About me
I am a BACP Accredited Counsellor and Supervisor with over 20 years of experience working with adults and young people with a broad range of difficulties and challenges.
I am friendly and down to earth, pragmatic and kind: supportive but willing to challenge to support your growth. My primary concern is to work with you to develop a secure and trusting foundation to enable you to explore and develop your own resources and capabilities.
I am happy to work short or long term, depending on your needs and circumstances, and am open to discussing the frequency of sessions. I am also able to offer Single-Session therapy which can be a cost-effective and efficient way for you to focus on, and be supported to process a specific worry or problem. Please let me know if you are interested in this and I will provide more details.
As I am currently employed as a counsellor at the University of St. Andrews, I am not able to work privately with matriculated students of this university.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Certificate in Clinical Supervision (COSCA)
- Certificate in Counselling Children & Young People
- PG Diploma Counselling, Strathclyde University
- MA (Hons) English & Philosophy, Glasgow University
I have worked for many years with young adults in a university setting and this has given me experience in working with common issues such as anxiety, low mood and depression, low self-esteem, issues impacted by neuro-diversity, sexuality and identity, self-harm and suicidality. I have also worked as a young person's counsellor in secondary schools.
I also worked for many years in a hospice setting, working with carers and family members of those with a life limiting illness, and with patients themselves. I set up and ran the Bereavement Service for one of Scotland's largest hospices and the experience of working within the hospice movement has had a lasting impact on my practice.
I am an integrative person-centred therapist. My initial training was as a Person-Centered therapist at Strathclyde University, and this is still my theoretical home. However, over time I have developed skills in other modalities including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and Acceptance and Compassion therapy and these 3 approaches form the cornerstones of my practice. I am keen to work collaboratively with you, holding in mind that the most powerful component in therapy is our therapeutic alliance.
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
Fees
£40.00 - £80.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Standard fees are £50 per session - I have some availability for concessionary sessions, please ask. For Single Session Therapy, there is a set fee of £80 - this is a longer session of 90 minutes. Payment is due 48 hrs prior to each session.
I am available in person on Fridays, online on Thursdays, and have some limited availability on Saturdays.
Further information
I aim to make my service as accessible as possible, so am open to discussion around specific requirements.
