About me
Welcome!
I am a BACP accredited senior counsellor & psychotherapist with more than 28 years of clinical experience. I work with individuals and couples. I support parents of children with mental health problems. I am also a qualified supervisor. I have a background as a social worker in mental health.
I work with couples both in person and online. In 2019 I completed an additional post qualifying training in couple therapy with Tavistock Relationships, which has enabled me to support couples more effectively.
For more than 12 years I worked as a GP counsellor within the NHS. I have worked for a number of counselling agencies and ongoing in private practice.
I mainly work with clients on an open-ended basis. In addition I have a specialism in brief dynamic therapy (please look on my website for further information).
Seeking therapy or counselling is a very brave step, especially if you have no previous experience. But it can be a huge relief to be with a professional person in a confidential space where only you matter.
A qualified and experienced counsellor or psychotherapist is trained to listen and sensitively explore personal difficulties, especially when the underlying cause may be emotional. Emotional difficulties can impact on everyday life enormously. These may be experienced mentally, physically or feeling based.
The initial appointment with a new client or a new couple is used as a therapy assessment. This is an in-depth exploration about why the individual or couple is coming now, what they are looking & hoping for from the therapy, their present situation and their past history.
In my therapeutic work I give a lot of attention to the connections between mind and body and how physical symptoms can at times be meaningful in understanding a client's inner world.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Diploma in social work & social pedagogy, specialism: mental health (1981)
- Member of BACP (British Association of Counselling) since 1991 Membership no: 00520527
- Diploma in psychodynamic counselling (WPF Counselling, London 1995)
- Specialist training in: Counselling Assessment, Brief dynamic therapy, Working with couples
- Certificate in Supervision, (WPF Counselling, 2006)
- Accredited by BACP 1998-2009. Accreditation status re-instated after a career break.
- Training course in couple therapy, Glos Counselling Service Stroud,(Feb-May 2018)
- Certificate in the study of the Couple Relationships, Tavistock Relationships, (Feb-Oct. 2019)
- Training in contemporary Trauma Practice, Relational Change, Oxford (Sept 2021-Sept 2022)
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I am very interested in the relationship between mind and body and how sometimes deep emotional trauma finds expression through physical symptoms and physical conditions, which is not to say that I believe that all illnesses are psychosomatic. However, I offer counselling for chronic and long-term health conditions.
I have gained considerable experience working with clients who experienced trauma or loss at an early age, when they had no memory or language. Such experiences are often very difficult to access, but can impact deeply on the person's life in the here and now.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£58.00 per session
Additional information
My fee is £58 for a 55 minutes session for individuals.
I charge £65 for an assessment session (60 mins) for couples who are able to meet with me in person at my consulting room in the centre of Frome.
My fee for couples who wish to meet online is £70. The fee for ongoing appointments is the same. Occasionally more than one session is required for a couple assessment.
I have never turned a client away due to lack of funding.
When I work
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Further information
I adhere and I am strongly committed to the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice (2018).
I receive regular, ongoing supervision. I am very committed to professional development.
I am an experienced supervisor myself. I have been a training supervisor for two counselling training organisations. I supervise both trainees as well as qualified counsellors and couple therapists.
