Counselling & Psychotherapy rooted in kindness, compassion, and respect for your experience
Professional Talk Therapy Service in Paignton, Torquay & Zoom
I support adults who feel emotionally worn down, stuck, or disconnected from themselves.
People often come to me when coping strategies that once worked - staying strong, staying busy, staying quiet - no longer feel sustainable. Together, we explore what’s underneath the strain, with an approach rooted in kindness, compassion, and self-love.
This is a space for reflection, honesty, and steady change - without judgement, pressure, or labels doing the heavy lifting.
How I Work
I’m a BACP-registered psychotherapist with NHS and community experience, working integratively with mind and body. My work is grounded in the belief that lasting change happens through kindness, compassion, and self-love - not pressure, judgement, or quick fixes.
I offer a calm, collaborative therapeutic space where we take time to understand you - your experiences, your patterns, and the ways you’ve learned to survive and adapt. Therapy here isn’t about being told what to do or who to be. It’s about developing a deeper, more respectful relationship with yourself.
I work relationally and at your pace. That means we pay attention not only to what you’re struggling with, but also to how those struggles make sense in the context of your life. Many of the behaviours people want to change once had an important purpose. Rather than pushing them away, we explore them with curiosity and care.
Sessions are shaped by what feels most alive and relevant for you. At times this may involve gently exploring the past, noticing patterns in the present, or tuning into emotional and bodily responses as they arise. At other times, the work may be quieter - creating space to pause, reflect, and breathe.
Above all, I aim to offer a therapeutic relationship that feels steady, respectful, and human. One where you don’t need to perform, explain yourself endlessly, or get it “right”. Just a place to arrive as you are.
What is Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a structured, short psychotherapy designed to identify and change negative thought patterns and behaviours. teaching effective coping strategies, CBT helps improve mental health and reduces symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a therapeutic approach that explores unconscious thoughts and past experiences to understand current behaviours and emotional struggles. It helps individuals gain deeper self-awareness, fostering long-term emotional growth and improved mental well-being.
Humanistic Therapy
Humanistic therapy with a mind and body focus emphasises personal growth and self-awareness by integrating values and beliefs into the therapeutic process. It helps individuals connect with a higher purpose, foster emotional healing and a deeper sense of meaning in life.
What Therapy With Me Is - and Isn’t?
Talk Therapy with me is:
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A calm, respectful space where you don’t need to perform, impress, or have the “right” words
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Collaborative - we work together, rather than me telling you what to do
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Grounded in kindness, compassion, and self-love as practical ways of relating to yourself
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Curious about patterns, emotions, and protective strategies - not quick to judge or label
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Paced around you, your nervous system, and what feels manageable
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A place to explore both what hurts and what’s been helping you survive
Talk Therapy with me isn’t:
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A quick fix, productivity hack, or motivational pep talk
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About diagnosing, pathologising, or trying to “fix” you
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A space where you’ll be pushed faster or deeper than feels safe
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One-size-fits-all therapy or rigid techniques applied without care
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About forcing change before understanding has had time to grow
Therapy here is relational and human. Sometimes the work is reflective and insight-led. Sometimes it’s quieter - about slowing down, noticing, and creating enough safety for something new to emerge. Progress doesn’t always look dramatic, but it is meaningful and real.
Counselling & Psychotherapy Services
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Counselling For Life Challenges
This service offers a safe and confidential space to explore what’s causing disharmony or overwhelm in your life. This short-term talk therapy, usually up to eight sessions, can support your mental and emotional well-being and help you reconnect with what matters most.
Using a blend of humanistic, CBT, and psychodynamic approaches, our work together focuses on understanding patterns - in thought, emotion, and behaviour - that may be keeping you stuck. Through this process, many clients begin to find greater meaning in their work, relationships, and sense of self, leaving with a calmer mind, clearer focus, and the confidence to make meaningful change.
£60 per session
2
Psychotherapy for Mental & Emotional Health
Psychotherapy is a bespoke service shaped around your life and experiences. Each session is safe, trauma-informed, and responsive to whatever you need to bring.
I specialise in working with neurodiverse clients - diagnosed, undiagnosed, and carers - as well as those within the LGBTQIA+ community. Therapy offers space for anyone who feels exhausted from masking, worried about being truly seen, or weighed down by past experiences. Together, we move gently at your pace to build safety, process old wounds, and understand emotional triggers with compassion.
Our work focuses on helping you feel grounded in your body, confident in who you are, and able to create a life with greater balance, connection, and joy.
£80 per session
About Me
I’ve lived and worked in Torbay and Teignbridge for over 30 years, gaining a grounded understanding of the people, pressures, and possibilities of this area. My professional journey spans hospitality, health and wellbeing, and psychotherapy, and I am a BACP-registered psychotherapist with experience in NHS and community settings.
At the heart of my work is a commitment to supporting people who want to explore what it means to be well - not just symptom-free, but more connected to themselves, their bodies, and their lives.
My own journey has included exploring masculinity, identity, and the relationship between body and mind across different stages of life. Since 2018, I have undertaken extensive training and clinical experience as a Personal Trainer, Nutritional Advisor, and Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES). This work deepened my understanding of how physical movement, nervous system regulation, and mental health are inseparable - particularly when facing stress, adversity, or loss of control.
Alongside this, I completed 500 hours of Hatha Yoga teacher training (RYS 500) and Mindfulness Now training, grounding my practice in breath, awareness, and embodied presence. These traditions continue to inform how I work therapeutically, offering practical ways to reconnect mind and body with care rather than force.
My psychotherapy training includes undergraduate and postgraduate study in Integrative Counselling and Psychology with the University of Worcester and the University of Exeter. I work integratively, drawing on psychological theory, social science, and relational practice, while remaining attentive to the wider influences of nature, nurture, culture, and sensory experience.
I bring both professional training and lived experience to the therapeutic relationship. I know what it is to encounter darkness, uncertainty, and change - and to use understanding, support, and compassion as ways forward. My role is not to fix or direct, but to offer a steady, ethical, and human space where insight, courage, and self-trust can grow.
Paul, Plymouth
"I felt totally at ease when I met Matt Sweet. I am ever so grateful for his help and advice. He's an absolute gentleman.
It has made a massive difference. After years of pain I now feel I have the tools to help me move forward."
Liane, Devon
"Thank you for the work we have done together. I have found it really helpful."
Simon, Brixham
"I'm feeling and seeing the benefits of our recent work.
I feel myself coping in situations with a calmer and more reasoned mind."
