About Carl Stephens

Men’s Transactional Analysis Psychotherapist (In Advanced Training)
Falmouth, Cornwall & Online (UK)

I’m Carl Stephens, a Transactional Analyst in Psychotherapy in Advanced Training. I have completed several years of Master’s-level (Level 7) psychotherapy training and am now in the final stages of registration with the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

I specialise in working with men and high-performance individuals, particularly those navigating pressure, transition, identity shifts, or a sense of being stuck despite appearing capable and self-reliant. Many of the people I work with are used to performing, achieving, or holding things together, yet find that familiar strategies no longer work in the same way.

My work is grounded in Transactional Analysis (TA), an evidence-based relational psychotherapy that explores how early adaptations shape present-day patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating. Rather than pathologising these patterns, we understand how they once helped, and how they may now be limiting choice. Therapy becomes a space to think clearly, remain intact, and develop new ways of being that are more aligned with who you are now.

My Background

Before training as a psychotherapist, my life was rooted in rugby and sports coaching. A career-ending shoulder injury disrupted that path, leading first into teaching P.E. and, eventually, psychotherapy. Seeking psychological support myself was a turning point, I needed space to make sense of change, loss, and identity.

That lived experience means I understand the high-performance mindset from the inside: the drive, discipline, independence, and the difficulty of slowing down or asking for help when identity has been built around capability and resilience. This informs my work deeply, allowing me to meet clients with realism, respect, and emotional accuracy rather than assumption.

Outside of therapy, I continue to value movement, challenge, and connection with the natural world. I’m an avid surfer and spend much of my time outdoors in Cornwall with my two dogs. This embodied, grounded way of living shapes how I think about psychological health, particularly for clients who relate more easily through action, experience, and presence than through words alone.

Specialist Areas

While I work with men as my primary focus, I also support women and couples. My specialist areas include:

• Men navigating identity, pressure, or emotional withdrawal

• Athletes and high-performance individuals facing injury, retirement, or transition

• The psychological and emotional impact of concussion and brain injury

• Performance anxiety, burnout, and chronic stress

• Identity reconstruction beyond achievement or role

• Relationship difficulties, emotional resilience, and intimacy challenges

Across all areas, the work is relational, collaborative, and adult-to-adult, not about fixing you, but about understanding what has shaped you and creating greater freedom in how you live and relate now.

Why Work With Me

I bring together lived experience of high-performance culture, rigorous clinical training, and a clear relational stance. I understand the pull of independence, the discomfort many men feel in therapy, and the importance of not being analysed, managed, or pushed before trust is established.

My approach is steady, respectful, and psychologically contained. We work at a pace that honours your autonomy while supporting meaningful change, not just insight, but shifts that carry into real life.

If you’re at a point where familiar ways of coping no longer serve you, and you want a space to think, feel, and move forward without losing yourself in the process, I’d be glad to work with you.