Meet Our Therapists

Welcome to Growth and Healing Therapy, where we are dedicated to providing comprehensive psychotherapy services in Edinburgh, Scotland. Our BABCP accredited therapists are highly committed to helping individuals navigate through emotional and mental health challenges to facilitate growth and healing.

          Maggie Cairns - Practice Owner          

Maggie is a dual-qualified Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN) and Registered General Nurse (RGN) with extensive clinical experience across a range of complex settings. She is an accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), EMDR, and Solution Focused Therapist, offering compassionate, evidence-based support tailored to each individual.

With a particular passion for supporting women experiencing mental health symptoms linked to perimenopause and menopause, Maggie understands the profound emotional, psychological, and physiological shifts this life stage can bring. She provides a safe, informed, and validating space where women can make sense of their experiences and regain a sense of stability and confidence.

Maggie specialises in working with Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) and PTSD, drawing on trauma-informed approaches to help clients process distressing experiences and move towards healing. Her professional background includes working in acute mental health wards, prison settings, GP surgeries, and community services. This breadth of experience has given her a deep understanding of risk, resilience, and recovery across diverse populations.

Known for her calm, grounded presence and practical approach, Maggie is committed to helping clients feel empowered, understood, and supported at every stage of their therapeutic journey.

Qualifications

BABCP Accredited Psychotherapist. CBT Psychotherapist, EMDR Therapist & Solution Focused Therapist. Menopause Coach/Therapist

Registered Psychiatric & Adult Nurse 

Non Medical Nurse Prescriber (NMP)

(PGDip CBT), (BSc RMN), (Dip RGN)

(BABCP), (EMDR UK & Ireland), (NMC), (BMS).    

   Alan Meechan - Associate Therapist     

My name is Al, I am 43 years old and have been a clinician for 15 years. The vast majority of my experience is working with people with PTSD to assess then develop a sense of safety and stabilisation prior to processing their trauma. I am currently working towards my full EMDR accreditation to be able to offer trauma processing treatment and provide support for the entirety of treating PTSD. 

I have extensive experience working with co-morbidities of PTSD including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and anger. My approach varies between structured and informal as I take the lead of the people I work with to understand how we can get the most out of our sessions and achieve the hopes and goals that are set out from assessment. 

I specialise in CBT for problematic gambling with the aim to reduce the amount of money lost, reduce the number of days of gambling and develop relapse prevention strategies. I am a member of a lived experience advisory panel to safeguard children from gambling harms and video game addiction which is an extremely meaningful and important responsibility for me. 

I am currently available for online sessions and a free consultation call to discuss potentially working together. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Stephen Clarkson - Trainee CBT Therapist 

Stephen Clarkson - Registered Mental Health Nurse and Trainee CBT Therapist. Stephen is currently studying a Post graduate Diploma in CBT at the University of The West of Scotland. He is currently in his final year. He has worked as a Mental Health Nurse in various settings over the last 19 years. He has worked with older adults with Alzheimer's disease, GP practices, Prisons, and more recently individuals with substance use difficulties.

Stephen has a strong commitment to helping individuals understand the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. His approach centres on guiding clients to develop practical, personalised coping techniques that foster resilience and self-reliance, not only to manage their current difficulties, but also to maintain long-term mental wellbeing. Stephen is passionate about empowering his clients to take an active role in their mental health, fostering hope and self -efficacy. Alongside CBT skills, Stephen has a wealth of training in DBT, Safety & Stabilisation, Decider Skills, Mindfulness based techniques, Living Life to The Full and Low Intensity Psychological Interventions. Stephen also trained as a non medical nurse prescriber in 2020 and has a good understanding of Psychiatric Pharmacological interventions.   

The Therapy Space 

At Growth and Healing Therapy, our therapists are highly qualified and experienced in various therapeutic modalities. We have both EMDR and CBT therapists on our team who specialize in treating PTSD, CPTSD, OCD, Anxiety disorders, Depression, Low self-esteem, and other mental health issues. Rest assured that you will receive professional and compassionate care from our dedicated therapists.

We are members of The British Menopause Society and, registered with both The British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies and EMDR UK Association.