About me
Each effective therapeutic relationship is a one-off, deeply creative, made with care and commitment between my clients and I. Just as in seeking therapy you will look to bring so much of yourself, you can expect the same from me: therapy with me would be a dependable working partnership for as long as you need to create lasting change in your life.
The heart of my practice, person centred therapy, is really an art of relationship. Underpinned by robust research and rigorous philosophy, it remains a responsive and active art in order to really meet the challenge of living. My experience over the years has shown me that, just as relationships can harm us, clearly boundaried helping relationships can heal us. More than that, the person you find emerging in the accepting, non-judgemental and supportive environment of therapy can increasingly emerge in the rest of your life.
While we would hold your whole story between us - your pain, or trauma, or patterns which no longer suit you, your relationships you want to change - we would also hold our story up to the light, what is happening between us in the here and now. This is a signature part of the person centred approach to therapy. Attuning to our relationship points towards how you are relating to yourself, to your story, and to others in your life. The therapeutic relationship itself is the powerful tool we would use.
It may be worth noting that I am neurodiverse, having known I have ADHD for a long time, and am increasingly seeing young and adult clients who have ADHD or are autistic. My neurodiverse clients often seek me out to unpack the sometimes considerable impact of their diversity alongside someone with a shared life experience and sound background knowledge in a field which is rapidly changing.
I have worked for a number of different charities and settings including schools, and with a wide range of client presentations in children all the way through to older adults. I am trauma informed and bring attachment theory and creativity in to my work. Alongside my private practice I currently work as a therapist for Trauma Foundation South West and as a tutor at the Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling.
Email me in the first instance to arrange to talk further on the phone free of charge.
Training, qualifications & experience
Foundation Degree in Person Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Post-Qualifying Diploma in Counselling Children and Young People.
I currently work for Trauma Foundation South West in Bristol, and as a tutor for Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling. I have previously worked in two schools as a therapist.
Alongside a depth training in person centred counselling and psychotherapy, I am a trauma-informed therapist and often bring body-based therapy, attachment theory, creative interventions and mindfulness in to my work with clients as appropriate. I am experienced in working with people with neurodiversity including ADHD, dyspraxia, ASD and dyslexia.
I am further trained in working with children and young people in ways specifically relevant to those ages. Children and young people often express their distress through their behaviour - something you will have noticed as a parent. Therapy with young people has a similar flavour, action and resistance, full of movement. Youth is a time of powerful change which therapy seeks to harness.
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 National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations. In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone or online session
When I work
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Wednesdays in central Bath.
Tuesdays in Redland / Cotham area of Bristol.
Thursdays central Bristol, very close to Hippodrome.
Further information
For Parents
Whether struggling or not, young people are constantly changing and growing - therapy can help your child harness their natural talent for change and growth to heal and move forward.
The young clients I see tend toward a mix of creative and talking therapy. However they shape their sessions, your child and I will create a warm and trusted environment as they move through their process.
I do sometimes suggest that parents and I work together. Sometimes this is all that is needed, supporting you in your important job of parenting your child.
I also know how intensely precious and challenging the responsibility of parenting can be, having my own two children.
My background
I trained for three years in person centred counselling and psychotherapy, going on to train for a further year in working specifically with children and young people.
Alongside my private practice, I work some of the week for a very established charity providing counselling in the heart of Bath. Until recently I worked as a therapist in primary and secondary school settings.
Over the last twenty-something years I have worked in both residential and community settings supporting adults and young people with complex and enduring mental health issues; I went on to work in Early Years and Playwork; I then made professional theatre as an actor, writer, director and facilitator with children, young people and adults. I still occasionally work in educational settings with young people and direct theatre.
I have a meditation practice stretching back to my teens to draw on if appropriate. Though I do not call it mindfulness, many of my clients young and old have found elements of meditation as enormously helpful as I do.
Sessions with me
All sessions last 50 minutes.
The beautiful, light rooms I use in Bristol and Bath are set up for working creatively with children and adolescents as much as with adults.
There is parking close to the room I use in Bristol and a bus stop a very short walk away.
Many Bath clients find parking in the Sainsbury’s supermarket opposite convenient, and there is a bus stop just outside.
