Hello and welcome, I'm Samantha McEwan, a BACP-registered trauma-informed psychotherapist and mental health nurse providing counselling and therapy in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and further afield online. 

I specialise in working with adults who've experienced childhood trauma, and also with people experiencing difficulties such as anxiety, low mood, or relationship difficulties, working together to make sense of and address these experiences in order to move forward with higher confidence and greater wellbeing.

My approach is warm, active and supportive, grounded in clinical experience and high professional and ethical standards.

Who I work with

I have extensive experience supporting people to work through and heal from a wide range of difficulties affecting their health and wellbeing in their personal, relational or working lives including:

• Anxiety, overwhelm, overthinking, stress or panic
• Trauma, PTSD, and complex PTSD related to childhood emotional, physical or sexual abuse, neglect, unstable caregiving; or trauma experienced in adult relationships
• Low mood and depression
• Low self-esteem or self-criticism
• Repeating patterns in relationships, or difficulties with connection and communication
• Career difficulties such as bullying or burnout
• Facing life transitions or changes that feel difficult to navigate

How I work
 

"This was my first time speaking with a therapist, and Samantha has been amazing. She really listened to my concerns around confidence and self-worth, and made me feel heard and supported from the start"  

I use evidence-based therapies as part of a person-centred and collaborative approach to help my clients understand and address the root cause of their difficulties, not just the surface symptoms, supporting them to move forward with a renewed sense of self, confidence and purpose. 

Some of the therapy approaches I use are: 

CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Helps us notice and understand the relationships between our life experiences, thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviours, and how they interact. Together, we look for patterns and develop new, healthier ways of relating and responding to yourself, other people and experiences that help you move forward. 
 

ACT – Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Supports coping with rumination, difficult thoughts or emotions instead of fighting with them and without letting them take over. ACT can help us to reconnect with our personal values and move towards what matters to us.
 

CFT – Compassion Focused Therapy
Works with self-criticism to develop a more compassionate relationship with yourself, and supports moving out of survival or 'fight or flight' mode into a more balanced way of being and living.  
 

DBT – Dialectical Behaviour Therapy 
Improves emotional regulation and distress tolerance, and supports safer, healthier and assertive ways of interacting and responding in relationships.
 

Trauma Therapy 
Helps you feel safer in your body and mind. It supports your nervous system, helps you process what happened, deal with the impact, such as flashbacks, anxiety, anger or fear, low self-esteem, loss of identity and negative beliefs about yourself, and recover emotional, relational and personal empowerment and wellbeing. 

Mindfulness-based CBT (trauma sensitive)
Using trauma-sensitive mindfulness skills can help us feel less overwhelmed or controlled by our thoughts, feelings, or body tension. It helps us to stay present, be less reactive and make choices that feel more in our control.   

Therapy with me 

Starting therapy can feel daunting. I always aim to make that first step as simple, comfortable and supportive as possible. 

If you would like to explore therapy with me, I offer a free, no-obligation 20-30-min assessment call to get a brief understanding of what is happening for you at the moment, without requiring you to go into detail about past or current experiences, and discuss how we may work together. An initial consultation is an opportunity for us both to consider whether working together feels appropriate.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you would like to book an initial chat or ask any questions. I try to respond to enquiries within one working day, and initially my response is via email. 

"I'm so thankful I connected with Samantha. She is professional, responsive and sensitive, while also knowledgeable and straightforward with me. The way she understands me has been a long-awaited breath of fresh air. She validates my emotions and experiences and works carefully with me to identify patterns and goals".