“Anna has truly saved my life as well as my relationship with my parents.”

I came to see Anna 4 years ago, pretty broken and with not much hope. I had no idea at the time how ill I had become but my parents had reached breaking point and were crying out for any help they could find. I wouldn’t talk, eat, communicate or give anything back to my parents. I was pretty empty.

I arrived at our first session and I remember being shocked. Having already seen four different psychologists prior to Anna, I didn’t think that this would be any different. I seem to remember, my Mum and I arrived on the first day and she was about to burst into tears just asking Anna if there was anything she could do to help.

At the end of my first session Anna sat and said, “It is totally your choice if you want to try working with me, but if you say no, just think, ‘Is that what you really think or is that Anorexia controlling you, as it knows that I will challenge it?”  This has always stuck with me as I sat there and thought, ‘Oh my I think she might challenge me, she could help.’ But I didn’t want to get better so I thought I definitely shouldn’t work with her. However, my Mum was insistent, she wanted to try it and so I kept going back.

Anna since then has changed my life. I knew from the way she challenged me in the first session that she could understand me like no one ever before and Anna has had my back the whole time since then. I have never met anyone who puts so much time and effort into their patients, I can message Anna and just say, “Help, I am having a bad one,” and she is there in a second texting me back helping me get through the bad days. It feels like Anna sacrificed a lot to help me, I had only worked with her for a month, but I was admitted into an inpatient unit and she still came twice a week to see me there. The days I didn’t feel like talking, and these were more often than not to start with, she sat and spoke to me about other things just to get to know me a little better and understand what actually motivates me in life.

Anna has used hypnotherapy, CBT and psychodynamic therapy with me and the flexibility to use such different methods has been very beneficial when I feel lost for words. I came to Anna at 16, pretty broken and there wasn’t much hope for me. Since working with Anna I have achieved so much more. I have been travelling with friends, worked two full time jobs and now I am writing this having just completed my first two months of university living away. 

Anna truly has saved my life as well as my relationship with my parents. When they were worried, they would call her in a panic, but Anna’s ‘cool cat’ exterior always reassured them and funnily enough I am not just living my life now but really enjoying it. I haven’t finished my journey with Anna yet but I every day I am that much more grateful to her for saving my life.