Emily Duffy Therapy

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

s*xuality, 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.

Journaling can be a great tool 💚It is a really good way to express, release, explore, and process our emotions, situatio...
25/03/2026

Journaling can be a great tool 💚

It is a really good way to express, release, explore, and process our emotions, situations, or thoughts. But sometimes it can be tricky to know where to start.

Journaling doesn't have to be a structured, "dear diary today I..." If that works for you great but there are lots of other ways too.

You might want to just doodle and write words or phrases that come to mind.

Or you might want some direction, and this is where prompts can help. Here are a few to get you going:
✨️ What are you grateful for today?
✨️ If your body had a voice what would it be saying?
✨️ If your feelings had a voice what would they say?
✨️ What do you want your future self to know?
✨️ Where, in life, do you feel you could be more boundaried and what would this look like?
✨️ What would a compassionate voice say to you today?
✨️ What would you want your past self to know?
✨️ What have you overcome?
✨️ What do you need to shout into the void?

If you don't know how to pick one you could always write them on strips of paper, and add more of your own in, and then pull one out of a jar and go from there 💚

How do you journal? What do you find helpful?

It's 🐶 a dog will always be a puppy to me 🐾I love my dogs. Ever since I could answer my mom's question of "anything you...
23/03/2026

It's 🐶 a dog will always be a puppy to me 🐾

I love my dogs. Ever since I could answer my mom's question of "anything you want from the shops? Add it to the list" I would reply/write "a dog" 😅

Snowy was my dream dog. We got him when I was 10 years old. My parents just wanted to look and visit the breeder but we left the same day with him and had to stop on the way home to buy everything for him!!

When we had to say goodbye to him, it absolutely broke me and that grief hasn't ever left!! He had a fantastic life, filled with so much love till he was 15 💔

Whilst no dog can ever be replaced, life for me just isn't the same without hearing those putter patters on the hard wood floor and a friendly, loving, mischievous dog to keep me company.

And now I have my Arty and Freya woofs 🥰

Having a dog isn't always easy though. Puppies arw adorable but they are freaking hard work. They are sleepless nights, toilet training, bite training, house training, keeping them entertained, vets visits, and not leaving them on their own for too long.

Dog's get easier until one of them is reactive and you have to learn a whole new set of skills and read dog behaviour on a whole other level (seriously owning 2 dogs is soooo different to just one 😅😅)

But......i wouldn't change it for anything. They are beyond worth it 💚

So to all those puppies, past, present, and future, you make our lives whole, you make us laugh, and you are so loved 🐶

Want to read more about what ive learned from dogs? Check out my blog posts:
- https://www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/post/pet-bereavement
- https://www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/post/a-life-with-dogs




23/03/2026

A little update on how writing this beefy course is going! 💚

I'm about a third of the way and I have already written SO much in each of these steps 😅

There's a lot to cover and much more to do but I am so excited to eventually share this with therapists, counsellors, psychotherapists, and mental health professionals ✨️

It is such an important topic when the UK disability stats from 2025 state, "The prevalence of disability rises with age: in 2023/24 around 12% of children in the UK were disabled, compared with 24% of working-age adults and 45% of adults over State Pension age. Just under two thirds (64%) of people aged 85 or over reported a disability."

And the prevelance is predicted to rise as years go on!

So if you're a therapist, counsellor, psychotherapist, or mental health professional and you'd like to know more follow the link to sign up for updates - https://forms.gle/yGC7Hj9pSibErBwR8





New blog post out - Chronic Illness Grief It looks at: What chronic illness grief is, how it can show up, what it can lo...
21/03/2026

New blog post out - Chronic Illness Grief

It looks at: What chronic illness grief is, how it can show up, what it can look like, and how we can manage it.

Check it out now and let me know what you think in the comments below

Link via the linktree in my profile

https://www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/post/chronic-illness-grief





A little life update from me 💚I finally have a date for my surgery which I was put in a waitlist for over 12 months ago ...
16/03/2026

A little life update from me 💚

I finally have a date for my surgery which I was put in a waitlist for over 12 months ago now! This will be happening mid-April and will mean me (potentially) being a little more distant here whilst I recover. It is part of my endo & adeno treatment so great timing for endo awareness month 😆

I am also experiencing more migraines lately as well as light sensitivity and my astigmatism being sensitive too. I am absolutely okay and getting it all looked into, but it does mean wearing my "reading" glasses a lot more to help with glare! I'm still very much getting used to seeing myself in them 😅

It's so hard when our bodies and appearance change. It can be a lot to adapt to!

There can be a lot of grief involved with the loss of who we were. And in parallel there can be a lot of gratitude for what we still appreciate and are grateful for.

I actually quite like my glasses now, but even still it's weird to greet clients and friends when wearing them as before I would never need to wear them around others.

My glasses feel like they make my "invisible" illnesses and symptoms a bit more "real" or visible. All of this comes with pros and cons!

It's difficult to hold all of this at the same time, so to my fellow chronic illness folx and anyone going through changes in your appearance for whatever reason, I see you.

How are you being kind to those changing parts of yourself? 💚





Small acts of kindness and care matter 💚Simple post from me today cause this week has been rough with endo, adeno, and m...
06/03/2026

Small acts of kindness and care matter 💚

Simple post from me today cause this week has been rough with endo, adeno, and migraine flares!

"Too often, we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." – Leo Buscaglia

Sending love to you all ✨️

It's awareness month 💛🙃 It's estimated that 1 in 7 AFAB people have endometriosis 🙃 In rare cases it has also been fou...
02/03/2026

It's awareness month 💛

🙃 It's estimated that 1 in 7 AFAB people have endometriosis
🙃 In rare cases it has also been found in AMAB folx and fetuses
🙃 Endo can create it's own hormones, blood supply, and nerve endings
🙃 It doesn't just cause bad periods, it is a whole body systemic inflammatory disease
🙃 Research is being improved with awareness but there is still limited research (some of which is the effects on male partners and attractiveness of those with endo)
🙃 It is considered one of the top 20 painful conditions
🙃 It can take on average 7-10 years to diagnose

My journey with endo has been rough. I'm going to write a blog post on it at somepoint but I'm currently waiting on surgery for it so figured I'll wait till I eventually get that.

I have experienced dismissal, judgement, being laughed at by doctors, condescending medical professionals, and gaslighting in my medical appointments.

It took 17 years for diagnosis. I was diagnosed in 2023. I also have adenomyosis. And even now, I still get push back on my pain being "real" or being told I'm asking for too much when wanting to manage it.....

It really changes your life, your relationship with yourself, relationships with partners, relationships with friends and family, work, hobbies, just everything.

More awareness is needed. More belief of AFAB people's experience is needed.


Check out my blog on chronic illness in relationships to get a better understanding! - www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/post/chronic-illness-in-relationships





"Give yourself a gift: the present moment." - Marcus Aurelius ✨️So often we can get stuck in the fear of what the future...
25/02/2026

"Give yourself a gift: the present moment." - Marcus Aurelius ✨️

So often we can get stuck in the fear of what the future has in store for us. This isn't necessarily irrational or disproportionate to what looks likely, but dwelling too much on the future can rob us of the present moments too.

Similarly, getting stuck in “if only” thoughts about the past keeps us trapped. We can’t change what’s behind us, only learn from it and strive to do better now.

I've experienced this with anticipatory grief. The anxieties, expectations, and urge to act kick in, and can be overwhelming, even though the future is still unpredictable. The grief causes us to mourn the loss before it happens. We get tangled in if onlys as if replaying them could alter the outcome we're now dealing with. And we actually end up losing moments we have with the one important to us.

This is a pretty intense example. And there is no "right" way of doing things or navigating these real anxieties. But so much of the "western world" is built on productivity, doing more, hustle, get on with it and we lose the ability to just be with ourselves and those around us in the moment.

(Yes I realise the hypocrisy of this being a post on social media which feeds into the scroll onto the next thing..... but this is what I'm working with 😆)

This means we often react to things, rather than responding. We see so much of this immediacy in social media and media in general now.

Even if it's taking 1 minute try:
✨️ To sit and notice you breath
✨️ Notice the sounds around you
✨️ Look up at the sky
✨️ Look at and feel your skin

Be really be mindful of who you are, where you are, and how you're doing. It can be a short relief from always having to push forward and reconnect with yourself.

Once you figure out where you are, you might have a clearer vision of where you want/need to go.

💚





No one owes anyone else s*x. Full stop. Ever. TW this post talks about chronic illness, s*x, and s*xual abuse. I've been...
22/02/2026

No one owes anyone else s*x. Full stop. Ever.

TW this post talks about chronic illness, s*x, and s*xual abuse.

I've been seeing lots of posts in chronic illness groups about how we should still pleasure our partners whether we're in pain or not.....

So I wanted to clear this up for anyone struggling with chronic pain, fatigue, or symptoms which make intimacy difficult.

You don't have to do anything s*xual with anyone, even if they're your partner(s)

If someone pressures you or guilts you into s*xual activity this is coercive behaviour and s*xual abuse.

If someone touches themselves infront of you without your consent this is also s*xual abuse.

If someone continues s*xual acts or touching you without your consent this is s*xual abuse.

There is no "should" because they're a partner, spouse, lover, whatever!

When someone reaches out for help because they're feeling awful that their chronic illness is creating a barrier between intimacy, don't tell them they should just try X

Assess if they actually want that intimacy first.

If they do, then great, work on what manageable intimacy around their symptoms can look like can start.

Women don't owe men s*x

Men don't own women s*x

No one owes anyone else s*x

It all needs consent.

If your partner isn't happy about whether you're able to be intimate then it is for them to decide if they want the relationship or not.

If you're looking to try and find solutions, hopefully you can both meet at a pace that works for both of you.

It can be so frustrating on both sides, it can be upsetting, hurtful, and isolating. But it's not okay to use these emotions against the other person.

Just know, often those with chronic illness want to be intimate, it's just not always possible. And so different ways of intimacy can be explored.

Is there anything else you'd add to this? 💚


I talk about intimacy and ways of talking about it more in my blog post "Chronic Illness in Relationships"






New blog post - What is good enough? - out now! 💚This post explores:What we consider good enough to be, how it can impac...
18/02/2026

New blog post - What is good enough? - out now! 💚

This post explores:

What we consider good enough to be, how it can impact our life and self percetion, and how we can challenge the belief of "I'm not good enough"

Check it out via my links or directly here - https://www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/post/what-is-good-enough

Let me know what you think in the comments ✨️





Had my hair cut for the first time in over a year 🫣Getting my hair cut always falls down my priorities, it can be hard t...
12/02/2026

Had my hair cut for the first time in over a year 🫣

Getting my hair cut always falls down my priorities, it can be hard to remember or have the energy with chronic illnesses and just life itself. I also just forget how long it's been as well as how good it feels after 😅

But it can also feel quite confronting to sit infront of a mirror for an hour or so. It can highlight that inner critic around our appearances and how we feel.
"I'm too heavy"
"I'm not pretty enough"
"I wish my body works"

Alongside the talking that we do too.

It can be like shining a spotlight on yourself. It's actually something that some therapists do in self worth work to grt used to looking at yourself, confronting that inner critic, and to start to look at any neutral or positive elements you can notice.

It makes sense why some people refer to, and feel, that their hairdressers/barbers are therapists! (Though please remember there is a difference, it may be therapeutic and supportive but this is not therapy - has to be said to clarify 😆)

Thank you for being so amazing and putting me at ease ✨️ (also to clarify, not an ad but I do highly recommend them if you're in Cheshunt 💚)

Letter writing can be such a powerful tool 💚💌It can be used in so many different ways too. It's kind of like journaling ...
10/02/2026

Letter writing can be such a powerful tool 💚💌

It can be used in so many different ways too. It's kind of like journaling but with a prompt.

It is an uncensored space to explore different prompts.

You could write a letter to your past self, your current self, or your future self.
It could be a letter to someone in your life, to explore what comes up for you and potentially what you then want to go on to comminicate.
It can be from your body, your emotions, someone else and exploring a different perspective.

In the 4th slide I've incuded an example of part of a short letter I wrote to my body in my training with The Fat Counsellors ( and ) which was really interesting to see what came out when talking to my past body!!

I've found it so useful in dynamics where I'm not sure what I want to communicate or how too. To have a space to allow anything to come out is so useful as you can then pick out the bits you actually want to say (if anything).

You don't have to keep the letter either. You can turn it into a ritual of letting go by ripping it up or burning it. You could hand it over to your therapist to hold for you (if they accepted).

If you do decide to do this I would recommend doing it in a quiet confidential space. And then to allow space for yourself afterwards to sit with what came up for you and have some self-care to decompress as it can be heavy!

Have you tried letter writing before? ✨️


If you want to learn more about your relationship with your body, body neutrality, and working with clients in bigger bodys do check out The Fat Counsellors training - www.thefatcounsellors.co.uk






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