The Farley
Private Therapy for Burnout, Stress, Anxiety &
Emotional Disconnection -
In Southampton, Online Across the UK and Beyond
You’re still showing up.
But inside, you feel detached. Drained. Disconnected.
Burnout. Anxiety. Stress that keeps your system on high alert.
You’ve carried it alone for so long, it’s hard to know where to begin.
Start Here
Is Therapy Or Counselling At The Farley Right For Me?
From the outside, it can look as though you are coping. You keep going, meet what is expected, and carry on with your life.
But internally, something has shifted. You may feel flat, drained, or disconnected from yourself, as though you are moving through life without fully being in it.
For some, this builds gradually, until even ordinary life starts to feel heavier than it should. For others, it becomes noticeable more suddenly, when the ways you have always managed no longer hold.
What You Might Notice
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Emotional disconnection or numbness
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Burnout and long-term overwhelm, including high-functioning burnout
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Anxiety that does not switch off, or a low mood that lingers
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Chronic stress showing as irritability, tension or exhaustion you cannot shake
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Loss of identity, direction or meaning, especially after years of adapting to others
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Finding yourself on the edge of certain groups or environments
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Repeating patterns in relationships or behaviour that leave you unseen or frustrated
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People-pleasing, perfectionism and hidden overwhelm
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A sense that something is missing, even when life looks “fine”
What Therapy At The Farley Feels Like
I’m Esther Dietrichsen-Farley, a Person-Centred Counsellor and Psychotherapist in Southampton. I offer private counselling and psychotherapy in person and online across the UK and internationally for adults experiencing burnout, stress, anxiety, or emotional disconnection, and provide embedded employee counselling for organisations seeking consistent, confidential support for their teams.
My role is to stay with you in what feels difficult, unclear, or hard to put into words, so you don’t have to manage it on your own.
The work we do together is person-centred, relational, and reflective. Sessions focus on looking closely at what is happening, rather than moving past it or trying to manage it. This includes noticing patterns in how you think, respond, and relate, and taking the time to understand them properly.
There is no pressure to perform or have everything figured out. We start with what is present, and work at a pace that feels manageable for you.
How We Can Work Together
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In person: private practice in Shirley, Southampton
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Online: secure, confidential sessions across the UK and internationally
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Session length: 50 minutes, short or long term depending on your needs
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Employee counselling: embedded, person-centred support for organisations and their staff
You do not need to have this fully figured out to get in touch. If something here reflects your experience, we can begin with a simple conversation.
About The Farley
I am Esther Dietrichsen-Farley, a Person-Centred Counsellor and Psychotherapist (MBACP Registered Member, 405143) and founder of The Farley. I am based in Southampton and work in person and online with clients across the UK and internationally.
Many of the people who reach out to me are carrying more than anyone sees. They keep going, meet demands, and hold things together, yet internally they often feel worn down or disconnected. Some describe moving through life on autopilot. Others speak about burnout, low mood, or a growing sense of losing themselves.
You may usually experience yourself as thoughtful, capable, and composed. But lately, that steadiness may feel harder to hold on to. The more you push through, the further away you may feel from yourself.
Over the years, I have worked with adults from many walks of life: professionals experiencing burnout, business founders under high pressure, creatives, carers, and deep thinkers. What they often share is a struggle that is not always visible to others, but experienced as deeply personal, sometimes including a sense of not fully belonging or feeling at ease in their lives.
My Approach To Therapy
My work is grounded in Person-Centred therapy and supported by training in relational, trauma-informed, and somatic perspectives. I provide a consistent therapeutic space where your experience is explored with care and professional attention. Rather than applying techniques or formulas, I work with you directly, paying close attention to your individual process so that what is happening can be understood more clearly and worked through at a pace that feels manageable.
This is a space where you can arrive as you are, even if you do not have the words yet. Some people feel unsure what they will say. Others feel everything all at once. Both are welcome.
How We Can Work Together
My private practice is based in Shirley, Southampton. The space is calm, private, and set up to support focused, uninterrupted work. I also work online with clients across the UK and overseas.
Alongside one-to-one therapy, I offer embedded employee counselling for organisations. This gives staff consistent access to a dedicated counsellor, with a focus on meaningful, confidential support within the workplace.
You are welcome here, whether you are feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, or simply need space to make sense of what is going on. Therapy at The Farley offers the opportunity to slow things down, understand your experience more clearly, and begin to feel more like yourself again.
Services
Individual Counselling & Psychotherapy
I offer weekly, 50-minute counselling & psychotherapy sessions for adults, available in person in Southampton or online in the UK and overseas.
Sessions offer a private, steady space to look more closely at what is happening for you, rather than trying to push past it or manage it alone.
We take the time to understand your experience properly, including the patterns, pressures, and ways of coping that may no longer be working, so that something more grounded and sustainable can begin to emerge.
Areas I work with include:
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Emotional disconnection or numbness
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Burnout and long-term overwhelm, including high-functioning burnout
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Anxiety that does not switch off, or a low mood that lingers
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Chronic stress showing as irritability, tension or exhaustion you cannot shake
-
Loss of identity, direction or meaning, especially after years of adapting to others
-
Finding yourself on the edge of certain groups or environments
-
Repeating patterns in relationships or behaviour that leave you unseen or frustrated
-
People-pleasing, perfectionism and hidden overwhelm
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A sense that something is missing, even when life looks “fine”
Location & Format
In-person: My private practice in Shirley, Southampton
Online: Secure, confidential video sessions across the UK and overseas
Session Length: 50 minutes
Frequency: Weekly
Duration: Short or long-term
I am a recognised provider with WPA and Vitality Health Insurance. If you are covered by either insurer, you may be able to claim for your therapy sessions. Please check your policy details and request a pre-authorisation code before we begin.
For Organisations
Alongside individual work, I also offer embedded workplace counselling for organisations. Employees meet with the same BACP-registered therapist over time in a confidential setting that remains independent from HR and management.
Being embedded means:
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A familiar therapist is present in the working environment, so approaching support feels natural rather than formal or distant.
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Over time, I build a working understanding of the culture, language and pace of your organisation, so employees do not need to re-explain the context of their work each time.
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Boundaries are clear; clinical independence is maintained, but the therapist understands enough of the day-to-day reality to make support relevant and safe.
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Each person is met as an individual, not a role. Sessions attend to the whole human experience - emotions, stress, relationships and personal history - rather than focusing solely on performance or workplace issues.
Sessions can be on-site, online or hybrid, arranged to fit the rhythm of your team.
Learn more about in-house employee counselling.
Still unsure?
If something here reflects your experience, you are very welcome to get in touch. I offer a free 30-minute initial consultation video call so we can see whether this feels like a good fit.
Say hello
I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, feel free to email me directly or request a call back:
esther@thefarley.co.uk
Request a call back
11 Norfolk Road, Southampton, SO15 5AT,
United Kingdom
Privacy Policy
Your privacy is important to The Farley. This Privacy Policy explains how your personal information is collected, used, stored and protected, from your first contact with the practice through to the period after therapy has ended.
The Farley complies with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
The Farley also works in accordance with the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions published by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
The data controller is Esther Dietrichsen-Farley, who is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration number ZB661500.
Information I collect
When you contact The Farley or begin therapy, I may collect information including:
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your name
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date of birth
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email address and telephone number
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GP details
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emergency contact information, where appropriate
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information needed to arrange and administer appointments
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payment and invoicing information
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information relevant to providing therapy safely and appropriately.
During therapy you may choose to share information about your physical or mental health, relationships, identity, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion or beliefs, or other aspects of your life. Some of this information is classed as special category data under UK data protection law and receives additional protection.
I also maintain brief clinical records relating to our work together. These may include therapy session notes, risk assessments and safety plans where appropriate. Clinical records are pseudonymised and stored using a client reference number rather than your name or contact details.
If you attend therapy in person, limited video footage of your arrival at the property may also be captured by the Ring video doorbell at the gate entrance.
Why I use your information
Your personal information is used only where necessary to provide and administer The Farley's services. This includes:
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responding to enquiries
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arranging, cancelling and rearranging appointments
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providing therapy
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maintaining appropriate clinical records
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managing payments, invoices and accounts
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communicating with you about your therapy
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meeting professional, legal, insurance, safeguarding and accounting obligations.
I do not sell your personal information or use information disclosed during therapy for advertising or marketing purposes.
Lawful basis for processing your information
Under the UK GDPR, The Farley must have a lawful basis for processing personal information.
When you are considering therapy or are currently receiving therapy, personal information is generally processed because it is necessary in order to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to fulfil the therapeutic contract between you and The Farley.
Following the end of therapy, some information may be retained on the basis of legitimate interests, including maintaining appropriate professional records and responding to matters relating to therapy previously provided. Some information may also need to be retained in order to meet legal obligations, including tax and accounting requirements.
Some information processed in connection with therapy, particularly information concerning physical or mental health, racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or sexual orientation, is classed as special category data and receives additional protection under data protection law.
Where special category data is processed for the provision of therapy, the relevant condition is generally Article 9(2)(h) of the UK GDPR, together with the applicable provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 relating to the provision of health or social care or treatment by a professional subject to an obligation of confidentiality.
Clinical records and retention
Clinical notes are kept separately from information that directly identifies you and are identified using a client reference number.
Your clinical notes may be retained securely for up to two years after therapy has ended. After this period they are confidentially destroyed.
Your clinical records and a limited amount of identifying information needed to manage those records may be retained securely for up to two years after therapy has ended. Information that is no longer required will be securely deleted or destroyed.
Financial records and invoices may need to be retained for longer where required by tax or accounting law.
Email correspondence is normally deleted within six months where there is no continuing reason to retain it. If you make an enquiry but do not proceed with therapy, your enquiry correspondence will normally be deleted within six months unless there is a legitimate reason to retain it.
Use of artificial intelligence (AI)
The Farley may use AI-assisted technology for limited business and administrative purposes, including the development of marketing content and general business administration.
AI is not used to provide therapy, make clinical decisions, assess clients or replace professional judgement or clinical supervision. Therapy session notes and identifiable client information are not entered into AI systems.
Third-party services
The Farley uses a small number of third-party services in order to operate the practice.
Calendly is used to manage appointment bookings. When you book an initial consultation or appointment using Calendly, information such as your name and email address is processed in order to arrange the appointment.
Google Workspace, including Gmail and Google Meet, is used for email communication and online therapy. If we work together online, your name, email address and information associated with your participation in the meeting may be processed through Google services.
Wix hosts The Farley website and its online enquiry forms. Information submitted through the website is processed through Wix and transmitted to The Farley so that I can respond to your enquiry.
Ring is used at the entrance to the premises for security and access management. The Ring video doorbell may capture images of people approaching the property and provides notification when somebody arrives.
Limited personal information may also be available to professional service providers such as The Farley's accountant where this is necessary for accounting, tax or other legal obligations.
I take reasonable steps to use reputable service providers and to ensure that personal information is handled appropriately.
Personal information is not passed to third parties for their own sales or marketing purposes.
Confidentiality and information sharing
Information you share in therapy is treated confidentially.
There are limited circumstances in which information may need to be shared without your consent. These may include where disclosure is required by law, where there is a safeguarding obligation, or where I believe there is a serious risk of harm to you or another person.
Where it is necessary and lawful to do so, relevant information may be shared with appropriate services such as the police, ambulance service, social services or other safeguarding authorities.
Wherever reasonably possible and appropriate, I would aim to discuss such a disclosure with you before information is shared.
Data security
I take the security of your information seriously and use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect it.
Clinical records are stored securely on password-protected equipment and are kept separately from directly identifying client information. Devices used to access practice information are password protected and appropriately secured.
Email and other digital services used by the practice are also password protected and appropriate security measures are used to reduce the risk of unauthorised access.
Website visitors and cookies
When you visit The Farley website, certain information may be collected automatically through cookies and analytics services.
The website uses cookies and Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site, such as which pages are visited and how people navigate through the website. This information helps me understand and improve the website.
You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings and, where available, through the cookie controls provided on the website.
Information submitted through The Farley's online enquiry form is processed for the purpose of responding to your enquiry.
When you email me
The Farley uses Google Workspace, including Gmail, for email communication.
Email is a convenient method of communication but no electronic communication system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Please consider this when deciding what information to include in an email.
Emails and attachments are subject to security measures designed to identify viruses or malicious software.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:
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request access to the personal information I hold about you
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ask for inaccurate information to be corrected
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request deletion of your personal information
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request that processing is restricted
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object to certain uses of your personal information
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request the transfer of information in certain circumstances.
These rights are not absolute and there may be circumstances in which I am legally or professionally required to retain information.
If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact Esther Dietrichsen-Farley at [esther@thefarley.co.uk].
Questions and complaints about your personal information
If you have a question, concern or complaint about this Privacy Policy or about the way your personal information has been handled, please contact:
Esther Dietrichsen-Farley
The Farley
[esther@thefarley.co.uk]
I will acknowledge a data protection complaint within 30 days, investigate it appropriately and let you know the outcome without undue delay.
Esther Dietrichsen-Farley is the data controller and is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under registration number ZB661500.
You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy may be reviewed and updated from time to time to reflect changes in the practice, professional guidance or legal requirements. The current version will be available on The Farley website.