About me
My training is in Gestalt counselling and I work with this as a theoretical basis. Put simply, this means working with the client in the here and now based on what the client brings, whether past trauma or current difficulties; memories, thoughts or feelings. The aim is to facilitate the growth of self-awareness and self-responsibility.
There is an understanding in Gestalt that the self is not fixed. It is a process, always in relationship with an other, whether that might be a partner, a job, family, a past experience or an aspect of one's personality. The aim of Gestalt is to bring awareness to the parts of this process, and identify ways one might be stuck, or repeat patterns of self-sabotage.
Gestalt is a dialogic approach, meaning that the work takes the relationship between the counsellor and client into account, bringing attention to ways in which it might shed light on the client's self-process.
I offer an attentive and compassionate space for clients to explore where they are now, and how they came to that place. This can be a daunting undertaking, as I know from my own experience, but the work is led by where the client is at and their awareness and understanding of their own process. I see my role as counsellor as to listen, to reflect and sometimes to guide or challenge; the Gestalt approach is that the work we do is a co-creation, counsellor and client working together in the here and now.
In my experience, just to talk, to voice and acknowledge pain and difficulty can go some way toward positive change, and I hope to facilitate this and take it further. This might involve giving voice to different parts of the self that are hurt, locked away or self-defeating, and seeing how these parts manifest physically or in day-to-day interactions. To go deeper we might draw on the experimental nature of Gestalt practice, using acting out, drawing, guided visualisation or breath work.
I am open to working with people of all backgrounds, ages, and beliefs. I am aware of the challenges we face in this time, of the anxiety and uncertainty that is present, and the very real systemic obstacles there are to the wellbeing of many of us; I welcome exploration of this in the counselling room.
I offer a free initial phone call or online meeting, to talk about what brings the client to seek counselling and what I can offer.
If we decide to go further, we can use the first session to explore further the clients needs and wants and whether they would fit with how I work.
I will charge for the initial session, but there is no obligation to continue beyond this.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have a Diploma in Counselling from the Gestalt Centre in London, and in person counselling experience with HQTherapy and the Centre for Better Health in Hackney.
In addition to this, I volunteered for some years with The Listening Place, a charity that offers face to face support for people with suicidal ideation.
Member organisations

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
Therapies offered
Fees
£70.00 per session
Additional information
I wish to offer help in my practice to those on lower incomes, or who might struggle financially. Please get in touch about concessionary rates.
Further information
I am available for face to face or online work. Please get in touch for more details.