Promoting positive Mental Health & Well-being.

D R Downes & Associates

0333 200 1815

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  • Somatic CBT
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  • Build Resilience
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    • Home
    • Our Story
    • Psychotherapy
    • Somatic CBT
    • Medico-Legal
    • Build Resilience
    • Fee's
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ's
D R Downes & Associates

0333 200 1815

  • Home
  • Our Story
  • Psychotherapy
  • Somatic CBT
  • Medico-Legal
  • Build Resilience
  • Fee's
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ's

the heart's behind our practice

Sunflower up close

Real People. Real Experience. Real Support.

Our story begins with a shared belief: meaningful mental health support comes not just from training, but from truly understanding what it’s like to struggle. As a husband-and-wife team with both lived experience and over 15 years of clinical expertise, we’ve walked alongside the challenges many of our clients face. That’s why we’ve built a practice that’s rooted in empathy, grounded in evidence, and shaped by real life — not just textbooks.

Meet David

"Expert care shaped by real life — not just theory."


David’s journey into psychotherapy has been shaped by a diverse and meaningful career. He began in the Royal Navy, serving aboard submarines, before transitioning into civilian life and founding a successful IT startup in the North West. The company grew to employ over 100 staff across six locations before being sold in the late 1990s. His passion for growth and learning also led him to earn both his CAA and FAA pilot’s licences.


Later in life, David chose to retrain in psychotherapy, driven by a desire to help others navigate the kinds of challenges he’d faced himself. With over 15 years of clinical expertise, he now works as an accredited psychotherapist and clinical supervisor, supporting individuals from all walks of life — including veterans, business leaders, and neurodivergent clients.


David’s own lived experience with adult ADHD, diagnosed later in life, gives him unique insight into the day-to-day realities of neurodivergence. It allows him to connect with clients on a deeper level and offer mental health support that is both practical and empathetic.


Clients often describe David as humorous, calm, grounded, and easy to talk to especially being Irish - someone who brings not just expertise, but authenticity and care to the work he does.

Meet Rebecca

“Support that meets you where you are.”


Rebecca began her career in strategic HR and talent acquisition, working with start-ups, non-profits, and global brands. Supporting individuals and teams through change gave her deep insight into how people grow, adapt, and thrive during life’s transitions.


Alongside her professional path, Rebecca faced her own challenges — raising three children as a single mother, living with chronic pain, navigating neurodiversity, trauma, and complex grief. These experiences shaped her deep empathy and ability to connect with others on a real and human level.


Driven by a passion to help others, she retrained as a psychotherapist alongside her husband. Now an accredited practitioner, she brings together her clinical expertise and lived experience to offer tailored, compassionate mental health support.


She supports women, neurodivergent clients, and those navigating grief, life transitions, or emotional overwhelm — helping them feel heard, grounded, and more in control.


Clients often describe Rebecca as warm, intuitive, and down-to-earth — someone who offers a calm, supportive space to explore challenges and create meaningful change.

“Real mental health support from lived experience and clinical expertise”


D R Downes & Associates

How We’re Equipped to Support You

With over 15 years of combined clinical expertise and personal lived experience, our journey began in integrative counselling and psychotherapy. Since then, we’ve trained in CBT, EMDR (including child and adolescent work), and clinical supervision.


Our approach is enriched by further training in trauma, resilience coaching and postgraduate studies in neurodiversity coaching, alongside UKAAN Adult ADHD at King’s College London. 


Together, this allows us to deliver holistic, personalised mental health support that blends insight, empathy, and evidence-based care.

  • Neurobiology of Trauma & trauma-informed care
  • Vicarious & Secondary Trauma Stress
  • Compassion Fatigue  & Burn-out
  • Stress Management
  • Rebalancing the Automatic Nervous System (ANS)
  • Emotional Dysregulation
  • HeartMath Resilience & Somatic Coaching
  • Neurodiversity Coaching
  • Depression & Anxiety
  • Loss & Bereavement
  • Complicated & Traumatic Grief
  • Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)
  • Medico-Legal Psychological Treatments

A personal path to care

We’re not medical doctors, so we don’t offer formal diagnoses or medical advice. But with over 15 years of clinical expertise and personal lived experience, we’re here to provide meaningful, compassionate mental health support.


We take time to understand your story. Using psychometric tools and guided conversations, we build a clear picture of your needs. Our approach is informed by respected frameworks like the ICD-11 and DSM-5, and grounded in the biopsychosocial model — recognising the connection between your body, mind, and life circumstances.


We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all method. As integrative therapists, we draw from a range of techniques, tailoring each session to what works best for you. Therapy can be challenging at times, but we’re here to support you with empathy, skill, and real-world understanding — every step of the way.

compassion-led

We work closely with a diverse range of clients and partners — from GPs, private healthcare, EAP providers, to medico-legal insurers, solicitors, and self-referring individuals. 


Regardless of the referral path, our focus remains the same: delivering ethical, effective, and compassionate mental health support. With over 15 years of clinical expertise and personal lived experience, we understand the value of staying current. 

Trusted Practice

Our passion and determination ensures we remain at the leading edge of our profession.  


  • British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (ACCRED)
  • British Associate for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapy
  • EMDR Association UK and Ireland
  • Licensed HeartMath Resilience Coaches
  • Information Commissioner’s  Office

Professional memberships & licence's

BACP logo
BABCP logo
EMDR logo
HeartMath Cert Coach logo
QbTech logo
ICO logo

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