About me
I am a full clinical member of the UKCP as a psychotherapist and an HCPC registered art therapist. I am also a qualified clinical supervisor. I am based in Hackney, East London and online. I am a published author, and have written on the relationship between childhood trauma and its relationship to self-sabotage in my book 'Trauma and the Supernatural in Psychotherapy'.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THERAPY?
Psychotherapy can help you re-discover and develop a relationship to parts of yourself that due to painful experiences, you perhaps never knew existed before. Emotions are no longer to be frightened of or overwhelmed by; they now become aspects of you that are only to be experienced. This new way of relating to your emotional life can improve your relationship between your raw emotions and capacity to reflect on them (instead of getting 'caught up' in them). Psychotherapy can also increase your resilience to life's everyday problems and become an important source of creativity.
MY APPROACH
I will provide a confidential space where I will listen carefully to what you tell me, and provide a space for you to talk about what is troubling you. We can then reflect on your life experience together, and think about how it has impacted upon you. Along with listening to what you tell me, I will offer my own reflections and perspectives from time to time, if I think they will be helpful to you and the process.
It is often not easy to talk about painful experiences which we have suffered, and we often prefer not to think about them for that very reason. It is therefore very important that therapy is an environment of care and empathy. This is so crucial therapeutically, particularly as for those who have been emotionally wounded or have suffered relational trauma they did not receive the empathy and care that was needed at the time and therefore definitely require it in psychotherapy. Many of the problems we suffer arise when we continue to 'identify' with our past experiences through ways of being in the world and relating to others and are not helpful to us. Psychotherapy can be very helpful in helping to identify what these are, and, in some cases, where they stem from.
Psychotherapy is a space where patterns which have become obstructions can be identified and thought about from new perspectives. It also enables you to separate yourself from your experiences and gain more perspectives on what has taken place which can sometimes be surprising and liberating. This frees you from the sense of being 'caught up' in things and to think about what is best for you.
THE IMAGINATION
Working with the imagination might mean working with dream content or an image that resonates with you. You may also wish to use art materials as a way of deepening your contact with your emotions. We will then spend time thinking together about whatever has emerged from this work and how it relates to what makes you suffer and causes you emotional pain. Making such links can be an invaluable process, as once life experiences and their associated emotions can be named and thought about, they are much less likely to feel like they are in control of you, or running your life.
ART THERAPY
I am a trained art psychotherapist but it is not a pre-requisite that you use art materials in our work together. You may feel what works best for you is to talk in the traditional way. If you wish however, you might like to work with expressive arts such as drawing/ painting or working with clay. Drawing/ artistic skills are not needed at all! These non-verbal methods of expression are sometimes very helpful in terms of accessing the deeper layers of the self. It can also help you to calm feelings of anxiety, or safely express your anger or frustration and make sense of it in a way which feels both safe and meaningful.
EMDR
This can be effective for those who have experienced attachment trauma. Please note that I do not practice standalone EMDR and is therefore practiced as part of an integrated course of psychotherapy.
Clinical Supervision
I offer supervision in person and online to qualified practitioners and trainees.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a highly experienced psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and art therapist.
My clinical experience is diverse, having worked in NHS mental health services for both inpatient and community settings, for charities and in private practice and as a clinical supervisor.
My own ongoing professional development is an essential part of my work as a psychotherapist and this combines both experiential and theoretical trainings including psychoanalytic, integrative and arts psychotherapies. Following an extensive period of research, I have published a book entitled 'Trauma and the Supernatural in Psychotherapy' which researches the repetitive and self sabotaging nature of trauma which I call 'the curse position.'
Psychotherapy Training & Qualifications
- Diploma in Creative Approaches to Supervision: London Centre for Psychodrama
- Certified EMDR therapist - EMDR Academy
- MA Integrative Arts Psychotherapy (Distinction) - Institute for Arts and Therapy in Education/ University of East London
- Advanced Diploma Integrative Arts Psychotherapy - Institute for Arts and Therapy in Education/ University of East London
- Diploma in the Therapeutic Application of the Arts (Distinction) - Institute for Arts and Therapy in Education/ University of East London / London Metropolitan University.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I have published a book on self-sabotage and its relationship to spirituality. For more information please see my website.
Therapies offered
Fees
£70.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I sometimes have reduced fee spaces for students and trainee therapists and counsellors, or for those on low income. If you fall into any of these categories, please ask me if this is currently available.
When I work
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