About me
Hello there, and welcome to a brief introduction about me and the person-centred counselling and integrative therapeutic work I have been offering for over 25 years.
I believe that kindness and deep listening are at the heart of healthy relationships, and these qualities form the core of my counselling work.
I understand that beginning a new relationship with a counsellor can seem difficult if you're feeling stuck, fearful, sad, or anxious. Yet this can be the first crucial step to identifying your deepest needs and most vital aims for leading a more meaningful life. Through the support of a therapeutic relationship, we can explore your concerns from a safe space, making real transformation possible.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a qualified counsellor with over 25 years' experience. I have trained & worked as a yoga teacher (Yoga Alliance) and continue to practise yoga, as well as mindfulness meditation, daily. I'm an Accredited International Forest Bathing Guide. I hold a Social Work MA/Diploma.
As well as having my own private practice, I have worked in various organisations offering counselling and therapeutic support, including with Sheffield Hallam University's Student Mental Health team, with Turning Point, a mental health charity, and with GP surgeries in South Devon. I am experienced in working with women-only groups and women's issues, and with young people, both in the university role noted above and at a youth community radio station in South London.
Member organisations
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
I work outdoors as well as inside, offering Walking and Talking therapy.
As an International Forest Bathing Guide, I also offer sessions for individuals to connect more deeply with nature and self. These sessions include invitations to pause in the outdoors, giving an opportunity to open the senses and experience more fully the support of the natural world through a more integrated recognition of our interconnection with all life.
Therapies offered
Fees
£45.00 - £60.00
Additional information
I offer a sliding scale; please do ask me about this if cost is a barrier for you. I also offer a student rate.
Further information
As well as meeting inside in my counselling room and online, I offer sessions outside for people for whom this feels useful, as I believe that being on the land and absorbing the rhythms of the natural world are fundamental for sustaining ourselves, for growth and for developing resilience. We can talk through what feels right for you in our initial call.
An active practitioner of yoga and mindfulness meditation, my personal practices shape my professional work. As a counsellor, I offer a space that both encourages enquiry and is deeply accepting, paying attention to embodied responses and working in collaboration to unravel patterns and fixed narratives.
