About me
About psychotherapy
The desire to experience healing and to bring about change in our lives can lead us to psychotherapy. We may know what we want to talk about or not or find ourselves puzzled by how we behave and feel tired of struggling with it on our own. Such experiences can be painful and lonely.
Psychotherapy is the process through which we can be professionally supported to engage with our desire for change and through which we can learn to accomplish it. The impulse to bring something to an end and to create something different which brings hope and purpose to our lives is the beginning of change.
About me
My personal experience of psychotherapy and of the difference it makes to my own life led me to train as a psychotherapist. Initially a teacher in adult and further education, I progressed over time to senior leadership roles in education, including the NHS.
Working with people of diverse backgrounds and life experiences, I remain deeply inspired and moved by how people learn and develop, often in spite of hard life experiences and disadvantages.
IMy approach
I am a humanistic psychotherapist and counsellor. This means I work with the individual's desire for change and their wish to live their life in a more fulfilling and satisfying way. I regard each person as unique and as having the capacity to learn and grow.
I approach the therapy relationship as a partnership and draw on a wide range of therapeutic models and techniques to support people to explore their experience and deepen their understanding of themselves A key aspect of the way I work is to enable each person to develop new options and solutions for themselves, to integrate what they learn and give it practical expression in their everyday lives..
I bring warmth, intelligence and integrity to my therapeutic role and practice and, in addition to my professional training and personal therapy, I draw deeply on my life, family and work experiences as on-going sources of self-knowing and growth.
For my personal experiencess of psychotherapy, i am indebted to the NHS and to Spectrum, the internationally recognised centre for humanistic psychology in North London (spectrum-therapy.co.uk).
Training, qualifications & experience
Professional qualifications and experience
I am accredited by UKAHPP (The United Kingdom Association for Humanistic Psychology Practitioners) and registered with UKCP (The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy.). My UKCP registration number is 2011164082.
I represent Spectrum Therapy on HIPC (The Humanistic Psychotherapy College) of UKCP.
I am a graduate of Spectrum, where I trained for eight years, completing over 2000 hours of training and am in ongoing supervision and continuing professional development.
I have worked as a psychotherapist for City and Hackney Mind since 2009 and for Shelter since 2014, where i have a weekly practice.
I provide supervision groups for teachers, individual sessions and conflict mediation sessions within education settings.
My work experience includes:
Anxiety and stress
Conflict and anger
Depression
Drugs and alcohol
Eating disorders
Relationship issues
Self-esteem and confidence
Sexual abuse
Work and career issues
I am a member of UKCP. I work to the UKCP and Spectrum professional codes of ethics. I have professional indemnity insurance and operate subject to UK law. I am DBS checked for my work with adults and children and trained in safeguarding.
Member organisations
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.

UK Council for Psychotherapy
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

Accredited Register Scheme
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
I charge £55 for an individual 50 minute session.
Contact me by phone or e-mail for an intial session so that we can explore in more detail what brings you to therapy and I can answer any questions you have. At the end of the session, we will discuss whether we can work effectively together and if so, we can then book further sessions.
I ask clients to give me at least 24 hours notice if they are unable to make a session and charge the full fee, if less notice is given.
Further information
I have a doctorate in literature. I was a school governor for over forty years. Until 2010, I was actively involved in international education initiatives and contributed regularly to articles on adult and community learning policy and work based learning.