This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I offer long and short-term counselling to individuals seeking support to work through some of the many difficulties and challenges that life presents us with. A new job, relationship issues, the loss of a parent, long-term health issues, family issues, the birth or loss of a child - all these and many other life events can bring up unexpected or difficult emotions. We can feel dragged down by depression or overwhelmed with anxiety following major life events, or sometimes just start to feel that life is unsatisfying and that we need to take steps to feel more fully present in our own lives. I offer a space for reflection on all the things life throws at us, or indeed has thrown at us in the past but that may still be bothering or affecting us.
Counselling offers the opportunity to pause and reflect on things, and hopefully to gain some insight into who we are and the way we manage life events. The therapeutic relationship between counsellor and client is very important to the way I work, and for that reason I offer a free initial appointment to anyone thinking about starting counselling. Come and meet me for half an hour and then decide if you think we can work together.
Sometimes a few sessions can be enough to move forward, and sometimes longer-term work allows more room to explore issues that might relate to childhood or the past.
Training, qualifications & experience
I gained my Counselling Diploma from the Gestalt Centre in London in 2004, and am BACP Accredited. I see people privately in Greenwich in a community centre. I also offer online sessions.
Prior to re-training as a counsellor I worked for many years in a large public sector organisation. Having volunteered with the Samaritans, I undertook a Counselling Diploma, doing my course placement with Cruse Bereavement Care. I have been working in private practice for over 10 years, having worked in a university setting as well as a number of years working in an NHS setting seeing people with long-term health issues.
I have experience with issues around bereavement, loss, self-harm, menopause, and coping with divorce and separation. I have also worked with mothers coping with issues that arise after the birth of their children, and the changes in status that come with motherhood. I welcome the opportunity to work with older clients.
I have several years experience working with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients, and have gained an insight into the psychological challenges faced by people with this long-term illness. Depression, loss, coming to terms with the diagnosis, and the insecurity of the future are common themes.
Every year I undertake continuous professional development to support my work and encourage reflection, and I undertake regular Supervision of my work.
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.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
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
Coping with long-term illness such as Multiple Sclerosis.
Therapies offered
Fees
£30.00 - £65.00
Free initial in-person, telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
My fees are: £65 for an evening face-to-face appointment, reduced to £55 if you can come during the day. The fees for online appointments are £50 (evening) and £40 (daytime). I also offer a limited number of lower cost appointments, and would be happy to discuss these.
When I work
Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Morning | |||||||
Afternoon | |||||||
Evening | |||||||
Night |
I have daytime appointments available on Wednesdays, and evening appointments most evenings.
Further information
Because the relationship between counsellor and client is an important element of the way I work I offer a free initial appointment, only asking people to pay £10 towards the cost of the room. That gives both the client and myself the opportunity to see whether we think we can work fruitfully together.