About me
Welcome. Counselling can really change lives. People come to me to talk about their past, where it affects their adult lives, their relationships where they want to be happier and feel more fulfilled, their emotions that they want to manage better. They sometimes need tools to manage difficult feelings such as anxiety, or low mood or sometimes they need someone objective to be alongside them whilst they learn to live with a loss. People come as they navigate change or transitions in their lives, to look at who they are, their identity and the impact of any diagnoses on the way they relate in the world. I work with all adults and couples and strive to provide an inclusive practice where anyone can feel welcome. I also work with adults affected by adoption. People see me in a garden room in Godalming, (near Guildford, Surrey) or online throughout the UK and Europe on the platform Zoom.
I have experience working with a wide range of issues, and my approach to counselling is integrative, so that I can use my training to tailor counselling to meet your individual needs. I have also undertaken additional training in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy that can be very effective in helping to understand and manage strong feelings.
I have a significant interest in working on relationship issues and have completed a post qualifying diploma in Relationship Counselling with Relate. Additionally I have undertaken training to specialise in working with bereavement which informs my work around loss.
I have completed specialist training to work with adults in England affected by adoption and special guardianship orders. For further details please see my website.
Prior to becoming a counsellor I worked for 20 years supporting children and families at times of significant stress in a statutory setting which gave me a solid background in meeting people where they are in their lives, listening without judgment and with compassion, hearing their hopes and struggles and helping them achieve their goals.
My counselling experience includes working for a community counselling service, working with people from all walks of life but particularly focussing on bereavement. I worked for the NHS counselling service during Covid 19, working with medical staff at a time of immense stress and burn out. I also worked for 3 years for a women's counselling service focussing on issues of trauma, depression, loss and managing difficult emotions. I have spent 2 years working within the criminal justice sector working with clients presenting with compulsive behaviours using Dialectical Behavioural Therapy. For the last 4 years I have also been a Clinical Counselling Supervisor.
My Approach:
I work with you to set goals that have meaning for you. I facilitate regular reviews so that we can ensure counselling is meeting what you need. I see my role as providing a space for you where you will be heard, where there is no judgement and where difficult thoughts and emotions can be shared. My hope is that through counselling you can gain insight into your own world and your reactions in order to perhaps to see things in a different way, and gain the insight and tools to respond differently.
What Does Counselling Help With?
Counselling offers the opportunity to talk confidentially with a trained counsellor who will accept and support you to find your way forward. Life can sometimes feel very challenging and we can feel overwhelmed. It can happen gradually or there may be a sudden event when we realise that coping strategies that used to work for us no long do. At times like this we can feel "stuck" and counselling can gradually help us "unstick" by looking at what is going on for us, perhaps understanding things in a different way. You may want to explore your emotions and feelings about events in the past, as a child, or in earlier relationships, or you may want to explore a current relationship or issue. Through greater awareness and clarity it is my hope that you may experience an improved sense of wellbeing leading to the possibility of change.
Taking The First Step:
I offer a free, no obligation initial discussion so we can meet and talk about what you are looking for from counselling. We then set a date and time for an assessment session where we explore in more depth what you want to work on and we set initial goals. Usually people attend at the same day and time but I can facilitate shift workers needing a different arrangement. Please do contact me via the enquiry link on this page, or via my website.
Training, qualifications & experience
- MBACP (Accred)
- National Counselling Society Accredited Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling
- Certificate in Adoption Support Counselling
- Diploma in Clinical Supervision
- CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in Relationship Counselling
- CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Integrative Therapeutic Counselling
- CPCAB Level 3 Counselling Studies
- ICO Registered
- Full Professional Indemnity Insurance
- Enhanced DBS Certificate
Additional Training:
- Dialectical Behavioural Therapy
- Mindfulness
- Working with Shame
- Counselling Autistic Clients
- Developing Trauma Informed Practice
- Covid 19- Managing Anxiety and Mental Health
- Working Creatively Online
- Working with Developmental and Early Trauma
- Attachment and Relational Trauma
- Working with Eating Disorders
- Clinical Group Supervision
- Advanced Clinical Group Supervision
- Diploma in Clinical Supervision
- Training for Bereavement Counselling
- Transactional Analysis 101
- Critical Incident Debrief Training
- Adoption Support Counselling (Adults)
- Knowledge and Understanding Framework- Working with People with Personality Disorder
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
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 - £80.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Initial Consultation: I offer a free no obligation initial 20 minute phone or Zoom consultation to discuss your hopes for counselling and decide if therapy with me would be right for you.
Session Fees: £60 for 50 minutes individual therapy, or £80 for 60 minutes for couples therapy.
When I work
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