cycle-aware therapy

It’s completely normal for your energy, emotions, and needs to shift throughout your cycle. But so often we try to live as if they don’t, swept up in a culture that values constant productivity over our wellbeing. Ignoring these natural rhythms can leave you feeling completely overwhelmed, dysregulated, and disconnected from yourself. Cycle-aware therapy can support you to recognise your unique patterns and needs, so you feel more grounded, in tune and able to use your cycle as a resource that helps you to navigate whatever life throws your way.

A clear glass mason jar with water, holding a bouquet of colorful flowers including yellow, orange, and red blooms, placed on a wooden surface next to a small stack of five books about periods and menstrual cycle awareness.
A tarot card titled 'Winter' with an illustration of a person meditating in a snowy forest scene, surrounded by trees, candles, crystals, and shells on a colorful cloth background.
A colorful spiritual or meditation setup featuring blue circular cards with words like 'Inner Summer,' 'Pleasure,' 'Take charge,' and 'Generosity.' There are white flowers scattered on a vibrant red fabric with intricate orange, green, and black patterns, and a backdrop decorated with similar patterns. In the center, there's a small altar with a black bowl, a black candle, and several stones, with tarot cards and artwork depicting a figure or goddess on the backdrop.
A cup of coffee with latte art on a saucer, a glass of water, a spiral notebook with 'She's magic that one' written in red, and a pen on a wooden table.
Close-up of a handwritten menstrual cycle check in written on paper such as 'day 2 Tender'

  • Cycle-aware therapy is for anyone with a menstrual cycle, especially if you notice your mood and energy shifting throughout the month. You might have weeks where you feel on top of everything, full of ideas and momentum and other weeks where everything feels heavier, more emotional, and you’re left wondering if you’re going crazy (spoiler alert: you’re not!).

    It might be especially helpful if you find yourself thinking things like:

    • “The week before my period feels unbearable and I don’t recognise myself”

    • “Is this PMS or maybe it’s PMDD”

    • “Do I have endometriosis?”

    • “I feel disconnected from my body and honestly don’t know who I am anymore”

    • “Being neurodivergent already feels like a lot and my cycle just seems to magnify everything”

    It’s also for you if you find yourself in a completely different cycle and phase of life. That might be pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause or menopause, times when your body, emotions, and sense of self can shift in big and often unexpected ways. 

    Cycle-aware therapy isn’t just about menstruation. It’s about getting to know yourself more deeply, listening to your needs as they ebb and flow, and finding ways to support yourself with more care and compassion as you move through these transitions.

    Even if your cycle isn’t the main reason you’re seeking therapy, gently tuning into your rhythms can help you understand what you need, feel better resourced, and navigate life with a little more ease and self-compassion.

  • Cycle-aware therapy works much like other therapy. We meet weekly or fortnightly, and I offer person-centred counselling, shaped around whatever you bring into the therapy space. The difference is that we gently hold an awareness of your cycle as part of our work together.

    That might look like:

    • Simply noticing where you are in your cycle and how this might be influencing how you’re feeling or what you need from the session

    • Learning about menstrual cycle awareness and finding ways to track and get to know your own cycle

    • Reflecting on previous cycles and noticing patterns in your emotional, physical, or inner worlds

    • Exploring practical, realistic ways to support yourself at different points in your cycle

    • Planning ahead for tougher times, especially if you experience PMDD or are struggling with conditions such as endometriosis or PCOS.

    This isn’t about trying to achieve the “perfect cycle” or spending every session talking about your period. It’s about helping you feel more connected to yourself and at home in your body, with a deeper understanding of what you need, even when that shifts and change.

  • That is absolutely fine! There is no expectation for any prior knowledge of menstrual cycle awareness (MCA) or your own cycle. As a counsellor I’ll always work to meet you where you’re at. If you want to explore MCA in our sessions, that’s great. But if you’re not interested and you’d rather focus on whatever brought you to therapy, that’s completely fine too. Your therapy is for you and it will always be guided by what you need from each session.

  • Not at all. Cycle-aware therapy isn’t just about periods, it’s about tuning into your body, emotions, and inner world in a way that feels useful for you. Some people want to explore their menstrual cycle as their main focus while for others, cycle-awareness offers more insight into whatever has brought them to therapy.

    Maybe you have come to therapy to work through past trauma, and you notice that some weeks you feel steady, while others leave you feeling overwhelmed by flashbacks, shame, and being on edge. Many people find that their symptoms or sensitivities can feel amplified at different points in their cycle, so understanding your rhythms can be a really helpful tool to feel more resourced when things get tough.

    The work is always guided by you and what matters most to you. Even if your cycle isn’t the main reason you’re seeking therapy, being gently aware of your rhythms can still help you understand yourself better, make more informed choices, and feel more grounded and in tune with your needs.

  • Cycle-aware therapy isn’t just about menstruation. At its heart, it’s about tuning into your body, emotions, and inner world, noticing how and when your energy, needs, and inner resources shift. That means this approach to therapy still be really supportive, even if you don’t currently have a menstrual cycle.

    You might be pregnant, newly postpartum, or in a phase where your cycle hasn’t returned yet. Maybe you are postmenopausal and finding your feet in a whole new rhythm of life. Wherever you are, we can explore the cycles and patterns that are present for you, and work in a way that feels supportive, grounding, and attuned to where you’re at now.

  • Cycle-aware therapy can be especially helpful if you’re neurodivergent, because it’s all about noticing patterns in your energy, emotions, and thinking, finding ways to work with them instead of against them. Many neurodivergent people notice that their cycles can amplify overwhelm, sensory sensitivity, or executive function challenges and this approach to therapy gives space to explore that in a supportive, non-judgemental way.

    Whether you’re autistic, ADHD or AuDHD, we’ll look at how your unique rhythms interact with your cycle. I want to offer a space where you are able to explore how you experience the world and support you to tune into your unique needs.

  • I charge £55 per session. Sometimes I am able to offer concessionary fees so do talk to me if my fees are a barrier.

    I also offer reduced-fee sessions with the George & Audrey Foundation where funding allows.

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