About Charlotte Bailey
Trauma-informed psychotherapist, speaker, writer & spoken-word poet
Hi,
I'm Charlotte, a BABCP-accredited psychotherapist, speaker, writer and spoken word poet with over 15 years' experience working in mental health.
I've always been fascinated by people — why we think, feel and behave the way we do, how our experiences shape us, and why changing long-standing patterns can be so difficult, even when we understand them.
That curiosity has shaped both my clinical work and the things I write and speak about, particularly people-pleasing, relationships, identity, confidence and self-expression.
Today, I explore those ideas in different ways: through individual therapy, talks and workshops, articles and press commentary, my podcast She Is Here, and poetry and spoken word.
I was a people-pleaser & over-thinker for years
For years, I described myself as shy, not confident enough, an over-thinker and someone who was simply 'bad at saying no'.
I was the person who stayed late, took things on, worried about letting people down and replayed conversations afterwards. I could be far more concerned about making someone feel bad if I told them they'd hurt me than I was about the fact that I had been hurt.
I also became very good at adapting. I could fit myself around the people I was with, laugh along, keep the peace and worry about whether they liked me — without stopping to wonder what I thought, whether I actually felt comfortable around them, or whether I even liked them!
And although I understood a lot intellectually, understanding didn't automatically change what happened in the moment. I could know I was allowed to say no and still feel guilty. Know I didn't need everyone's approval and still find myself seeking it.
Over time, I began looking at those patterns differently. I became curious about what I'd learnt, what I was responding to, and what might still be reinforcing those responses.
That helped me understand myself differently and recognise what needed to change.
And somewhere along the way, I began rediscovering parts of myself I'd forgotten about, or perhaps never really given myself permission to explore.
I remembered how much I loved being creative. I started writing again. Poems that once stayed hidden became words I now share on stages.
I went from someone who hid in the toilets at work to avoid speaking in meetings to a paid speaker and spoken word performer.
And I think that's one of the things I find most meaningful about my own journey. I haven't become an entirely different person. I've discovered that some of the things I believed about who I was weren't the whole story.
What SHAPES MY WORK
My work draws on psychology, clinical training and lived human experience.
I'm interested in understanding what shaped a pattern in the first place, but I don't assume everything happening now can be explained by childhood experiences.
Sometimes an old fear, belief or protective response is being activated. Sometimes the relationship, workplace or environment someone is in genuinely makes it difficult to speak honestly, make a mistake, set a boundary or trust themselves.
And sometimes it's a combination of both.
That's why I consider not only what contributed to a difficulty developing, but also what's keeping it going.
I'm particularly interested in the gap between knowing and feeling — why you can understand something intellectually yet find that your emotions, body or automatic responses haven't caught up.
Whether I'm working with someone in therapy, speaking to an audience or writing a poem, much of what I do comes back to helping people make sense of experiences that can be difficult to recognise, explain or even name.
What To Expect in Therapy
My approach is professional and grounded in evidence-based psychological therapies, but I'm also down-to-earth, warm and very much myself in sessions.
I believe therapy can involve depth, difficult conversations, curiosity and even laughter. You don't have to worry about saying the 'right' thing or having everything figured out before you arrive.
I also bring an understanding of what it's like to struggle with some of the patterns I help people explore, while keeping our work focused on your experiences, needs and goals.
Clinical TRAINING & EXPERIENCE
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People-Pleasing
PTSD, Complex Trauma, Relational Trauma
Confidence
Dissociation & Parts Work
‘Imposter-Syndrome’
Self-Esteem & Self-worth
Boundaries & Assertiveness
Inner Child Work
Perfectionism
Burnout & Stress
Shame & Self-Worth
Good Girl Conditioning
Attachment Theory
ADHD
Autism
Parentification
Neuroscience & Brain-Based Approaches
Anxiety Disorders
Depression
Nervous System Regulation
Mindfulness & Self-Compassion
EMDR
Schema Therapy
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Somatic Practices
Substance use
Psychosexual difficulties
Sex, Porn & ‘love’ Addiction
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15+ years supporting individuals through mental health difficulties
NHS & private therapy practice experience (including insurance-based therapy)
Deputising for NHS management
Developing & improving care pathways in NHS mental health services
BABCP Accredited CBT Therapist since 2017
Festival workshops & talks
Delivering in-person seminars & talks to a range of audiences including large audiences (200+ attendees)
Writing and delivering CPD and Masterclasses to therapists and other business owner communities
Providing therapy for neurodivergent individuals.
Providing supervision to therapists & mental health/wellbeing professionals
Mentoring & therapy for therapists and women business owners
Group workshop facilitation
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Level 2 BABCP Accredited Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapies, The University of Bolton
ADHD Clinical Services Provider (ADHD-CCSP) Certification Course, PESI UK
Understanding ADHD, The Open University
Working with Complex PTSD, Kerry Young
Creatively Combining Schema Therapy and EMDR, Nadene Van Der Linden
Janina Fisher’s Shame Certification Training, PESI
EMDR & Parts Work for Treating Complex Trauma: Somatic Work, PESI
Compassion Focused Therapy CPD
Postgraduate Certificate in Psychosexual Therapy, UCLAN
EMDR Levels 1, 2, 3, EMDR Masterclass
ISST Approved Schema Therapy (Adults) Training, Schema Therapy Systems
CPCAB Approved ISAT Diploma in Sex & Porn Addiction Therapy, The Laurel Centre
Postgraduate Certificate in Primary Care Low Intensity Therapy Interventions - Distinction, Liverpool John Moores University
BSc Hons Psychology, The Open University
Federation of Drug and Alcohol Professionals Award, The Open University
Transactional Analysis 101 Certificate
NHS Supervisor & Leadership Training, NHS Providers
Various Continued Professional Development Modules, including:
Motivational Interviewing
Solutions-Focused Therapy
Harm Reduction Strategies
Risk & Safeguarding
GET TO KNOW ME
Away from the therapy room, microphones and laptop, I'm a mum, chronic collector of notebooks I fully intend to use, lover of coffee and dark chocolate, and very easily distracted by the sky above me or a good view around me.
I love live music, dancing in the kitchen with my little girl, spoken-word nights and anything a bit quirky. After years of feeling self-conscious and wearing clothes based on what others liked, my wardrobe is now increasingly colourful - I have many vinted-sourced Lucy & Yak outfits!
I've always been curious about people so it makes sense that I was drawn to studying psychology and helping others. I love the magic of finding the words for things people may have felt for years but never quite known how to say or never felt like it’s been understood. This is why I'm usually either writing something, thinking about writing something, or finding a scrap of paper containing something I apparently intended to write three months ago!
After years of believing “I’m just not a creative person” I have remembered the part of me that loved drawing, painting and making things. And it’s felt lovely to reconnect with that and start feeling like I can do things for fun rather than waiting to be ‘good enough’ and ‘ready enough’ to begin.
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
★★★★★
GET IN TOUCH
If you have any questions or you’d like to get in touch about my services, please fill out the contact form below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can and aim to respond within 2 working days!