About me
How can I help you? I believe as a Counsellor I offer a warm, open approach to my clients, and strive to be as encouraging, empathetic and congruent as possible. I have developed excellent listening skills to allow my client to feel safe and confident to be as open as possible. I became a Counsellor after having run my own successful Beauty Salon for 26 years. This enabled me to develop and enrich the skills to actively listen and empathise with people whilst being non-judgemental and compassionate. I firstly did a Counselling Diploma in 2013 to 2015 and then converted that to a BA Honours Degree at the Glasgow Caledonian University in 2018.
Most recently I trained to become a Trauma Specialist due to dealing with so many clients over the years suffering from many types of trauma such as;
Childhood abuse and neglect.
Sexual abuse and domestic violence.
PTSD
Vehicle accidents.
Self-harm.
Loss of a relationship, job, pet, family member, child.
As well as helping clients deal with trauma, I have also gained much experience working with issues such as;
Stress and Depression
Grief and Bereavement
Anxiety
Addictions
Bullying
Low self-esteem.
I chose to specialise in Person Centred and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy at my home-based private practice in Andover. I have since added Compassion Focused Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. While each of these approaches share similar objectives, each is also slightly unique in its ideas. I believe it is imperative to not fit the client to a specific model of counselling, but rather to use the most useful tools that these different approaches offer. Where CBT focuses on how your thoughts and feelings affect your behaviour, and teaches you how to change irrational, unhelpful thoughts to more useful, positive ones, ACT helps you learn to accept what has gone wrong in your past and learn to live more for the present. CFT offers a far gentler approach and teaches you how to learn to have more compassion and kindness for yourself.
I have gained much experience over time with various teenage issues such as bullying, low self-esteem and anxiety. I have also worked with several local businesses offering my services to their employees, as well as being a volunteer Counsellor for the Princess Royal Trust for Carers at my local hospital. Here I have become experienced in helping Carers who look after their relatives with Dementia, Parkinson’s and Huntingdons.
I have worked both in the U.K. and Australia for 1 1/2 years and will work with any clients from teenagers upwards. I can offer appointments face to face, on Messenger, FaceTime, WhatsApp and Zoom. I also offer a Free 15 minute telephone consultation as a brief get to know each other. My primary goal is to assist clients in gaining the strength, skills and commitment, and to learn more effective strategies to positively change and improve their life, find closure and live happier more purposeful lives.
If you would like to get in touch with me, please send either an email or text message to discuss your needs, and to arrange a free 15 minute telephone consultation. During this consultation it offers you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have regarding counselling, how often sessions are, their length, costs, if you have any financial worries etc. If you then decide you would like to work with me, we can then discuss treatment procedures and how to move forward.
I also have a beautiful Therapy dog called Ollie, who has been invaluable in helping relax and calm distressed clients. We both look forward to welcoming you to our practice.
Training, qualifications & experience
- BA Honours Degree in Counselling.
- Diploma in Clinical and Pastoral Counselling.
- Mindfulness Diploma.
- Diploma in Crisis and Trauma.
- Life Coaching Diploma.
- Sexual Abuse CPD certificate.
- Volunteer work as a Counsellor in the U.K. for the Princess Royal Trust For Carers Hampshire, and in Western Australia for my local community.
- 25 years plus running my own beauty salon.
- Experience with Dementia, Parkinson’s, Huntingdons clients.
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£55.00 per session
Additional information
£55.00 per 50 minute session.
£80.00 for couples counselling (60 minutes).
I offer a free 15 minute telephone consultation to all new clients.
I am also offering online sessions via WhatsApp or FaceTime and Zoom.
Further information
I work in a beautiful log cabin in my garden. There is plenty of parking on my driveway and easy access to the garden from there. There is an accessible toilet in my house.
