About me
Imagine how it might feel to sit with someone who really sees you, perhaps for the first time. This can be a powerful moment and a useful building block in our relationship. My job isn't just to listen and reflect but to dig deeper, to detect what might lie behind the words, on occasion to provoke and surprise.
You may feel overwhelmed by a particular event, recent or unresolved from the past. You may be overcome with anxiety for reasons you can't quite put your finger on. A relationship may be breaking down and you feel powerless to influence matters. Certainties that previously anchored you have melted away. You have lost yourself in a busy, pressurised life where others' needs are met but not yours. These are just some examples of what people have brought.
My own restrictive upbringing prevented me from facing fundamental aspects of myself; therapy played a vital role in confronting them, in breaking through rigid defences built over many years and in moving my life forward. But there are reasons aside from sexuality that can make a person feel isolated, on the outside and you can explore these. I have experienced deep loss of loved people in my life. I have lived through my own illness in recent years. While it's important to appreciate that everyone's experience is individual, my own has touched and informed me. I am now taking steps towards more targeted training around bereavement and coping with cancer.
Our sessions can strip away the things that aren't helping you. We can clearly confront the reality of your life and show what your real choices are. This is done with care and without judgement. I can provide a setting that enables you to find resolution, acceptance and peace of mind, at least for enough of the time.
The quality of relationship between client and therapist is key and the first session gives a strong indication of how this might develop. Prior to this we can have an exploratory audio or video call. To build momentum, it usually makes sense for the first couple of sessions to be weekly; then it becomes clear to all involved when and if it is right to space them out more, or indeed to stop.
Therapy may serve a purpose for a particular period and can be resumed at a later date. There is no ‘one size fits all’.
Training, qualifications & experience
- I hold a Postgraduate diploma in counselling from the University of East Anglia.
- I was trained in the person centred approach.
- I attend regular supervision to conform to BACP codes of practice.
- I have a DBS check and hold professional indemnity insurance.
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
Fees
£50.00 per session
Additional information
£50 for up to 50 Minutes, working one to one.
£70 for 1 hour, working with a couple.
Further information
I work from a consulting room at home in Woodbridge where parking is available, around 15 minutes walk from the railway station.
