Stephanie Fortescue

Psychotherapist and Counsellor

What I offer: I offer both short-term and open-ended therapy, online or face-to-face. We can talk about what might suit you best during an initial consultation.

My approach is relational, trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming. I work particularly with adults who are autistic, ADHD or AuDHD, including people who have been diagnosed or identified as neurodivergent later in life. I also work with anxiety, depression, relationship and attachment difficulties, low self-esteem, emotional overwhelm and the impact of difficult or traumatic experiences.

I originally trained psychodynamically, so I am interested in how our earlier experiences and relationships can shape the way we understand ourselves, relate to other people and respond to situations in the present. However, my way of working has developed considerably over the years and now draws on a wider understanding of trauma, attachment, neurodivergence, emotional regulation and the nervous system.

This means we might explore patterns in your relationships, experiences from childhood, difficult emotions or beliefs you hold about yourself. But we might equally think together about sensory overwhelm, executive functioning, masking, burnout, rejection sensitivity, emotional regulation or why everyday demands can sometimes feel disproportionately difficult.

I don’t believe that every difficulty needs to be traced back to childhood or that distress should automatically be viewed as something within the individual that needs to be “fixed”. Sometimes understanding your brain, nervous system and environment — and recognising where you have spent years trying to function in ways that don’t suit you — can be just as important.

What is therapy with me like?

I see therapy as something we do collaboratively rather than something I “do” to you. Although the therapeutic relationship remains an important part of my work, I don’t aim to be a completely neutral or distant therapist. I am warm, engaged and curious, and I want therapy to feel like a space where you don’t have to perform or work out the “right” thing to say.

For neurodivergent clients in particular, I recognise that traditional ways of doing therapy don’t work for everyone. I am happy to adapt the way we work to suit your communication and processing style. We can be more structured when structure is helpful, use psychoeducation to make sense of what you’re experiencing, or think about practical strategies alongside deeper emotional and relational work.

At other times, there may be value in slowing things down and becoming curious about what is happening between us. Patterns that occur elsewhere in your life can sometimes emerge within therapy too, giving us an opportunity to understand them in a relationship where they can be explored safely rather than judged.

My aim isn’t to teach you how to appear less anxious, less sensitive or less neurodivergent. Instead, I want to help you develop a better understanding of yourself: what has shaped you, what overwhelms you, what you need, and which patterns are still protecting you even if they are no longer serving you.

Over time, therapy can help you develop greater self-understanding and self-compassion, feel more able to regulate difficult emotions, communicate your needs and boundaries, and make choices that feel more consistent with the person you actually are.

Training and background: I’m a BACP registered fully-qualified counsellor and psychotherapist working in and around the Brighton and Hove area. I completed my post-graduate psychotherapeutic training (PGDip & MSc) at Brighton University, during which time I worked within the LGBTQ+ communities. Prior to this I worked providing rape victim support, as well as in general psychotherapy clinics within the East Sussex area. I also have a BA (Hons) degree in Sociology and part Psychology, and an earlier career background in teaching.