RELATIONSHIP THERAPY FOR COUPLES AND INDIVIDUALS

There are truths we carry quietly within us, like unsung songs…

  • In-person sessions
    Hassocks, West Sussex

    Online sessions
    Via Zoom

    Session times
    9.15am–2.45pm · Tuesday–Friday

    Weekly sessions
    60 minutes · £90

    Intensive sessions
    3-hour block · £300

    Next step - Initial Consultation
    60 minutes · £90
    To see whether working together feels like a good fit.

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What brings you here?

When our relationships hit difficulties, we tell ourselves reassuring stories to ease our worry:

“All long-term relationships lose their spark.”

“We’re just under a lot of pressure at the moment.”

“Things will feel different when the children start school.”

These things might be true.
They may not tell the whole story.

Some questions feel daunting to face…

“Since we’ve had children we feel more like flatmates. Can we find our way back to each other as a couple?”

“My relationships never last…am I the problem?”

“Am I staying because there’s something worth saving, or because I’m afraid to be alone?”

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What questions are you quietly carrying..?

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About me

Michaela Murphy, therapist with glasses and long brown hair, wearing a black top, sitting in a chair, smiling. She is indoors in a therapy room near a window with a view of trees outside, and there are some books and a desk nearby.
Michaela Murphy, therapist with glasses and long brown hair, wearing a black top, sitting in a chair, smiling. She is indoors in a therapy room near a window with a view of trees outside, and there are some books and a desk nearby.

Welcome, I’m Michaela, a relationship therapist with over fifteen years’ experience working with couples and individuals.

Over the years, my practice has evolved. Alongside psychodynamic and systemic-based talking therapy we also pay attention to your nervous system responses (what you’re feeling in your body), we’ll use imagination to explore familiar narratives in fresh ways. We use calming and grounding tools to help manage strong feelings.

I work always with the intention of creating a depth of understanding and emotional safety.

As a painter and a gardener, I see my therapeutic work as an extension of that creativity. I look for patterns and hidden layers, nuance, light and shade in the stories you share with me.

Michaela Murphy
PgDip MNCPS (Acc.)

Michaela Murphy therapist holding dried plant stems and using scissors to cut them outdoors.

Working with truth

Truth-seeking is the North Star of my work. Your truth.

The truth anchors us.

We feel it in our bones when we brush up against it. It illuminates what we truly need, and helps us discover where we have agency in our lives. From there we find the way forward…

“The affair still hurts. But I can live with it differently.”

“Our relationship may end. But we get to write the story of how well we separate.”

“The indecision feels paralysing. I can make choices I trust.”

In sessions I listen closely to the stories you tell, and I notice what else is happening in the room.

A word catches in your throat.

A shift in body language hints that there’s something here worth exploring.

The atmosphere changes in the room.

Paying attention to these moments brings an aliveness and immediacy to the session, taking us to the heart of what’s going on.

“Something happened just then. Did you notice it too? Shall we look?”

And we follow the thread.

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EXPLORE COUPLES THERAPY
EXPLORE INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

TESTIMONIALS

  • It is fair to say that counselling sessions with Michaela were the missing link between me and my girlfriend becoming an understanding and empathetic couple again. I am a much happier person and my relationship is now the strongest it’s been in over a year.

    Client Testimonial

  • I felt seen and safe, and that’s what enabled me to experience such a deep emotional release. Michaela’s language was so thoughtful and precise, creating a space where I could connect with my inner self in a way I hadn’t before. It was a transformative experience.

    Client Testimonial

  • When we walked into Michaela's warm and cosy space the first time, I was so broken, had nearly given up and wasn't sure where I would end up... wasn't sure if things in our marriage 'could' ever be different. After 38 years!! Now after only a few sessions, they have changed. I have hope. And the change is fundamental and MASSIVE. I really felt Michaela's calm, professional guidance has allowed me to be heard without judgement - for the first time really - to allow myself to be authentic and true and for my husband to hear and respond in a way I have longed for almost all my married life.

    Client Testimonial

  • Michaela’s positive and grounded presence put me at ease. I came into the session feeling overwhelmed and anxious, but as we talked my worries dissipated. Michaela is an expert in her field, and she guided and supported me to clarify what truly mattered and what felt right.

    Client Testimonial

  • Thank you greatly Michaela for our sessions we had together, I will forever treasure the clarity and the self belief from our discussions as a result, thank you! You have great patience, kindness and understanding, I will always appreciate the help you have given me

    Client Testimonial

  • I felt completely safe and held by Michaela throughout the session. Her energy was calm, professional, and deeply intuitive, which helped my nervous system relax and allowed me to explore emotions I had never touched before. She guided me to profound realisations about my relationship with my parents, helping me see past hurts with new compassion and understanding. Michaela’s guidance felt slow and deliberate, giving me all the space I needed to process and heal. It was a deeply magical and transformative experience and truly one of the most profound healings I’ve ever experienced.

    Client Testimonial

  • Under Michaela's patient questioning and guidance we discovered new and constructive ways of communicating during difficult times, of better understanding our differences and of appreciating the other person's perspective. We began to enjoy the shared project of "doing better", appreciating the privilege we shared in our long and mostly very happy relationship. Michaela is an insightful, thoughtful and pleasant person. We are very glad to have met her.

    Client Testimonial

  • Michaela has been wonderful throughout our sessions. When I first spoke to her I was trying to make sense of some really challenging times. The way Michaela put our sessions together was so productive, focused and got to the root causes of everything we spoke about which helped me immensely to gain clarity and perspective. I always came away from every session with strategies to help which I was so valuable to me in everyday life. I cannot thank her enough for helping my mental wellness grow so much in such a short space of time. Thank you for everything!

    Client Testimonial

  • My husband and I started sessions with Michaela because we had stopped communicating and basically didn't like each other very much, but wanted things to be better. Right from the start our sessions with Michaela made both of us feel like we could talk openly and without judgement - she made us really think about what was going on and how we wanted things to be in the future. It's never easy changing the habits of a lifetime, but we both felt that our sessions with Michaela put our relationship No.1 on the list, at least for an hour a week. Michaela has given us some tools going forward and we're a much happier family now.

    Client Testimonial