About me
I am a registered Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and British Psychological Society (BPS) Practitioner Psychologist. I typically work with people who feel they have lost or are losing their way; who struggle with anxiety, depression, anger, and shame; who wrestle with guilt, mistrust, addiction, and dissociation; who are self-critical, self-destructive, and who feel trapped in repeated patterns of hurting themselves and others.
Such feelings, behaviours, and patterns of relating typically stem from myriad life events and circumstances, including, for example: past and present abusive and neglectful relationships; bereavement and loss; repressed and unprocessed grief, fear, rage, and joy; gender expectations; political and economic pressures; racism, classism, sexism, and homophobia; and from isolation from community, and loneliness.
On an existential level, such challenges also emerge from relationships we have to meaning, responsibility, authenticity, sexuality, and identity; and from the fear of failure, death, illness, and rejection.
The way I see it, human beings are not self-contained individuals, but subjects of societies, and systems (e.g. family systems, education systems, healthcare systems), that can be intolerant, ignorant, unjust, and cruel. Such factors become hidden when their effects are framed, by societies and systems, as a case of dysfunction within individuals. One such system is the dominant Western approach to ‘mental health’, which is typically medicalising and decontextualising in orientation, and which functions, often, to bolster the power not of patients, or clients, but rather clinicians and stakeholders. The experience of speaking and not feeling truly heard in these kinds of contexts can leave us feeling worse than before. More isolated. More alone.
I offer a nurturing space in which, collaboratively, we can explore, make sense of, and help you move through difficulties you face. As a practitioner psychologist, I recognise that emotional, psychological, existential, behavioural, spiritual, and relational difficulties can be understood in many different ways, which in turn offer us many ways through.
I am presently involved with The Philadelphia Association (https://www.philadelphia-association.org.uk), founded in the UK in order to challenge established and outdated ways of thinking about and responding to human suffering. I also trained with the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy (https://instituteofpsychedelictherapy.org), and offer one to one and group therapy and circles focused on the safe integration of psychedelic experiences, and harm minimisation. I do not offer any illegal psychedelic therapies, so please do not contact me about this.
I offer free initial (scheduled) phone consultations of up to 20 minutes. I have a small number of discounted slots available for those experiencing financial hardship.
I look forward to hearing from you.
"Relationships are the crucible in which our lives unfold as they shape our life story, molding our identity and giving birth to the experience of who we are, and liberating - or constraining - who we can become . . . "
(Daniel Siegel)
Training, qualifications & experience
Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (Regent's University London)
Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Training (Depth Relational Process) (The Institute of Psychedelic Therapy)
Masters in Substance Misuse / Addiction (University of Sussex)
Diploma in Community and Psychotherapy (ongoing) (The Philadelphia Association)
Undergraduate Degree in Psychology (University of Sussex)
Before training as a therapist/psychologist, I worked in the NHS as a care coordinator in the field of addiction in some of the UK's most underprivileged areas. I am also a former visiting lecturer on the doctorate in Counselling Psychology at Regent's University London.
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 HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
£100.00 - £150.00
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
Fees are always a conversation, and are dependent upon what you can afford (charging some people more allows me to charge others less), time of day, and whether in-person or online.
When I work
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