Courtney

"Hi, I'm Courtney, I'm a father of two young children, partner to a great woman and I work as an integrative Psychotherapist. I have a private practice, where I work one to one with people, who have decided that they want therapy for a huge variety of reasons. I derive a lot of satisfaction from my work, and it feels like an honour to be with people for a little while on their journey in life. Most of my work is mid to long term and I find the relationships that develop between myself and the people I work with are profound and deeply impactful in many ways.

I live with Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD) and that means I sometimes have sickle crises, in any part of my body, as well as living with being constantly anaemic. Crises are very painful episodes and these days I mostly deal with headaches. SCD has also caused a deterioration of my hip joints, called avascular necrosis, which is also painful and I've recently had both hips replaced (with ceramic and titanium!), and while they are better than they were, they are still painful. SCD has also affected my sight and I have completely lost my vision in my left eye and am partially sighted in my right. My left eye is always in constant pain as a result of the damage it has sustained, and my vision issues sometimes cause headaches too. I have discomfort in my shoulder and neck area, and sometimes have trouble sleeping. SCD has an effect even when pain isn't present, damaging organs and weakening bones.

I am very aware of my body and the pain I deal with in a physical sense, but I'm also aware of how bodies can hold pain that come from emotional and mental stress or trauma, and on a personal level I can see how my relationship with pain over the years is not merely physical but has links to what I'm going through in my day to day life on an emotional and mental level as well. Stress can cause sickle crises and sometimes increases my aches and pains in my shoulders and neck. Low mood can affect how I feel within my body in negative ways. My headaches definitely have links to my stress levels as well as tiredness, and one of the medicines I take is a strong Immunosuppressant and that slows down recovery from illness and operations.

I control the hours I work and have learned how to manage work, family and health. Having a modicum of control over things like my breathing, the pressure I put on myself, the dialogue I have with myself and the actions I take to care for myself, have been very useful in dealing with my pain in a healthy way. A large element of that involves working with Ruby and recognising my sessions as an opportunity to not only help my physical body but also see to some of my emotional and psychological needs as well. I have learned how to keep well through listening to what my body and also what my mind is saying as well as how what I feel emotionally is telling me.

My experience receiving treatment from Ruby has been wholly positive! She is understanding and empathic as well as knowledgeable of her craft and informative. She is professional and considerate of whatever I might be bringing into a session. She helped me process the loss of my father a couple of years ago and through the stresses of the Covid lockdown. I am aware that for me, having someone massage or move my body therapeutically, helps my emotional and mental health, and see her work with me as an essential part of the toolkit I have to maintain my physical, emotional and mental well-being. I also believe there is a healing element that I derive from the connection, or perhaps relationship we share."