Ms Ria Gupta, MEd

While my approach is eclectic, meaning I draw from different therapeutic modalities depending on the person and what they’re struggling with, I often find myself returning to Narrative Therapy. One of the things I value most about narrative work is the reminder that the problem is the problem, not the person. When we’re overwhelmed, it can start to feel as though anxiety, shame, self-doubt, or relationship struggles are who we are, rather than something we are experiencing. Therapy can then become a space to gently step back from those stories, understand where they come from, and begin relating to them differently. I often work with clients who find themselves stuck in thoughts such as: “Why do I always react like this?”, “Why do I keep ending up in the same kind of relationships?”, “Why can’t I just move on?”, “Why does everything feel like too much?”, “Why do I care so much about disappointing people?”, “Why do I keep overthinking every interaction?”, “or “Why does it feel like everyone else knows how to do life better than I do?” Alongside individual therapy, I have recently completed training in couples counselling. Often, partners find themselves here not because love is absent, but because hurt, misunderstandings, defensiveness, and unspoken needs have slowly begun to take up more space than the relationship can comfortably hold. Maybe communication has broken down, or one or both of you feel unheard, disconnected, or exhausted by the same arguments repeating in different forms. Couples work with me is a space to understand what has been happening underneath those patterns and how the relationship can begin to feel safer, softer, and more honest again. My hope, whether I’m working with individuals or couples, is to offer a space where what you’re carrying can be understood with more honesty and self-compassion, and where change does not come from blaming yourself, but from understanding the patterns, histories, and emotional needs shaping the present.