About me
I am a psychodynamic psychotherapist, counsellor and supervisor with nearly 40 years’ experience in a wide variety of settings.
I offer individual therapy, both once and several times weekly, as well as a programme of therapy for couples. I also offer supervision for qualified and trainee therapists, and consultative supervision for those working in professional caring roles, including management supervision.
Alongside my therapeutic work, I offer workshops, talks and experiential groups on Attachment Theory and Exploring the Dynamics of Attachment in Adult Life, and am available to organisations to deliver CPD workshops and talks.
I have specialist knowledge and experience of working within the NHS, the third sector, and Further and Higher Education settings.
I am based in Cwmyoy, near Llanvihangel Crucorney, between Abergavenny and Hereford. I also work via Zoom, FaceTime and telephone, and am accessible from Abergavenny, Hereford, Monmouth, Ross-on-Wye and Gloucester.
I work with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, abuse, bereavement and loss, issues of sexuality, relationship difficulties and more.
Counselling and psychotherapy – how I will work with you
We would start by exploring what has prompted you to come for therapy at this time, and what you hope to gain from it. Sessions last 50 minutes.
As well as exploring your current concerns, we would also explore how your past experiences and relationships may be influencing your behaviour now. We can pay attention to what may be happening outside of your immediate awareness, and use our relationship in the therapy to inform our exploration.
My counselling and psychotherapy approach is psychodynamic. I encourage personal growth through the inclusion of your whole person — the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual aspects of yourself, whatever you understand those to be.
I offer both short- and longer-term therapy, and the frequency of sessions would be discussed together, according to what you are looking for and what seems appropriate.
Couples
I also offer a programme of therapy for couples.
Relationships can become difficult in ways that are hard to understand from within the relationship itself. We can find ourselves caught in familiar patterns of relating, responding to one another in ways that neither person necessarily intends, or struggling to find a way through repeated conflict or disconnection.
My work with couples is informed by my understanding of attachment and relationships. We explore what is happening between you, including the ways each of you seeks connection, gives and receives care, protects yourselves, and responds when you feel hurt, frightened or misunderstood.
The intention is to create a space where you can begin to understand more about what is happening between you, and to explore whether different ways of relating are possible.
Getting in touch
Making the decision to begin counselling or psychotherapy can be a significant one. If you would like to explore whether working with me might be helpful, we can begin with a brief telephone conversation or email exchange. We can then arrange to meet and discuss what has brought you to therapy, what you are looking for, and whether I am the right person to support you at this time.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Please note: Electronic communication is not failsafe. I aim to respond to enquiries within 36 hours during the week, or on the Monday if you contact me over the weekend. If you haven't received a response, it may be that I haven't received your message, so please do contact me again.
£80 per 50-minute session
Near Abergavenny or via Zoom
I abide by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a BACP Senior Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist and Senior Accredited Supervisor, with nearly 40 years’ experience of counselling, psychotherapy and supervision across a wide range of settings.
My experience includes working in two drug and alcohol agencies, where I worked with both adults and children affected by addiction — either their own or that of a family member.
I have worked in two Further Education and two Higher Education colleges, supporting both students and staff, and have worked extensively in private practice, offering both short- and longer-term psychotherapy.
I have also worked as a Staff Counsellor in two NHS hospitals and as Staff Counselling Manager at Cardiff University, where I worked with a diverse range of staff and supervisees.
These different settings have given me the opportunity to work with people from many different backgrounds and with a wide range of experiences and difficulties. They have also shaped my understanding of the importance of creating a space where people can feel able to think, explore and be themselves.
Alongside my psychotherapy and supervision work, I am a trained group facilitator in Una McCluskey's Exploring the Dynamics of Attachment in Adult Life model. I offer talks, CPD workshops and experiential groups exploring attachment and the ways our patterns of relating can shape our adult lives and relationships.
Qualifications:
- Diploma in Person Centred Counselling 1989
- BSc (Hons) Psychology 1997
- BACP accredited Diploma in Integrative Psychosynthesis 2000
- PG Diploma in Supervision 2006
- MA in Professional Development (Management) 2010-2013
- BACP Senior Accredited Counsellor/Psycotherapist since 2001
- BACP Senior Accredited Supervisor since 2010
- Bangor Teacher Training Retreat One 2016 (trained to teach MBSR courses)
- Former Chair BACP Workplace Division
- Two year group facilitation training in Exploring the Dynamics of Attachment in Adult Life with Una MacCluskey 2020-2022
- Chair of the Board of Trustees, Marches Counselling Service in Hereford
-Co-Chair of the Association for the Exploring the Dynamics of Attachment in Adult Life
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.
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
£80.00 per session
Additional information
The next step
Making the decision to begin counselling or psychotherapy can be a significant one. If you would like to explore whether therapy might be helpful, we can begin with a brief telephone conversation or email exchange. We can then arrange an initial meeting to talk about what has brought you to therapy, what you are looking for, and whether I feel like the right person to support you at this time.
There is no need to have everything worked out before we meet. The initial session is an opportunity for us both to get a sense of whether working together feels right.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Please note: Electronic communication is not failsafe. I aim to respond to enquiries within 36 hours during the week, or on the Monday if you contact me over the weekend. If you haven't received a response, it may be that I haven't received your message, so please do contact me again.
£80 per 50-minute session
Near Abergavenny or via Zoom
