About me
Are you stressed, depressed, anxious, sad or just not feeling yourself? Then counselling might be something that can help you, whether it is a recent concern or a long held one. You might be worried about meeting a counsellor for the first time. I understand this and will do my best to put you at your ease so you feel you can talk about your concerns in complete confidence with me, someone who is independent but empathic. I aim to help you understand your worries and provide a safe, comfortable space where you can work through your feelings and, in time, move forward.
Sometimes emotional pain or life events can temporarily cloud our ability to see possible solutions. When clients first see me, they often say they feel stuck, confused, unhappy, anxious, sad or even shut down. As we start working together they begin to make sense of their concerns, their thoughts become more ordered and they feel change taking place, sometimes to their own surprise! The process of talking about how you feel can gradually make things seem clearer and enable you to find a way forward that feels right for you.
I am an Integrative Therapist which means I draw from a range of approaches to offer you the counselling I feel would help you most. As our work together progresses we would have regular reviews to check your goals and how you are finding therapy. I can offer both short and long term counselling for individuals/adults. I look forward to hearing from you as you take the first step towards making the changes you need in your life.
Training, qualifications & experience
I trained at The Northern Guild for Counselling and Psychotherapy, a well recognised and accredited provider, gaining a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (Distinction) and more recently a Diploma in Psychotherapy (Merit).
I completed a couple counselling course at Jesmond Therapy Centre, a respected regional provider of up to date, progressive and effective training.
I have over 5 years experience working as a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor/Psychotherapist within an NHS setting and in my private practice seeing a variety of people with different issues, such as: anxiety, generalised anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, issues surrounding addiction, loss, life limiting conditions, sexual and physical abuse, relationship issues, couple counselling, complex grief, panic and sexual problems. You can see other issues I work with below.
Some clients have found that working creatively is particularly beneficial for them so I can, where appropriate, offer this approach. Examples of this could include working with sand, stones, buttons, photographs, mandalas and collage. I also work with dreams.
Areas of particular interest:
Grief and loss.
Couple/relationship counselling
Trauma
Sexual Trauma
Member organisations
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.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
BACP is one of the UK’s largest professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy. Therapists registered with the Association fall into a number of different membership categories such as Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP and Registered Member MBACP (Accred), each standing for different levels of training and experience. MBACP (Accred) and MBACP (Snr Accred) members have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by the Association.
Registered members can be found on the BACP Register, which was the first register to achieve Accredited Voluntary Register status issued by the Professional Standards Authority. Individual Members will have completed an appropriate counselling and/or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but will not appear on the BACP Register until they've progressed to Registered Member MBACP status.
All members are bound by a Code of Ethics & Practice and a Complaints Procedure. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

UK Council for Psychotherapy
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.
Accredited register membership

Accredited Register Scheme
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
- Free initial telephone consultation of up to 30 mins.
- Sessions for Individuals are £45 in Corbridge, £55 in Newcastle.
- Sessions for couples are £55 in Corbridge, £68 in Newcastle
- Sessions are for 50 minutes, usually weekly.
- Payment should be made by cash or bank transfer at the beginning of each session.
Availability
I have availability during the day and evenings Monday to Friday and am usually able to see you within a couple of days once you've contacted me.
Further information
In both practices, counselling takes place in a comfortable, private room in a confidential setting. There is free parking on site/nearby and they are near to Corbridge station and in Newcastle, Jesmond Metro station.