Therapy with Pippa

15/09/2026

Just before we graduated, one of my peers and a very dear friend said something to me after one of our triad sessions. Simply: *You’re a therapist.” Those words really landed.

I don’t know whether she would even remember saying them, but it was the first time I realy felt the value of being able to say what I do for work with real pride and a sense of self worth. From then on, that was how I thought of myself. I’m a therapist.

And so, eventually, it started to feel strange that the name of my practice didn’t quite reflect that.

There’s that line from Romeo and Juliet: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I’ve always disagreed with that.

My actual name is Philippa. It’s my birth name, my christened name, and yet I’ve never really felt like a Philippa. Only a few people have ever consistently called me that. Whether they knew I didn’t like it, I’ll never know - my fear of questioning the ways of adults and people pleasing traits were already firmly in place by then.

I’ve always been Pippa (or Pip or Pips to my friends and siblings). I have nothing against the name Philippa, in fact I think it’s a very elegant name; it just doesn’t feel like my name.

My middle name is an inherited name from my father’s side and traditionally given to boys so the less said about that the better.

But to me, this matters. Words hold value. Names hold value. They affect how we understand things and, sometimes, how we understand ourselves.

Perhaps the difference between counselling and therapy is only a nuance. But it’s a nuance that makes a difference to me — to the way I think about the work I do, my identity and even, in some small way, to how I think about myself when I’m sitting with someone in a session.

So Therapy with Pippa feels more like me.

If you noticed the change, there’s your probably entirely unnecessary explanation.

And if you didn’t notice it at all, you now know far more about it than you ever needed to ☺️

11/09/2026

Today, I wanted to write a bit about shame: I think it’s the most sabotaging of all emotions.

It’s actually quite unusual for someone to recognise that what they are feeling is shame; often it doesn’t look anything like what we imagine shame to look like.

It can look like struggling to hold somebody’s gaze when eye contact suddenly feels too direct... seeing a message from somebody you care about and finding yourself unable to reply... changing the subject when somebody asks how you really are... or feeling an inexplicable urge to pull away shortly after you’ve felt particularly close to someone.

If you learnt to hide important parts of yourself, you didn’t do so arbitrarily. At some point, hiding protected something precious. It allowed you to preserve the relationships you needed, while also protecting those vulnerable parts of yourself from being repeatedly misunderstood, criticised or shamed.

The problem is that we don’t automatically unlock those rooms when we become adults.

And so we can find ourselves living with a painful paradox. We ache for somebody to really understand us, yet when somebody begins to do exactly that, it can feel terrifying. Someone asks a question that goes a little deeper than expected and suddenly you can’t think. Someone notices you’re not quite yourself and, rather than feeling relieved, you immediately reassure them that everything is fine. Someone responds warmly to something you expected them to dismiss and you find yourself wanting to retreat.

Through the distorting lens of shame, being seen is not automatically experienced as comforting when being seen has historically been associated with being judged.

If any of this resonates, please reach out… I’ve written a longer post about this on my blog at pippacounsellling.com/blog

10/08/2026

Good evening, lovely business women of Exeter!

I wanted to introduce myself to those who haven’t met me - I’m Pippa, a compassionate and friendly therapist specialising in self esteem with a framework of inner child, attachment and somatic (polyvagal) therapy.

I offer a tranquil space in the centre of Exeter for you to feel truly heard, supported and accepted without judgement - often, clients tell me, for the first time.

Perhaps you feel like you never quite fit in, or struggle to make or maintain healthy friendships or relationships. Or you may be trapped in a cycle of feeling stuck, lost and lacking purpose. It might be the time to reach out for some support.

If you’re wondering if you could benefit from therapy, please feel free to take up my offer for a free 15 minute phone call, to decide if you think we’d be a good ‘fit’. It’s a chance to ask any questions and get to know a bit more about what I can offer for you.

I’d be happy to offer a discounted package of 6 sessions, saving £50 - please pm me for more details or message me via www.pippacounselling.com/contact

📞 07945 332258
📧 [email protected]

09/08/2026

Releasing old grievances and patterns that no longer serve me into the lionsgate portal at 8.08pm on 8:8. I asked for signs to show me that it’s helping to release them and help me move forwards into my next phase. I immediately spotted this heron on the weir then a family of ducks with their ducklings, all illuminated in that beautiful setting sun… it felt magical and the signs have continued to show up ✨

03/08/2026

What were your brilliant adaptations that helped you survive — and which ones are ready to be released? ✨

In my latest blog, I explore how what looked like a “weak sense of self” might actually be creative survival strategies formed in childhood, and how we can gently notice which adaptations still serve us and which we might let go of.

Read the full piece here: https://wix.to/JEtxrX4

I’ve been thinking a lot about the term 'self abandonment” recently and wondering if it could be a bit misleading. Trying to make sense of my childhood experiences and what was referred to as a "weak sense of self" was something I’ve often talked about in my personal therapy over the years. Fo...

18/06/2026

If you’ve spent a lifetime having to people please, constantly adapt or prioritise others’ needs, it’s likely that your inner child is crying out for some love and attention.

In therapy, we might explore emotional attunement: how much other adults in your childhood were able to meet you at your emotional level, to try to understand your inner world.

What would you say, if you were able to go back in time and sit with your young self as your adult self?

Often, your child self didn’t have a voice to be able to speak up and express your feelings, or ask to go home, or to be with the other parent, or to say your sibling was hurting you.

It can be a powerless experience to be a child, trapped in the limitations of their family environment.

Even if you’ve had a relatively “nice” childhood, there could be aspects of your young self that are still playing out in the present day: feeling invisible, that you’re ’too much’ or stuck in behavioural patterns which keep repeating.

It can be scary or even feel impossible to connect with this part, especially if you’ve experienced childhood trauma, so this is work to undertake with a great deal of care and self compassion.

I’ve written a guided meditation to help my therapy clients safely connect with their younger self, and find the words of love, care and encouragement that perhaps you’ve always yearned to hear.

If this is something that you’d like to consider for yourself, or to start some therapy sessions, please reach out.

emotionalattunement

31/05/2026

Emotional abuse can be subtle and insidious — and incredibly hard to recognise. In this therapist’s guide, Pippa explains the telltale signs that may be missed, and how to support someone you care about. Read the full post: https://wix.to/BTzh6h1

Hashtags: abuse

19/05/2026

“Maybe we don’t have to forgive someone who’s hijacked their soul” - the ever wise Dr Ramani