About me
I offer a supportive space in which, together, we can work towards insight, awareness, and self-acceptance. I aim to help you make meaning of your experiences and, if desired, to make impactful changes in your life.
I’m a fully qualified, experienced practitioner, registered as both a psychotherapist and a counsellor with the UKCP and the BACP. I also teach and research in the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
I hope to communicate with openness and sensitivity, while giving you the time and space you need to express yourself. I will listen, without judgment, and try to help you better understand yourself and your relationships. I take an engaged and collaborative approach, sharing my thoughts and feelings and asking questions when I believe it is beneficial to do so.
A strong therapeutic relationship can help us to develop our sense of security and self-worth, while providing insight into our relational and behavioural patterns outside the therapy room. Because the relationship is so important, I offer a discounted introductory session so that you can get a sense of whether we might work well together.
As an integrative psychotherapist, I draw on multiple modalities and techniques to offer a flexible approach to different presenting issues. My practice is grounded in the core modality of Transactional Analysis (TA), itself an integration of psychoanalytic thought and Humanistic philosophy. TA offers an accessible model for exploring ourselves and our relationships and combines cognitive, emotional, behavioural, relational, and even somatic ways of working.
An integrative approach helps me to find the best way to work with everyone’s unique style of thinking and feeling. For instance, you may be someone who wants space to explore, or you may need more initial support or direction to help you gain the most from our sessions. While some people enjoy working creatively and benefit from using sand tray, drawing, poetry, or guided imagery, others may find it more productive to engage with theoretical models or diagrams. You might be someone who finds it helpful to think carefully about your choice of language and metaphors, or you may gain more from attending to your feelings and how they manifest in your body. In practice, we will often move between multiple approaches within a single session, but I find it helpful to have a range of ways into the therapy, and different options to move the work forward if things feel stuck.
Training, qualifications & experience
I’m an experienced therapist, and have worked with a full range of issues, including complex cases. Beyond private practice, I’ve also treated counselling and psychotherapy clients in an NHS setting. I’ve worked successfully with a diverse range of clients, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, older clients, people living with disabilities and/or illness, neurodiverse clients, and other counsellors and therapists (both qualified and in training).
My four-year training programme was accredited by both the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and the UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapy). In the context of the SCoPEd (Scope of Practice and Education) framework, which was introduced by the major professional bodies to provide transparency regarding counselling and psychotherapy qualifications, I am aligned with Column C, which represents the highest level of training and experience within the framework.
Before setting up my private practice, I was a senior university lecturer in English Literature. My interest in language and storytelling persists in my therapeutic practice: I’m attentive to how we narrate our own lives, and the power held in our stories about ourselves and others. Many of my academic publications on literature demonstrate my longstanding interest in psychological and psychoanalytic concepts, including trauma.
- Level 7 Diploma in Psychotherapy, Northern Guild for Psychotherapy
- Level 6 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling, Northern Guild for Psychotherapy
- PhD English Literature, University of York
- MA English Literature, University of York
- BA (Hons) English Language and Literature (First Class), University of Oxford
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
Fees
£70.00 per session
Additional information
I offer a reduced rate of £40 for the introductory session.
Lower cost spaces are sometimes available. Please contact me for more information about this.
When I work
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