About me
I am an experienced counsellor and CBT therapist with over 20 years’ professional experience, specialising particularly in alcohol and drug problems, addiction and recovery. I am a BACP Registered Member and an Addiction Professionals Advanced Practitioner, and I have worked extensively with adults experiencing addiction alongside anxiety, low mood, trauma, stress, relationship difficulties and emotional and behavioural problems.
I offer remote counselling sessions exclusively via Zoom, allowing you to access professional support from the comfort and privacy of your own home, wherever you are in the UK. Online counselling can provide a convenient and flexible way of accessing therapy without the need to travel, while still allowing us to develop a strong and effective therapeutic relationship.
I also bring 26 years of personal recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Alongside my professional qualifications and clinical experience, this gives me a genuine understanding of the challenges involved in addiction, making changes and maintaining long-term recovery. I believe this combination of professional and lived experience allows me to understand clients from both perspectives while maintaining clear professional boundaries.
My approach is collaborative, respectful and non-judgemental. I use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and other solution focussed therapies to help clients understand the relationship between their thoughts, feelings and behaviours and to develop practical strategies for making meaningful and lasting changes.
I have particular expertise in alcohol dependency, problematic drinking, substance misuse, relapse prevention and recovery. I also have extensive experience of harm reduction and of supporting people whose substance use has affected their mental health, relationships, family life, employment and wider wellbeing.
I understand that asking for help can be difficult. People can arrive at counselling feeling ashamed, overwhelmed, stuck or uncertain about whether change is possible. My aim is to provide a safe, confidential and supportive environment where you can speak openly without feeling judged.
Although addiction is a particular area of my expertise, I also work with anxiety, stress, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, emotional difficulties and unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour. Sometimes the problem that brings someone to counselling is not immediately clear, and part of our work may be to understand what is really happening and what needs to change.
I believe effective therapy is about working together. I will take the time to understand your individual circumstances, listen to what you want to achieve and tailor our work accordingly. Some clients benefit from practical, structured CBT interventions, while others initially need space to understand their experiences and develop a stronger sense of direction.
My extensive experience means that I am comfortable working with both straightforward and complex problems. I have worked with people at many different stages of change, including those who are unsure whether they want to stop drinking or using substances, those who have experienced repeated relapse, and those who are established in recovery but want support to maintain it.
My aim is not simply to help you manage your difficulties in the short term, but to help you develop greater understanding, confidence and practical strategies that can support meaningful change in your life.
If you are considering counselling and are unsure whether it is right for you, please feel free to get in touch. We can discuss what you are looking for, how online sessions work and whether I may be able to help.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a highly experienced counsellor and CBT therapist with more than 20 years’ specialist experience working with alcohol and drug problems, addiction and associated mental-health difficulties. I have developed a depth of specialist knowledge that is unusual within the counselling profession, and I am particularly experienced in working with alcohol dependency, problematic drinking, substance misuse, relapse, recovery and the complex psychological and relational difficulties that often accompany addiction.
An important part of what I bring to my work is that I have been in my own personal recovery from alcohol and drug addiction for 26 years. This gives me a unique combination of professional training, extensive clinical experience and genuine lived experience of addiction and long-term recovery. I understand not only the professional theories surrounding addiction, but also many of the personal challenges involved in changing established patterns of behaviour and maintaining recovery over the long term.
My professional experience has been predominantly focused on alcohol and drug counselling and treatment. I have worked extensively with people experiencing both long-standing and more recent substance-use problems, including individuals presenting with complex needs, repeated relapse, relationship difficulties, anxiety, low mood, trauma, low self-esteem and difficulties maintaining recovery.
I hold a Post Graduate Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling CBT (Level 7) from Newport University. My principal therapeutic approach is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which I use in a practical, structured and collaborative way.
I am a BACP Registered Member and an Addiction Professionals Advanced Practitioner. My professional development has included extensive additional training, supervision, workshops and practical experience in addiction treatment, psychological interventions, relapse prevention, harm reduction and recovery-focused practice.
I have extensive practical experience of alcohol and drug treatment, including supporting clients through detoxification and recovery processes, relapse prevention, harm reduction and engagement with substitute prescribing services. I have also worked extensively with people whose substance use has affected their physical health, psychological wellbeing, relationships, employment and wider quality of life.
For part of my professional career I worked with WCADA, subsequently Adferiad Recovery, in Swansea. This provided extensive additional frontline experience within one of the region’s established substance-misuse services. I have since developed my professional practice further and now provide counselling and CBT within private practice.
My experience has given me an unusually broad understanding of addiction: not simply the substance use itself, but the psychological, emotional, behavioural, family and social factors that can maintain it. I understand the difficulties people can experience when they want to change but repeatedly find themselves returning to familiar patterns of behaviour.
I have worked with people at very different stages of change, from those who are uncertain or ambivalent about stopping drinking or using substances through to individuals who are firmly committed to recovery but need support to maintain it. I therefore place considerable importance on meeting each client where they are rather than making assumptions about what they should do.
Alongside my specialist addiction work, I have substantial experience working therapeutically with anxiety, stress, low mood, self-esteem, relationship difficulties, emotional difficulties and behavioural patterns. I use CBT to help clients understand the relationship between their thoughts, feelings and behaviours and to develop practical strategies for making lasting changes.
After more than two decades working in this field, I bring not only formal qualifications but a considerable depth of real-world experience. My specialist focus on alcohol and drug counselling, combined with 26 years of personal recovery, has given me a particularly strong understanding of both the professional and personal dimensions of addiction and long-term change.
I believe this combination of advanced counselling training, CBT expertise, specialist addiction experience, lived experience and extensive frontline practice enables me to offer a particularly knowledgeable and understanding service to people seeking help with alcohol, drugs and associated psychological difficulties.
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
Therapies offered
Further information
I understand that taking the first step towards counselling can sometimes feel difficult. You may be unsure about what to expect, worried about being judged, or simply not know where to begin. My aim is to make that first step as straightforward and comfortable as possible.
I offer a confidential, supportive and non-judgemental environment where you can talk openly about whatever is troubling you. I believe that developing a good therapeutic relationship is an important part of effective counselling, and I will take the time to understand your individual circumstances rather than making assumptions about you or your experiences.
My extensive experience in addiction and mental health services means that I am comfortable working with complex and sensitive issues. I have particular experience supporting people affected by alcohol and drug problems, but I also work with clients experiencing anxiety, stress, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties and patterns of thinking or behaviour that they would like to change.
I use CBT in a practical and collaborative way. Depending on your needs, our work may involve understanding unhelpful thought and behaviour patterns, developing coping strategies, building confidence, managing difficult emotions, addressing triggers and working towards longer-term change.
I recognise that change does not always happen quickly and that everyone has different circumstances and starting points. I will work with you at a pace that is appropriate while helping you identify achievable goals and practical ways forward.
If you feel that you would benefit from talking to someone, please get in touch. An initial conversation can be an opportunity to discuss what you are looking for and whether counselling with me feels like the right fit for you.
