I’m Neil Brooks — a psychotherapist, husband, father and grandfather, and someone who came to this profession with quite a lot of life already lived.

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My route into psychotherapy hasn’t been a straight one. Before becoming a therapist, I worked in business, management, the voluntary sector and community organisations. Those experiences brought me into contact with people from very different backgrounds and taught me something that has stayed with me: we rarely know the full story of what someone else is carrying.

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My own life has included change, loss and starting again. Bereavement has touched my family personally and profoundly, and I am now in my second marriage following bereavement. I don't believe that experiencing loss makes me an expert in somebody else's grief — everyone's experience is their own — but it does mean that when someone talks about a life being divided into before and after, I understand something of what that can mean.

Away from the therapy room, I’m a keen walker and Munro bagger. I love being in the Scottish hills — partly for the challenge, but increasingly for the space they provide. Walking has taught me that you don't always need to see the summit, or even the whole route, before taking the next step. Sometimes you just need enough clarity to know where to put your foot next.

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Perhaps that is one reason the idea behind Neil Brooks Psychotherapy feels so important to me.

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Making space for what comes next

I don't see therapy as somebody sitting opposite you with all the answers. I see it as two people working together to understand what's happening, what matters to you, what might need to change — and sometimes what needs to be accepted.

I'll bring my professional training, experience and different therapeutic approaches. You bring something equally important: you know what it is like to live your life.

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Somewhere between those two things, we can begin.

You don't need to arrive knowing where you're going.

We can start from where you are.