About me
Are you in your 20s and feeling stuck, lost, or unsure of yourself, while everyone else seems to have things figured out? Or are you an older adult navigating a period of change?
Hello, I’m Jen. I’m an accredited counsellor offering online counselling on Thursday evenings, and in-person counselling in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne on Saturdays.
I specialise in young adult counselling, supporting 18-30 year olds through identity questions, life transitions, anxiety, overwhelm, and direction-finding.
Young Adult Counselling - Identity, Direction, and Life Transitions
The transition from adolescence is often misunderstood and greatly underestimated. Whether you are leaving home or university, questioning your direction, struggling with identity, or carrying feelings of shame from past mistakes, this life stage can feel very overwhelming. You might feel like you should have things figured out by now - but don’t.
With extensive experience of working with young people in the criminal justice system and university students, I bring a deep understanding of this complex life stage, and provide a warm, grounded space in which you can explore who you are, what you want, and how you want to live
Support for Adults Navigating Change
Although much of my work focuses on young adults, I also support adults navigating change and life transitions. Your children may be growing older and relationships may be shifting. Mid-life questions, family bereavements, and career changes, all might be coming to the fore. During periods of change, people often find themselves questioning who they are, what they want, or how they want to live, and can benefit from talking things through with someone independent.
Bereavement Counselling After Suicide
I have specialist training and extensive experience of supporting students and adults affected by bereavement by suicide. Such loss is often sudden, traumatic, and deeply isolating. I offer a steady, compassionate, and trauma-informed space in which you can explore your loss at your own pace.
A Relational and Trauma-Informed Approach
If you’ve tried CBT or other structured approaches before, and are looking for something deeper and more relational, then psychotherapeutic counselling may be a good option for you. Our sessions will be more open and exploratory. At times they may feel challenging, but often deeply rewarding as you begin to find your own voice and uncover what truly matters to you.
My work is grounded in a trauma-informed perspective, shaped by many years supporting people who have lived through trauma, adversity, and instability. Before training as a counsellor, I spent 15 years working with young people and adults in the criminal justice system, where I saw first-hand how experiences such as abuse, violence, neglect, and sudden loss can shape a person's sense of identity, safety, and relationships. Where trauma is present, we will go at a pace that works for you, pay attention to how your nervous system responds to stress, explore coping strategies you have developed to protect yourself, and work gently towards a deeper sense of self-agency.
Whatever it is you are going through, I bring energy, warmth, and if you are open to it, a bit of challenge, to help you unravel what you are feeling, reduce shame, and feel more accepting of yourself.
Please note: that I am unable to work privately with students enrolled at Northumbria University.
Training, qualifications & experience
How I work
I am trained in Transactional Analysis (TA), an approach that helps people to understand longstanding patterns in how they think, feel, behave, and relate to others. This can bring clarity to why you might feel stuck in certain ways.
I work integratively though, drawing from a range of humanistic approaches, including person-centred, Gestalt, existential approaches, compassion-focused therapy (CFT), and solution-focused brief therapy. In practice, this means your therapy is shaped around you, rather than a rigid formula. Some sessions may focus on deeper exploration and reflection, while others may be more practical or supportive, depending on what you need.
My experience
I have been in clinical practice since 2020. My training included counselling within a GP surgery in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, supporting adults through anxiety, depression, relationship breakdown, caring responsibilities, menopause, trauma, bereavement, and major life transitions.
More recently, I have worked in a university setting offering brief counselling. I have extensive experience of supporting students from diverse backgrounds through issues including anxiety, family and relationship difficulties, academic pressure, identity, bereavement by suicide, and neurodiversity.
My background
Before training as a counsellor, I spent 5 years working as a Probation Officer and 10 years as a Youth Offending Team Officer, before working for a further 10 years in Higher Education specialising in dispute resolution. This background continues to shape my understanding of relationships, conflict, shame, identity, and the pressures people can experience during periods of change.
Who I work with
- Young adults (18-30)
- University students
- Parents
- Adults navigating life transitions
- People affected by suicide bereavement
- Individuals experiencing identity questions, anxiety, overwhelm and direction-finding
Qualifications
- Certificate in Clinical Supervision (2025)
- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (2025)
- Level 3 Domestic Abuse Trusted Professional training (2025)
- Postvention Assisting those Bereaved By Suicide (PABBS) training (2024)
- Gender Sex Relationships and Diversity training (2023)
- Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling (2022)
- Diploma in Probation Studies (2002)
- BA Hons Community and Criminal Justice (2002)
- BA Hons English Literature (1999)
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.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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.
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
£55.00 - £65.00
Additional information
If you are considering therapy, I am happy to talk through what you are looking for. I offer a free 15-minute introductory telephone or video call in which I can tell you more about how I work and you can ask any questions about the arrangements for counselling before committing to an initial assessment. This is not a therapy session, but a gentle starting point.
In the initial appointment, I will gather some important information about your history for the purpose of counselling, before exploring what prompted you to seek help now and what your expectations are. Initial appointments are charged at £65.00 for 50 minutes, payable in advance. All therapy sessions thereafter are also charged at £65 for 50 minutes, payable in advance.
For young adults aged 18-25, I offer a reduced fee of £55 for 50 minutes.
When I work
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I offer online sessions on Thursday evenings, and in-person sessions in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, on Saturdays.
Further information
I offer in-person sessions in a very special space in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. For those of you who benefit from the cosy containment of a traditional counselling room, this is provided, alongside an adjoining studio space for those of you who may benefit from being able to get up and stretch during a session.
