Emily Duffy Therapy

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United Kingdom
Waltham Cross
Emily Duffy Therapy

She/Her
Online Integrative Therapist in the UK
I work with identity e.g. I'm an ENM & LGBTQ+ affirmative therapist.

sexuality, gender, neurodivergence, chronic illness, and mental health, the relationship with "self", and how you then relate to the outside world and the people around you. I work in an integrative approach meaning I adapt my way of working to your preferences, where possible, in a collaborative way. We will talk about what it is you would like to get out of counselling and look at ways we can do

this. My core way of working is offering a safe and non-judgemental space through person centred counselling and it's core conditions, which are to hold you with unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruence. From here I layer on tools and techniques from other approaches such as gestalt ways of working (metaphors, 'here & now' work, somatic exploration), ways of working from MBCT/SFT/CBT (using mindfulness techniques to explore our ways of thinking, looking at how this can be different, and how this can then impact our behaviour/emotions), and CFT/ACT (looking at our internal narrative, how we can be more compassionate and accepting to ourselves). Depending on what it is you're wanting to explore, how long we work together, and your preferences, will depend on the techniques used in our sessions. If you are considering short term work with myself then we will look at the most pressing issue you would like to focus on, whereas longer term work will allow more breadth of work.

27/08/2026

A wonderful resource from TACTT (Therapists Against Conversion Therapy and Transphobia) 💚

Finding a therapist can be difficult so having a handy guide for if your therapist is trans affirming.

If you want more training on working with gender diversity check out and .beat.therapy ✨️

26/08/2026

Another wonderful testimonial for my Working with Chronically Ill Clients CPD :D

"I recommend this course to any counsellors working with clients. Its explained in simple understandable ways that will improve how you work with clients." -Lisa

Here if anyone is interested - https://www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/cpd-chronic-illness

25/08/2026

AI is everywhere, so here's my thoughts 💭

(Scroll to see)

I can truly appreciate how some people have found it useful and helpful, but the more I know and learn of AI the more I get annoyed.... like, yes, I have written this myself but it could easily get flagged as AI, cause guess what, AI mimics how we talk....it was trained on us!!

Yes. There is much nuance to this, so this is the most basic nutshell. Don't come for me 😆 but if you wanna discuss, update me, or share your thoughts please do!

https://www.nyxai.com/hyped-but-flawed-the-real-limits-of-llms-2/

https://pub.towardsai.net/understanding-ai-through-probability-the-simple-truth-behind-the-magic-7ef373acf140

I am no expert, but to me, Gen AI and LLMs are over-hyped probability programmes. They don’t think, know, feel, understand, etc.

They are code. They take your question, search its dataset (that it trains from), and generates a response based on the highest probability ‘answer’ from it’s dataset.

There is no thought, distinction of truth, or accuracy of fact behind it, which is why we get AI hallucinations and mistakes.

I know people have found it useful. It’s super accessible and can have practical uses but..

I am apprehensive on the use of data being put into AIs in order to train.

I also don’t like how impactful they are on the environment.

I worries me how reliant people seem to be getting on AI and trusting in it too.

I will not use AI in any of my sessions.

It will not go near any of my notes or admin

I do my best to avoid it where I can. And whilst I haven’t used AI on this post, I am still using Canva and so it is likely my posts will get flagged as AI 🙄

I also will not shame any of my clients if they decide to use AI or if they find it useful.

My job is not to shame anyone, but to try and understand why and what that means to someone.

I will also offer ways of safe(r) use and education too where is within my knowledge/limits, or signpost if I need to.

AI can have *some* good uses like detecting cancerous masses or cleaning the oceans, but these don’t tend to be gen AI or LLMs

Remember to be saf

18/08/2026

Private Practice isn't always what it seems...

It may give me the opportunity to be a therapist and work due to my chronic illnesses but I'm not *just* a therapist.

I'm also....
💚 My own accountant
💚 My own social media manager
💚 Protecting client and customer data
💚 Responsible for all my admin (insurance, membership body, emails, notes, directories...)
💚 Safeguarding officer
💚 Marketing manager
💚 My own manager (managing my own hours, limitations, and time management)

(Yes, I know, I'm not actually any of those titles officially, but I do have to do many of the tasks/duties that can be involved in those jobs)

With the climate of therapy careers in the UK, many of us find private practice to be one of our only options of employment.

However, a lot of courses don't cover what working as someone who's self employed as a therapist is like! I think my course did an optional hour lecture on it?

Which is quite scary when you think about the legalities of taxes, data protection, and safeguarding when you're not covered by an organisation.

Yes, being a sole trader and working in private practice has given me a lot of freedom and opportunity. I can actually work! But it's not a walk in the park, it can be unstable for income, and there's a lot of added responsibilities on top of an already intense job.

If you'd like some guidance on setting up your private practice in the UK, I have a guide covering all the essentials and what I wish I knew here - www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/resources-for-therapists

14/08/2026

Ambiamory exists and is valid 💚

Are you ambiamorous? Did you know about this before this post?

Ambiamory is the ability to be content in either monogamous or non-monogamous relationships.

There's a lot of gatekeeping over this term.

"tthey'rejist suppressing their desire to be with others"

"they're just saturated at one person"

"They're just polyamorous until 'the one' comes along"

Whilst I can't say any of those examples don't happen. They also aren't ambiamory - just like how polyamory isn't an "excuse to cheat".

Ambiamory is valid.

How I would describe it is....

Non-monogamy is wanting and desiring romantic and/or sexual relationships with multiple people at the same time.

Monogamy is wanting and desiring a romantic and sexual relationship with one other person exclusively.

A non-monogamous person would find monogamy difficult and against their desires/needs/wants and vice-versa for a monogamous person

Whereas ambiamory is knowing you have the ability to love multiple people and be in multiple relationships but this isn't a explicit need/desire and so an exclusive dyad dynamic is still just as fulfilling.

Did you know about ambiamory?

11/08/2026

What's a way chronic illness has impacted you that you weren't expecting?

Mine is singing! If my fibro is flared, even slightly, my throat and lungs just don't work the same, so songs I can sing with ease on my good days become a challenge with a wobbly voice and bad breathing 🙃

It sucks when singing is such a big decompressor for me!

What's yours?

08/08/2026

🦋

Seeing lots of butterflies and moths in my garden this year. Also saw a hummingbird hawk moth but didn't have my phone on me 🥲

I've always loved watching them dance across the sky with each other.

And as a therapist I love the metaphors around change, healing, and growth.

It's one reason I love my job, because I do actually witness people wanting to change, grow, and do better, for themselves, and often those around them.

But honestly, at the moment, it's more around peace for me. Social media is something that brings me a lot of community as someone who is chronically ill, q***r, ND, and ambi, however it's also fu***ng tough to be on too.

There's sooo much divisiveness, bigotry, purity culture, cancelling, hatred, arguing, judgement, bots, exploitation, suffering etc. It can sometimes feel pretty suffocating.

And so taking some time to sit outside and just be with nature is freeing and needed, and yes, very much a privilege.

The butterflies and moths remind me that we can change and it can be beautiful. But also that it's okay to take a moment to yourself, to protect your peace, allowing you to be there for those around you 💚

How're you looking after yourself at the moment?

05/08/2026

Life is messy 😵‍💫

It doesn't always go to plan.

In fact some philosophers suggest the only certain things in life are uncertainty, change, and death 😅 (mixing philosophers sayings there I know).

This isn't me saying don't plan, as plans can offer comfort and stability within the uncertainty. However, planning in excess for things we can't predict or control can lead us feeling more anxious.

If you find yourself in the planning spiral, it can be good to take a breath and bring it back to the here and now with.... Is this plan actionable right now?
✨️If no, then note it down for later and refocus on the immediate in front of you.
✨️ If yes, you can figure out the first step to do in the now.

It's also useful to think about why you're in a planning spiral. Is it to create a sense of safety? Is it avoiding discomfort of the unknown? Is it something else?

What works for you? 💚

31/07/2026

An overview of all I offer 💚

I figured I'd refresh this as since my last one of these I have released more!

:
💚 I offer online therapy to UK residents via email, phone call, or video
💚 For anyone wanting to look at their relationship with themselves, others, and the world around them.
💚 I work with GSRD (gender, sexuality, and relationship diversity), neurodivergent individuals, chronically ill and/or disabled folks, and those living in bigger bodies in an affirming approach.
💚 Sessions are 50mins at a guide fee of £70 with low cost available.

General Resources:
🫶 Coping guide is free to dowload and looks at creating a coping plan for yourself
🫶 The mememotions-wheel is a take on the emotions wheel using memes
🫶 Guides to non-monogamy and also soon to be released chronic illness are for anyone wanting a better understanding of these topics and navigating them
🫶 There's also my blog and signposting to other services on my site too

Resources for
✨️ Private practice guide - a guide on setting up your in the UK. My free checklist is on my site and the guide then delves into each of these points in more detail and guidance.
✨️ Templates for contracts and policies
✨️ Spreadsheet for notes including client notes, supervision notes, CPD notes, attendance tracking, enquiries tracking, resources, email templates, and payment logging too.
✨️ CPD on working with in therapy. This specific course is quality checked by NCPS. “This course has Quality Checked Distance Learning training recognition with the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS).
This course alone is not a route to the Accredited Register, nor does it equip a participant to refer to themselves as a qualified counsellor or as a ‘specialist’ in this area of work unless they have obtained relevant qualifications and experience to do so.”

✨️ CPD on working with chronically ill clients in therapy covering basics of , living with them, to working with them.

All of this can be found on my site - www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk

27/07/2026

New blog alert - 8 Types of Grief (And Why Loss Isn't Just About Death)

This post covers different types of grief we can experience through our lives such as disenfranchised grief, anticipatory grief, compunded grief, collective grief, etc.

Check it out here - https://www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/post/types-of-grief

And let me know what you think in the comments below 💚

Address

Waltham Cross

Telephone

+447508387585

Website

https://www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/

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