Specialist Therapy & Coaching for Social Anxiety, Performance Anxiety & Self-Consciousness
Therapy and coaching to help you feel safe being seen, trust yourself under pressure, and remain yourself in the moments that matter most.
You're high functioning, but you still feel anxious.
Maybe you're an entrepreneur who is second-guessing every major decision. A professional who feels sick with anxiety speaking up in boardrooms. A creative leader who struggles to own your expertise publicly. Or someone in the public eye who performs confidence but rarely feels it. A professional who just doesn’t know what to do anymore.
You want to:
Make intuitive decisions without endless second-guessing
Speak up against the norm when your perspective differs
Walk into any room knowing you genuinely belong there
Lead authentically rather than performing
Trust your instincts instead of seeking external validation
Own your unique identity as a competitive advantage
But despite your achievements and how you look from the outside, that nagging inner voice still whispers: "You don’t belong here."
Traditional confidence tools often stay at the surface - focusing on techniques to override fear or appear self-assured.
The ability to be yourself isn’t something you need to perform or build from scratch. It’s something that’s uncovered, gently, as your nervous system begins to feel safe again. When that happens, anxiety and self-consciousness naturally loosen their grip.
Modern LifeEvery day we're asked to be seen by other people.. Speak in meetings. Socialise. Network with strangers. Be recorded. Build personal brands. Post online.
Although these situations look different, they all have one thing in common: they place us under real or perceived social evaluation.
Our brains evolved to care deeply about how we're seen by others. When we believe we're being judged, they naturally shift into threat mode, leading to anxiety, overthinking, self-consciousness, perfectionism or avoidance.
The goal isn't to stop caring what people think.
It's to stop losing yourself whenever it feels like you're being evaluated.
Common Challenges I Work With
These issues rarely exist in isolation - often several show up together, and that's completely normal.
Social / Performance Anxiety
E.G. feeling anxious before presentations, networking events, socialising or important meetings. Not speaking up in group dynamics. Avoiding opportunities for visibility that could advance your career. Anxiety ahead of auditions/interviews that impacts performance.
Public Speaking Anxiety
E.G. avoiding presenting or opportunities, struggling with visceral anxiety symptoms that impact performance, unable to collect thoughts, feeling embaressed by public speaking.
PTSD and Trauma
It’s not uncommon for traumatic experiences, whether professional or personal, to impact how we show up in the world today. This is something that often comes up in my work. Common themes include humiliation trauma, complex trauma, lack of attunement, neglect, poverty, bullying, growing up ‘different’ in some way and more.
Imposter Syndrome
E.G. Feeling like a fraud despite your achievements and qualifications. worrying others will discover you "don't belong" somehow, attributing success to luck rather than your capabilities.
Feeling Different
E.G. having a different way of seeing or understanding things, but instead of viewing yourself as a valuable maverick, feeling like an outsider or that you are wrong somehow. Perhaps feeling stupid / weird / inept etc.
Inferiority
E.G. Feeling easily triggered into feeling ‘below’ people even though there is no reason to feel this way, a sense of never being enough.
Social Media / Press Presence
E.G. avoiding social media despite knowing it’s necessary for your visibility, struggling to show up authentically, unable to tolerate negative comments and press, feeling humiliated by negative coverage.
Visibility Toleration
E.G. Struggling to speak up in meetings or challenge the status quo, feeling uncomfortable being seen as an expert or thought leader, playing small to avoid criticism or standing out too much, avoiding opportunities for success.
Anxiety
E.G. Constant worry and fear about different or specific things, hyper-vigilence of bad things going wrong, struggling to control and manage your thoughts, physical anxiety symptoms, behavioural anxiety e.g. avoidance, struggling with eye contact, trying to control your behaviour.
Hi, I'm Sophia!
I'm a specialist accredited therapist helping you develop the ability to truly be and belong wherever you are.
My clients have included early career professionals, as well as professionals affiliated with big tech, CEOs and CFOs, the UN, governments, financial institutions and the creative industries.
Evidence Based Therapies & Coaching
The Social Visibility Framework isn't a therapy model itself - it's the way I understand and treat difficulties around social evaluation. To help clients move through the framework, I draw upon a range of evidence-based approaches, selecting the most appropriate techniques for each individual.
Specifically tailored to your social word, identify and change unhelpful thinking and behavioural patterns.
To reduce struggle with difficult thoughts and emotions while moving towards valued action.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)Internal Family Systems (IFS)Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)Understand why part of you feels one way, and other part feels another way. Begin to understand yourself as a whole rather than fighting against yourself.
For distressing memories, shame and traumatic experiences. Can also be used in high-performance.
Options for Support
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Weekly or fortnightly sessions available. Most clients work with me for 8-16 sessions, some for longer, some do ad-hoc and book in as and when. It varies based on your specific goals and challenges.
£120/£160 (60/90 min) or payment options available. Read more here.
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Accelerated transformation. Want to process your biggest professional block in the speediest timeframe? Complete up to 6 x 90-minute sessions across 2 weeks (or more if wanted). Ideal for addressing workplace trauma, fear of failure, or deep-rooted imposter syndrome that's keeping you stuck and deep rapid change.
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Learn more here
Ready?
Not sure what’s right for you? No problem! In our initial call we will discuss which is the most likely to access the best outcome for you.
Prices shown in GBP - payment available in your local currency at the current conversion rate.
FAQs
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CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that focuses on the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Unlike traditional talk therapy that explores your past in depth, CBT is practical and present-focused—we identify the specific thought patterns and beliefs that are keeping you stuck right now, and develop concrete strategies to change them.
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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based therapy that helps your brain reprocess difficult experiences and update unhelpful beliefs. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements, taps, or tones) to help your brain process "stuck" memories and beliefs that contribute to your anxiety.
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Prices vary based on amount of sessions. Read more here.
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Social and business blocks often develop from earlier experiences where you felt judged, embarrassed, or rejected. EMDR helps identify and reprocess these core memories, allowing your brain to update the negative beliefs that fuel your anxiety (like "I'm not good enough" or "People will judge me"). This creates lasting change at the root level instead of just managing symptoms.
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EMDR works effectively for both "big T" traumas and "small t" traumas. Social and/or performance anxiety often stems from seemingly minor experiences (being laughed at, feeling excluded, being criticised, choking up one during public speaking) that had a significant impact. EMDR can help process these experiences regardless of their perceived severity.
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We'll begin by identifying the specific social situations that trigger anxiety and the negative beliefs you hold about yourself in these situations. Then we'll use EMDR to target the memories that created these beliefs, helping your brain update its understanding. As treatment progresses, we'll also install preferred feelings and rehearse future scenarios with your new perspective.
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EMDR sessions are 90 minutes to allow sufficient time for the processing to unfold naturally. Shorter sessions often mean interrupting the process just as it's getting to important material, which is less effective.
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Many clients report feeling shifts after just 1-3 EMDR sessions, though the number needed varies based on your history and the complexity of your anxiety. Some notice they're responding differently to social situations almost immediately, while more complex patterns may take longer to shift fully.
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While CBT focuses on changing thought patterns, EMDR works directly with the brain's information processing system to update emotional responses at their source. Many clients who found CBT helpful but incomplete find EMDR addresses the deeper emotional components their previous therapy couldn't reach.
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This varies depending on your history and the complexity of your social anxiety. For specific, focused social or performance anxiety, 1-6 sessions is often sufficient. More complex or longstanding anxiety may require additional sessions.
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Absolutely. EMDR is particularly effective for performance anxiety, as it can target specific triggering scenarios. Many clients find significant relief for public speaking, performance, or workplace anxiety through targeted EMDR sessions.
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EMDR sessions are 90 minutes rather than the standard 50-60 minutes, providing nearly double the therapeutic time. The extended format is crucial for EMDR's effectiveness, allowing complete processing cycles without interruption. Additionally, EMDR requires specialised training, supervision and certification beyond standard therapy qualifications, representing a higher level of expertise and specialised care.
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While the upfront cost may seem higher, EMDR often works out more cost-effective in the long run. Traditional weekly therapy for social anxiety can continue for months or even years, with gradual improvement. In contrast, EMDR typically requires fewer total sessions to achieve significant results, meaning your overall investment may be substantially lower while achieving more profound change.
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Absolutely! CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and EMDR work excellently together and can create a comprehensive approach. While they work through different mechanisms, they complement each other well. CBT helps you recognise and challenge unhelpful thought patterns and develop practical strategies, while EMDR addresses the underlying emotional experiences and beliefs that fuel your anxiety at their source. Many clients find this combination particularly powerful.
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Yes. In this case sessions would be weekly sessions of 60 minutes (£110). This allows us to work on an ongoing basis.
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This is best discussed in our free call to determine your ultimate goals and difficulties, and what’s likely to be effective.
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Although both involve structured conversations and interventions, therapy and coaching are fundamentally different services.
Therapy
Therapy is a regulated healthcare service.
It is appropriate where difficulties may meet criteria for a recognised mental health condition, or where emotional distress is significantly impacting functioning.
Therapy:
Assesses mental health presentations
May involve diagnosis
Works with clinically recognised difficulties
Follows evidence-based psychological protocols
Is delivered under professional regulation and ethical codes
The focus is on treatment and meaningful psychological change.
Coaching
Coaching is not a healthcare service.
It does not:
Assess or diagnose mental health conditions
Follow clinical treatment protocols
Provide structured evidence-based psychological treatment
Coaching is suitable for individuals who are functioning well overall and want support with performance, public speaking anxiety, confidence, communication, or professional development.
Generally, coaching works with psychological difficulties that do not classify as a mental health diagnosis.