This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Finding the right therapist may feel a little daunting. It’s like searching online for a new sofa: it may look the bee’s knees, but until you try it you’ll not know for sure if it’s the one for you. So here’s a bit about me for you to consider:
As the father of three grown up girls and with a background in TV, teaching and music I have an unusual and varied set of experiences to draw on. Hopefully, I gained a little wisdom and a lot of humility along the way. One thing I do know is that I love listening to people’s stories. Before becoming a therapist I was a film editor, composer, secondary school teacher, and singing coach. Whilst working with singers I became fascinated by the way our minds work. So many clients had been told they couldn’t sing, but in later life they still felt that urge. Unlocking their true voice was a unique challenge, like working out a Chinese puzzle box, difficult, but always possible. Just as I once helped singers find their voice I now help people re-establish contact with their own true nature. In finding this new way of seeing themselves, experiences, anxieties and fears are addressed and a new way of being can be found.
What is Gestalt?
Gestalt therapy is a humanistic, holistic, relational form of psychotherapy that focuses on a person's present life and challenges. This simply means the client is seen as an individual and their 'whole being' will be explored. This is done by 'walking alongside' the client. It is not an expert/patient relationship, it is a joint venture.The past will be discussed, but the emphasis will be on how that past affects the client in the here and now. Gestalt stresses the importance of understanding the context of a person’s experiences and identifying the forces, both internal and external, that shape the behaviour.
The Paradoxical Theory of Change
A key concept in Gestalt is that a therapist will hold no judgement or prejudice, meeting each disclosure with an open-minded acceptance that will help a client find understanding. I, as a therapist, am not there to 'fix' a clients problems, but to help them find their own self-agency, so the changes come from within themselves. This is called the Paradoxical Theory of Change: only by becoming our true selves can meaningful change happen.
Where to find me
I work on Monday and Wednesday in Abergavenny and Tuesday in Chepstow. I also see clients online where appropriate.
Training, qualifications & experience
I trained as a psychotherapist at Gestalt Centre Wales to a level 7 certification and am BACP registered.
I work with adults and children.
I have worked for Flying Start in Newport supporting young mothers and in my private I have helped men and women with issues such as bereavement, anxiety, end of life support, relationship problems, compulsive behaviour and depression.
My work with children is helped by my experience as a secondary school teacher, supporting young people with issues such as exam related anxiety, OCD, autism, family issues and peer pressure.
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
£70.00 per session
Concessions offered for
When I work
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I work in Abergavenny on Mondays and Wednesdays 9.00ampm til 6.00 pm
I work in Chepstow on Tuesday afternoons 2.00pm til 8.00pm