About me
In these difficult times, I am offering my services at a reduced/negotiable price owing to the telephone or Skype nature of any contact. I offer an initial half hour chat on the telephone to establish the issues for which you may be seeking help, and also to negotiate how the contact will take place. You can pay per session (£35), or pay in advance for six sessions @ £200.
I understand how much courage it requires to take the initial plunge in seeking help. If confidence has been knocked, or a persistent anxiety has led to depression, it is then that a trained listening ear can provide a positive first step. Such issues may well, right now, be exacerbated by the current coronavirus crisis. Voicing fears, and working towards a healthier approach to life and its challenges, can be a need at the best of times - but when we feel especially stressed, or anxious, that requirement becomes stronger. At the moment, in the context of a pandemic, everything can seem even more bleak or frightening. Now, more than ever, we may reflect on what our existence has been, and strive towards a future in which life becomes what we would most like it to be. Everyone desires a return to normality, but in the meantime we have to make sense of our lives, and find strategies to keep us positive.
I have a particular interest in women-centred practice, working with a warmth that aims to put clients at their ease from the first contact. I believe it is important to go at a client's own pace, using gentle encouragement to allow self expression, as we work together towards aims, however basic. I hope to give people tools to enable them to help themselves more in the future, but will not apply pressure for any particular method to achieve this goal, as everyone is different and needs to find their own way with recovery.
I am registered with the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) and worked for many years in the field of mental health. I practise principally within a person-centred/humanistic framework, but incorporate other therapeutic principles as appropriate.
An exploratory chat is always helpful before commencing the counselling, and to establish whether or not both client and counsellor feel that to go ahead would be constructive. You are invited to leave a message or text with your telephone number on my mobile 'phone, if that is easiest. Alternatively, you can email me. Whichever method you choose, I will respond promptly.
I am normally flexible in terms of location, and use rooms in Okehampton regularly. At the moment I am, of course, working from home.
I am also a trained and practising counselling supervisor - see separate profile on this site.
Training, qualifications & experience
I worked for many years in mental health organisations, managing services in the South West region. I later worked as a Practice Teacher/Assessor, and external Practice Learning Manager, on Plymouth University's 3 year social work BSc course, and the 2 year Masters in Social Work.
From 2006 onwards until 2014 I worked solely as a Practice Teacher/Assessor in social work on undergraduate and MA Programmes at Plymouth. Prior to the Practice Teaching Award becoming incorporated into a Masters Course (in 2008), I was a trainer and an Assessor/Mentor for others hoping to qualify for the Award.
I am a registered member of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (MBACP). The skills of counselling and supervision were both needed and employed throughout my time working in mental health, as they were during diverse roles related to the management of student placements, where regular supervision was part of the process. I have also worked in a private capacity at various points in my career, offering external supervision as well as counselling. While I practise from a person centred/humanistic perspective, I incorporate other therapeutic principles where helpful and appropriate.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Post Graduate Diploma in Human Relations and Counselling (M - Masters Level) Exeter University 1990
- Certificate in Humanities, Exeter University 1995
- Certificate in Supervision, International Institute for Counselling and Personal Development, Plymouth 1996
- BA (Hons) English and Drama, Exeter University, 1998
- Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) Plymouth University, 2002
- Practice Teaching Award, Social Work (Far South West Practice Learning Consortium in partnership with Plymouth University) 2002
Member organisations

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.
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
Owing to the coronavirus crisis, I am reducing my fees to £30 per hour, as I will only be offering telephone counselling.