Audrey Brennan

People fascinate me and this fascination led me to study Psychology at University. I realised then that I wanted to become a therapist and my experience began in 2004 when I qualified as a Counsellor. I began working in the NHS as a Primary Care Counsellor. In 2006, I joined an NHS Trust and became a Senior Counsellor, then a Specialist Counsellor within the Psychological Therapies Service. In 2013, I Ieft the Trust to work within Insight Healthcare (a not for profit organisation which treated NHS patients within their IAPT Service). I then managed the Kent Counselling Team from 2017 until December 2019. During Covid, I worked with the Refugee Council in the London Therapeutic Men's Project on a voluntary basis. Now, I work for a specialist Trauma Intervention Service and have a small Private Practice and continue to feel privileged to do this work.

In 2012 I undertook additional training in EMDR. This is a specialist Trauma therapy approved by NICE and the World Health Organisation for the treatment of PTSD. I have used this therapy to treat severe Trauma such as those experienced in the Armed Forces, the Fire, Police, Ambulance and Prison Services as well as those involved in accidents and disasters. I have also successfully treated victims of rape and abuse, birth trauma and near death experiences. The protocol has also reduced distress for those who have been plagued by disturbing images of loved ones dying. I believe that it is a remarkable and effective treatment and I wish I had trained in it sooner. Generally speaking, this treatment can help individuals recover from trauma far quicker than talking therapies alone.

For further information on this therapy, check out the EMDR Association website.

In 2013, I completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling Supervision. My supervision career began in  the NHS where I  supervised a diverse group of Counsellors ranging from trainees to experienced practitioners. It's a pleasure to support the work of others and to observe and foster professional development and growth. I now supervise the work of Police Welfare Officers along with that of Psychotherapists and Counsellors in a local Community Counselling Service.

Prior to joining the NHS Trust, I was also a Counsellor within an agency that worked in partnership with Kent Probation. My role was to counsel offenders, helping them address wide ranging issues from relationship problems and depression to trauma and abuse. In the early stages of my career, I worked in residential social work with severely abused children delivering therapeutic interventions to help them prepare for foster care. Later, I moved to working with young offenders, supporting them whilst they moved through the court process.

Loss, relationship problems, depression and anxiety come to us all and I'm equally happy to work with these human experiences as some of the more traumatic ones outlined above.

Qualifications:

BA (Hons) Psychology

Dip Couns MBACP Accred

Pg Dip Counselling Supervision

EMDR UK Accredited Practitioner

£45.00 - £65.00