About me
About Me
I offer online sessions in psychodynamic psychotherapy and art psychotherapy, in both English and German. I am available five days a week and will do my best to accommodate times that suit you. Please feel free to suggest what works best for your schedule.
I offer a free introductory session (online or by telephone). Concessions are available for students and trainee counsellors.
I am registered with:
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT)
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Art Therapy in 1986 and an MA in Art Psychotherapy in 1992. Since qualifying, I have practised for 38 years as a therapist and supervisor. I am a Senior Accredited Practitioner with BACP.
Professional Background
Over the course of my career, I have worked in a wide range of settings:
Mainstream schools with adolescents facing significant challenges
Community services supporting adults with learning impairments
Ten years within an NHS multi-professional Adult Community Mental Health Team
Twenty years teaching on MSc art psychotherapy trainings in Higher Education
Several years in a clinic specialising in psychosomatic illness
Ongoing private practice and supervision consultancy throughout
I have worked with a broad spectrum of concerns, including:
anger management, anxiety, bereavement, burnout, chronic fatigue syndrome, cultural identity, depression, eating disorders, health-related difficulties, loss, psychosomatic illness, redundancy, relationship issues, self-esteem and work-related stress.
My clinical work has been enriched by many years of teaching, supervising and continued professional development. I have a longstanding interest in post-Jungian thinking and psychodynamic theory.
An example of my published work appears in:
Franzen, Hampe & Wigger (2020), Zur Psychodynamik kreativen Gestaltens. Künstlerische Therapien in klinischen und psycho-sozialen Arbeitsfeldern (K. Alber Verlag, Freiburg/München).
Chapter: Accompanying Clients in Psychodynamic Art Psychotherapy Through a Non-Dual Stance (K. Millhagen).
My Approach
My practice integrates psychodynamic, relational, existential and integrative perspectives within creative art psychotherapy.
I work with adults, older people and trainee therapists. My experience across diverse settings has broadened my therapeutic stance considerably, allowing me to respond flexibly to each individual. I aim to support and strengthen each person’s inherent capacities, while gently exploring deeper patterns and emotional processes.
Creative work may involve drawing, painting, clay or other materials. No artistic skill is required - only a willingness to engage. Artwork can be created during sessions or between sessions and brought for shared reflection. Images from dreams and lived experience often emerge naturally within the process.
Session Structure
Online sessions last one hour, held in a quiet and uninterrupted space.
Therapy may take different forms depending on your needs:
Brief supportive work (4–6 sessions) - for example, when confidence has been shaken and you would like focused support in regaining clarity and strength.
Short-term therapy (10–16 sessions) - to address a specific issue.
Longer-term therapy (one year or more) - where deeper-rooted patterns require time and careful exploration.
These formats may also apply to trainee therapists undertaking Master’s or Higher Education programmes.
The First Session
Our first meeting is an opportunity to get a sense of one another and to explore what has brought you to therapy. We will begin to consider significant experiences in your life and how they may have shaped you.
Therapy is a meaningful commitment of time, energy, emotion and financial resources. The initial session offers you space to ask questions and to experience how I work, so that together we can decide whether my approach feels right for you.
If you would like to arrange an introductory session, I warmly welcome your enquiry.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am registered with the HCPC (Health & Care Professions Council), BAAT (British Association of Art Therapists) and BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy). Since qualifying as an art psychotherapist, I have practised for 38 years as both a therapist and supervisor. I am a Senior Accredited Practitioner with BACP (MBACP). I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Art Therapy in 1986 and an MA in Art Psychotherapy in 1992.
I offer online sessions in a quiet and uninterrupted setting. For those who wish to engage with painting, drawing, clay, etc., this can take place online provided you have some art materials available. Artwork may also be created between sessions and brought for shared exploration. Images from dreams and lived experiences often emerge naturally within the creative process. No artistic skill is required — only a willingness to engage.
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.
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
The importance that art psychotherapy can provide, is a non-verbal medium through which to address emotions, that are not yet clear or cannot initially be easily or verbally explored.
Therapies offered
Fees
Concessions offered for
Additional information
The first session is an opportunity to meet and get a sense of each other. It is a time to explore what has led you to seek therapy and to begin to look at events that stand out that may have impacted on you. It is a process that may need to unfold gradually and then can lead to an understanding more fully of how events in your life, family, work, relationships and any significant experiences may have affected you. This includes some questions from me and joint exploration in order to begin to gain some understanding about you and how best to assist you.
Undertaking therapy is a considerable commitment in terms of emotion, energy, time and money. So, this first session is an important opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have to get a sense of me and how I work, so that together we can decide if I and my therapeutic approach will be helpful.
When I work
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Further information
I have worked with a wide range of issues, including anger, anxiety, bereavement, burnout, chronic fatigue syndrome, cultural identity, depression, eating disorders, health-related concerns, loss, psychosomatic illness, redundancy, relationship difficulties, self-esteem and work-related stress.
My creative art psychotherapy practice integrates psychodynamic and relational thinking with existential and integrative perspectives. I work with adults, older people and trainee therapists. My experience across diverse settings, and with people from many different backgrounds, has continually encouraged me to deepen and broaden my therapeutic understanding. Over the years, both my approach and my therapeutic stance have evolved, enabling me to respond flexibly and to focus on strengthening each individual’s capacities and resilience.
I have a particular interest in post-Jungian thought. An example of my published work appears in:
Franzen, Hampe & Wigger (2020), Zur Psychodynamik kreativen Gestaltens. Künstlerische Therapien in klinischen und psycho-sozialen Arbeitsfeldern (K. Alber Verlag, Freiburg/München).
Chapter: Accompanying Clients in Psychodynamic Art Psychotherapy Through a Non-Dual Stance.
Online Creative Work
I offer online sessions in a quiet and uninterrupted space. If you wish to work creatively with painting, drawing, clay, etc., this can take place online provided you have some materials available. Artwork may also be created between sessions and brought for shared reflection. Images from dreams and life experiences often emerge naturally through the creative process. No artistic skill is required — only a willingness to engage.
Length of Therapy
The length of therapy depends on the nature of the issues you wish to address.
A brief series of 4–6 sessions may be helpful if your confidence has been affected and you would like focused support in regaining clarity and strength.
Short-term work (10–16 sessions) can address a specific difficulty.
Longer-term therapy (one year or more) may be appropriate where deeper-rooted patterns require time and careful exploration.
These timeframes may also apply to trainee therapists undertaking Master’s or Higher Education programmes.
The First Session
Our first session offers an opportunity to meet and gain a sense of one another. We will explore what has brought you to therapy and begin to consider significant experiences that may have shaped you.
Therapy is a meaningful commitment of emotional energy, time and financial resources. The initial session gives you space to ask questions and experience how I work, so that together we can decide whether my approach feels right for you.
