Mark Shipton

Therapist Directory Listing Category: Psychotherapists and Counsellors

About the Therapist

About the therapist:

Hi, I'm Mark (he/him). I'm a gay man and BACP registered therapist, working primarily with gay and bisexual men on the challenges of queer life; identity, self-worth, belonging, and the anxiety that often runs underneath. I understand these not just professionally but personally, as someone who has navigated them myself.

I also bring lived experience of ADHD and chronic illness, and welcome clients dealing with neurodivergence or health-related issues alongside their lived experience.

Ultimately, I support gay men to live a more authentic life.

My practice is rooted in person-centred therapy. At the heart of this is a belief that you are the expert in your own life, it is my job to support and enable you to discover the path that is right for you.

What I offer is a confidential space to think, talk and explore honestly. To go at your own pace, without judgement, and find your own way. For many gay men, we've learned to mask and can rarely have a space to be genuine with ourselves or someone else.

I'm particularly interested in questions of masculinity and how that interacts with identity for gay men - what it means to be a gay man today - how that sits alongside broader ideas about manhood, and the particular pressures that come with it. These are conversations my clients often find genuinely valuable, and discovering how to be your own version of a gay (or bisexual) man can be a path to living a more authentic life.

I am a former sufferer of intense and problematic anxiety, and was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder - but consider myself to now be recovered from this condition. I specialise in helping people recover from problematic levels of anxiety.

I also have lived experience of ADHD and type 1 diabetes, and welcome anyone living with neurodivergence or chronic illness.

Sexual identity:

Gender identity: Male

Gender history: As assigned at birth

Non-monogamy: No

Intersex: No

Neurodivergent: Yes

Personal pronouns: He / Him

Qualifications - Links to websites:

My BACP registration can be found here - https://www.bacp.co.uk/therapists/412124/mark-shipton/

I have more on my experience and therapeutic style on my website - https://mindandmeaning.co.uk/

Qualifications - Additional:

Award	Awarding body	Year of award

Experience and approach:

I trained as an integrative therapist, this means that I was taught various 'models' of therapy and I work to adapt and apply those models to best suit the person I work with. The main 'model' I work with is Person-Centred therapy.

The theory of Person-Centred therapy says that given enough space, support and time, each person will naturally move towards living a life that is more authentic and ultimately more fulfilling.

I have experience working with gay men in my private sessions, as well as in a previous role in the NHS.

I have included areas of focus and experience if you would like to read more. I am not limited to these areas, but they are of particular interest to how I work.

Masculinity and Identity:

One of the areas I'm most interested in, and that I think is under-explored in therapy, is the experience of masculine gay men.

Being a more feminine man can make you feel like you don't always being in a heteronormative environment and can feel isolating.

While more masculine gay men can find themselves out of place in queer spaces where particular cultural codes dominate, and simultaneously invisible in straight settings where the version of "gay" people recognise doesn't include them. Occupying that middle ground can be quietly lonely in a way that's hard to name.

Being a man in the 21st century:

I'm also interested in the broader question of what it means to be a man in the 21st century. That question is complicated for everyone, but it takes on particular layers when you are gay. What kind of man are you? What kind of man do you want to be? Therapy is a useful place to sit with those questions without needing to reach a tidy conclusion.

The connection between being gay and anxiety:

Many gay men, particularly those who came out later, or who grew up in environments where being gay felt unsafe, carry anxiety rooted in years of masking. Presenting a version of yourself that hides who you really are requires constant low-level vigilance. It can generate a persistent, exhausting sense of being on the edge of being found out.

Masking and authenticity:

Over time, masking the fact that you are gay (or questioning whether you are) can leave you genuinely disconnected from your own identity. You've spent so long performing a version of yourself that the authentic version can feel unclear, even to you. If this resonates, it's territory I'm very comfortable working in.

Questioning / curious and coming out:

Therapy can also be a completely private space to explore your sexuality before you've told anyone else in your life. If you are a man who hasn't come out - or who is questioning their sexuality - the confidential space of therapy can be perfect to help you explore these feelings. What you bring to the room stays between us, with no pressure to reach any conclusion or move at any pace other than your own.

Being gay and body image:

The pressures around body image in gay male culture can feel overwhelming. Constant exposure to curated images - on Instagram, dating apps, and elsewhere - creates a comparison culture that can hurt.

Approaches: