About me
Background information and experience
My parents touched many lives, formerly homeless people, neighbours, and people who just wanted someone to talk too. They had an uncommon way of building relationships with people; they have been very good examples to me. In my own life, I have been inspired to affect people in the same way. I knew my career would be in working with people. I started my career in insurance but spent many hours counselling people who were experiencing difficulties. I wanted to leave the insurance job to move into an area of work that reflected where I saw my future.
Working in an adolescent residential unit for young people who came from troubled backgrounds, experiencing mental health and were involved in youth crime. The next three years were the most integral part of my experience of working with people.
I was incredibly engaged in the behaviours displayed by these young people and wanted to learn more about interpretation and behavioural management. These young people were able to gain an alliance with me, which enabled me to have a connection and engagement with them and to create safety for them to do the work with me. Adopting a person-centred approach also helped to build trust.
Being able to connect with clients has been a skill that has followed me in all aspects of my work. It is a skill that I have cherished, and it has helped galvanise the work that I have done throughout the years. It has also helped many of my clients to move on to re-establishing their lives.
As my experience with young people increased, I felt that I needed to gain more experience. I was offered an unqualified Social Work position in the children and families team. This was a very exciting opportunity, as it was a chance to work in a role that would help me gain firsthand experience in dealing with child protection and family relationship breakdown.
This area of work challenged me, particularly regarding child abuse cases and child neglect. It was hard to come to terms with seeing children be treated in this way. I attended several courses that enabled me to get a better understanding of how to work with families who abuse their children. I was pleased that I identified this learning gap and perused further training as, on reflection, it highlighted the importance of being in tune with oneself and using self-reflection as a tool to eradicate becoming judgemental.
After working in the team for two years, I decided it was time to enrol in a course to study for a degree in social work. This was one of the most exciting training experiences I received at the beginning of my career working with families, as it taught me so much. What attracted me to this course was the psychological approach used throughout the course contents. I found that I was highly energised when I was put into an environment where I was able to approach learning differently, such as studies that discussed the impact of racism and discrimination on mental health. The reality of individuals' experiences of trying to access services that can sometimes target them to the point they become anxious and withdrawn.
I graduated as a qualified Social Worker and have had several roles in the Children's and family’s team, covering duty, working with young people, working with older adults, and working in a family centre.
I became a team manager in a community family centre working with families experiencing difficulties within their home. Within this role, I was able to offer emotional support daily. I learned how to communicate with clients about sensitive issues in an appropriate manner. One day per-week we held a drop-in session that enabled clients to drop in to talk to a member of staff. I learned how to be relevant in providing information for what they presented to me and how to respond to their situation. I also learned how to provide information to support whatever their issues were at that time.
In this role, my communication skills, patience, and initiative became starkly enhanced. As a result, I became more aware of my own values and beliefs while showing respect for all persons and their values, beliefs, culture, goals, needs, and preferences.
As a result of my work, my line manager recommended that I further enhance my training by pursuing a post-qualification in social work practice.
After many years of working in social work, I had space and time to reflect on where my career was heading. I became quite interested in family therapy and decided to research how I would access the training. I applied for an MSc in Family Therapy at King’s College London. This was a four-year course that I completed part-time.
During this period of study, I worked in CAMHS as a Functional Family Therapist, then as a CAMHS Family practitioner, and currently as a Systemic Family therapist working with schools, Social Workers, Foster carers, and the wider network. All the years of working with families and individuals have given me a deep understanding of the world of people.
Training, qualifications & experience
Call the Therapist (My Company)
Therapeutic Approaches
Working systemically with families has provided me with a different way of understanding how families interact with each other, looking at how people process their relationships and how their life infused with patterns, with relational memories that influence the present, and with cultures that offer interpersonal stories about those relationships.
The use of assessment in my work helps me see the current position of the individual or family, their strengths, and their challenges. This way of working helps to inform the formulation and the direction of intervention. I have also used Genograms to examine the family life cycle. The use of assessment also helps to explore how family patterns have contributed to what is currently happening in the family.
DDP (Dyadic Development Practice) I am trained in this modality and have been using this way of working when working with individuals/families who have been traumatised and have experienced developmental trauma.
Individual therapy
I use this modality for individuals who might be going through difficulties such as trauma, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, abuse, grief, anger, eating disorders, and relationship breakdown.
Individual Psychotherapy
I often use this modality when working with someone who might be experiencing mental health issues. This method involves working with the person on a one-on-one basis. The purpose is to help the client identify and change troubling thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, improve quality of life, get relief from symptoms, and return to and maintain or enhance daily functioning.
Professional Affiliations
- UKCP UK Council of Psychotherapy
- AFT The Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice
Qualifications
- MSc Systemic Family Therapy
- BA Degree in Social Work and Social work practice
- Postgraduate Certificate in Early years integrated centre leadership
- Dyadic Development practice psychotherapy and Parenting Level 1 Background information and experience
- Call the Therapist (My Company)
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 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
Therapies offered
Fees
£90.00 - £119.98
Additional information
For therapeutic input with companies fees are from £250 upwards.
