by what's happening, well into it and worn down by it, or on the other side of it and still working out who you are now.

You don't need a diagnosis or a clear picture of what's happening to you to start. You just need to be ready to talk about how things are for you at the moment.

Fees and availability

Sessions are £75 and I offer the initial session at a reduced rate of £30. This gives you the opportunity to get a feel for what therapy with me is like and whether I am a good fit for you. I work both in person in Twickenham and online, so you can choose whichever suits you, or move between the two. I currently have availability for new clients. You'll find more detail on fees and practicalities on my FAQ page.

Questions you may be asking

  • No. Many women come to me while they're still working out what's happening to them, sometimes alongside a GP appointment, sometimes well before one. Therapy doesn't need a diagnosis behind it to be useful. It's about understanding what you're going through and finding ways to manage it that work for you.

  • Therapy can't change your hormones, but it can offer real support with the mental and emotional toll those symptoms take, things like anxiety, irritability, low mood or the frustration of not feeling like yourself. Many clients find that understanding what's happening and having space to process it eases some of the distress sitting alongside the symptoms.

  • This work is for any challenge that comes with this stage of life: perimenopause, menopause, caring responsibilities, a loss of direction or simply not feeling like yourself anymore. It's about finding your way through a stage of life that can feel unfamiliar, not just managing symptoms.

Getting in touch

If any of this sounds familiar, you're welcome to get in touch. There's no pressure and no obligation, just an opportunity to talk about what's going on and whether working together feels right for you.