Dr Sarah Quinley (she/her)
I grew up in the Bay Area of California, surrounded by many cultures, languages, and ways of living. From early on, I found myself curious about identity, belonging, and what shapes a person’s inner world.
That curiosity led me to study the social sciences and humanities, to train as a psychotherapist at the University of Edinburgh, and eventually to build my life and work in Spain. Living between cultures for over a decade — as a queer, neurodivergent immigrant within an intercultural family — has deepened my understanding of how profoundly context shapes our emotional lives. So much of what we carry begins to make sense when we place it within the systems, histories, and relationships that formed us.
This lived experience informs how I approach therapy. My practice is culturally aware, respectful of complexity, and flexible. I focus on getting to know you, the patterns you find yourself in, the emotions you gravitate towards, and support you to pattern new, healthier ways of being with yourself and others.
My role is not to tell you who you should become, but to help you slow down and listen. To notice what is emerging, what feels tender or protected, and what longs to be acknowledged. Over time, your voice can begin to feel more trustworthy, rather than something you override or doubt.
From there, we begin to cultivate an inner sense of home — a place where you can be met with care, understood in context, and guided by what feels true and meaningful to you.
“It was when I stopped searching for home within others and lifted the foundations of home within myself that I found there were no roots more intimate than those between a mind and body that have decided to be whole.”
— Rupi Kaur
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The name True Voice Counselling grew from my doctoral research into voice as a pathway to healing, explored through creative practice. That research shaped not only how I understand voice, but how I sit with people. Over time, I came to experience voice less as a technique and more as a way of listening to what is embodied, relational, and alive within us.
I carry this into my work through an emphasis on collaboration, attunement, and creativity. Therapy, as I see it, is not something done to you. It is something we shape together. We pay close attention to felt experience, to emotional truth, and to the subtle ways meaning begins to form when we allow ourselves to slow down.
Finding your true voice isn’t about confidence, performance, or saying the right things. It’s about learning to stay with yourself. To notice what you feel. To become curious about what emerges, even when it feels uncertain, unfinished, or still taking shape.
Over time, that kind of listening can become steadier. It becomes less about finding an answer “out there” and more about trusting what is already within you.
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Certificate in Introduction to Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) — Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, 2022
Certificate in Transactional Analysis 101 — Physis Scotland, 2021
Certificate in Couples Counselling — Relationship Scotland, 2020
Professional Doctorate in Counselling and Psychotherapy — University of Edinburgh, 2019 (Merit)
Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy — University of Edinburgh, 2016
Counselling for Children and Young People (Introductory) — University of Edinburgh, 2015
BA in Liberal Studies (Education pathway) — San Jose State University, 2014 (Cum Laude / 2:1 equivalent)
Associate Degree (Social Sciences emphasis) — San Jose City College, 2011 (Honours)
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I have worked as a counsellor and psychotherapist for over a decade.
In my early career, I worked across community programmes, charities, recovery services, and educational settings, supporting adults, couples, young people, and children. Those years grounded me in the realities of people’s lives — in complexity, resilience, and the many ways distress can take shape.
For the past six years, I have worked exclusively in private practice, maintaining a full and varied caseload. This has allowed me to deepen my work and to accompany people over longer stretches of time, as change unfolds gradually and in its own way.
The people I work with come from many different countries — including the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, Ireland, India, Poland, Italy, Latvia, and South Africa. Many are living between cultures, navigating transitions, or finding themselves in unfamiliar terrain internally or externally.
Clients bring a wide range of experiences: cross-cultural adjustment, grief and loss, relationship transitions, identity and belonging, parenting and family dynamics, addiction, anxiety, burnout, trauma, neurodivergence, LGBTQIA+ experiences, chronic illness, and relationship difficulties such as communication challenges, intimacy concerns, and infidelity. I also work with those who are leaving, or recovering from, abusive or emotionally manipulative relationships.
A fuller list of the themes I support can be found in the dropdown menu below.
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I have experience working with a wide range of issues which I have listed here.
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I draw from a range of therapeutic traditions, including person-centred, experiential, psychodynamic, systemic, and relational approaches. Rather than applying a fixed method, I allow the work to take shape around your pace, your hopes, and what you find helpful.
If you’d like to learn more about how I work, you can read more about my approach here.
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I am registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP 377377), which means my training and experience meet their professional standards.
My work is grounded in the ethics of care, respect, safety, and confidentiality that guide the BACP’s framework. These aren’t just formal requirements; they shape how I show up in the room — with steadiness, accountability, and thoughtful attention to your wellbeing.
My practice is fully insured, and I engage in regular professional supervision in line with BACP requirements. This helps ensure that the support I offer remains reflective, ethical, and responsive.