The mind, gently tended, finds its own way forward.
A confidential psychotherapy practice on the quiet edge of the New Forest, led by Dr Norman Claringbull — former Head of Counselling & Psychotherapy Studies at the University of Southampton. In-person sessions from Marchwood, plus online appointments wherever you find yourself.
A calm, independent space to think clearly again.
We know quite a lot about ourselves from the years we have lived — from the people around us, the media we consume, and the slow accumulation of evidence about how we human beings tick.
But there are times when the challenges become overwhelming. Relationship difficulties. Feelings and behaviours we find hard to manage. Grief from a bereavement or loss. A turning point reached without knowing what the next step should be — or what that step even is.
At times like this, talking with an experienced and genuinely independent other person — someone outside the situation — can help us make sense of where we are, and where we might go next.
Strictly Confidential
Every conversation is bound by professional confidentiality and the BACP Ethical Framework. What is said here, stays here.
Evidence-Based
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Compassion-Focused Therapy, and Emotion-Focused Therapy — drawn from current, peer-reviewed practice.
Flexible Sessions
Weekly in-person appointments at 2 Holly Cottages, or online via secure video — whichever best fits your life.
Insurance Accepted
Private health insurance is welcomed. We'll help you confirm cover before your first appointment.
No single therapy fits every person. Every mind is its own terrain.
The first conversation is always a thorough assessment — of your difficulties, your history, and the goals you want to reach. From there, we shape the work together.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Understanding the patterns of thought that shape feeling and behaviour — and learning to change them.
Compassion-Focused Therapy
For the inner critic that has become too loud. A gentler internal voice, developed through practice.
Emotion-Focused Therapy
Working with emotion rather than around it — useful for couples and for stuck grief.
Behavioural Activation
Practical, structured re-engagement with life when low mood has narrowed the world.
ACT & Mindfulness
Acceptance, Commitment Therapy, and mindfulness practice for anxiety, rumination and over-thinking.
Couples Therapy
A safe, structured space for two people to hear one another again — and decide what comes next.
A simple, unhurried pathway into therapy.
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A free initial telephone conversation
Fifteen to twenty minutes to speak briefly about what's brought you here, and to ask any questions. No obligation.
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A thorough first assessment
An extended session where we discuss your difficulties, relevant history, and what you would like therapy to achieve — in a confidential, calm setting.
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Setting your goals together
Therapy is most effective when the destination is clear. We agree on what success will look like for you, and revisit it often.
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Ongoing weekly work
Regular sessions — in person at Marchwood or online — moving at a pace that respects both your urgency and your readiness.
There is no difficulty too small, and none too large, to bring into the room.
Stress
When the pressure of work, caregiving or life stops being manageable.
Depression & Low Mood
Persistent heaviness, hopelessness, or a flattening of the things you used to enjoy.
Anxiety
Racing thoughts, restless body, the constant low hum of "something is wrong."
Bereavement & Loss
Grief in any form — recent or long-carried, expected or sudden.
Relationship Difficulties
Patterns that repeat. Couples in crisis. The slow drift apart, or the sudden fracture.
Self-Esteem
The voice that says you are not enough — and the work of proving it wrong.
Anger Management
When anger arrives too fast, too often, or leaves damage in its wake.
Life Transitions
"Where do I go from here?" — career, retirement, parenthood, identity, mid-life.
Trauma
Single-event or repeated — what the body and mind still hold long after.
Identity & Self
Who you are, who you have been, and who you would like to become.
Work & Career
Burnout, conflict, performance anxiety, the question of meaningful work.
Sleep & Fatigue
The mind that will not switch off, and the body that pays the price.
"Therapy is not about fixing what is broken. It is about understanding what has been carrying the weight — and learning, finally, to set some of it down."Dr Norman Claringbull Psychotherapist · Counsellor · Psychologist
Three decades of practice. A calm, ordinary human behind the title.
Dr Norman Claringbull is a BACP Senior Accredited Practitioner and former Head of Counselling & Psychotherapy Studies at the University of Southampton. He has spent more than thirty years in clinical practice, supervision and teaching — and brings to each session the rare combination of academic depth and a genuinely warm, plain-spoking manner.
His work is informed by an integrative training across cognitive, behavioural, psychodynamic and humanistic traditions. In practice, that means the therapy fits the person, not the other way around — and that the relationship between therapist and client remains at the centre of the work.
He works with adults aged 16 and over, individually and as couples, in person from 2 Holly Cottages in Marchwood or online via secure video.
On the quiet edge of the New Forest.
2 Holly Cottages sits in Pooksgreen, a small hamlet beside Marchwood — a fifteen-minute drive from central Southampton, and a world away in feel. The practice room looks onto trees, and sessions are never rushed by the next person in the waiting room, because there isn't one.
2 Holly Cottages, Pooksgreen
Marchwood, Southampton
SO40 4WP
15 min from Southampton centre
The first conversation is free.
Call or message to arrange a free initial telephone consultation. There's no pressure, no commitment — just a quiet, twenty-minute conversation about what's bringing you here, and whether this is the right place for the work ahead.