about me

Three years ago I moved to the west coast of Scotland from ‘middle England’ and am enjoying discovering new places and food (and a new climate!)  I enjoy gardening (it’s trickier here!), walking and cooking.  Bentley often accompanies me.  I had thought about training him as a therapy dog, but he’s just too excitable!

I am a registered member of the The Association of Christians in Counselling.  I also hold personal indemnity insurance for my counselling practice and a DBS certificate.

All counselling offered by me is non-religious, unless you would like this to be part of your therapeutic process.  If so, please view the Christian Counselling section.

Continuing professional development

As a lifelong learner I am committed to ever-growing my counselling knowledge and experience.  As a member of the ACC I must undertake at least 25 hours of professional development every year. 

Recently I completed a 30-hour university course on Understanding Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD in order to better help clients affected by these conditions.  Currently, I am working on Mental Health and the Body: Treating Trauma. This has enabled me to help clients consider how trauma may not only have resulted in significant emotional distress, but could also affect bodily inflammation and sleep disturbances. Therefore, increasing the body’s ability to sleep and thus improving circadian rhythms, can help people to process trauma more effectively. 

I have a growing interest in the area of spiritual and religious abuse, where clients feel their experiences within the church and other Christian organisational settings may fall into this area.

I continue to read self-development books and these often inform and develop my practice.  Recently I read, Working at Relational Depth in Counselling and Psychotherapy by Mearns and Cooper.  This led me to explore the idea that it’s the relationship between the client and therapist which is the most important element in a client’s counselling journey, even above methods, skills and therapeutic models.  Currently I am reading Try Softer by therapist Aundi Kolber who offers practices to enable a life of less self-criticism, with exercises for the individual to try with their therapist or independently. 

The pandemic led me to develop and hone my video and telephone practice and I took a number of courses to develop my skills in this area to better serve my clients.  Initially these platforms may not have seemed as ‘good’ as face to face counselling, but the majority of my clients have been via this method for the last two years and they have found it just as beneficial.  It also allowed them to better schedule counselling around a busy work and family life.

Recent CPD include:

Deep Release – Narcissism and Echoism (May 2024)

BACP – Working with Soul – Safely working with those who experience spiritual/Religious abuse (February 2023)

University of Derby – Understanding Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD (April 2022)

Maple Leaf Counselling and Training Centre – One day CPD – telephone and online counselling (2020)

Papyrus – Prevention of young suicide – Explore, Ask, Keep safe (2021)

 

Counselling qualifications and experience

CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (2021)

CPCAB Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies 2019

CPCAB Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills 2018

I began my counselling training in September 2017 and I qualified in summer 2021. Throughout my two-year level 4 training I volunteered as a counsellor at a Christian counselling agency.  My clients were diverse in their needs and presenting issues and this prepared me well for my own private practice, which began in January 2022.

 

Prior relevant qualifications and experience:

Pastoral and academic teaching and management roles held within the education sector from 1994 until 2019

PGCE Religious Studies (Birmingham University) 1994

BA Hons Religious Studies with English (Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education) 1991

My career as a secondary school teacher for 25 years included positions in the state sector, the independent sector and internationally.  As such, I encountered many diverse people from various cultures and situations.  In my teaching, I always believed that relationships with students, that allowed them to express their feelings and beliefs honestly and without judgment, was the best learning environment.

This approach underpins my and indeed all, therapeutic counselling – Providing a safe space for a person to explore their feelings and experiences, combined with an empathic listener and unconditional positive regard – this basically means I won’t judge you!