I came to counselling and therapy work in mid- life after realising that my skills weren't being fully used in unsatisfying 'jobs'. After several life events, bereavements, illnesses and relational complexities, ditching a very pressured job under enormous stress, I had to prepare for my own 'what next'. I realised that I wanted a career involving helping others. Giving help to others felt like, and still feels, a way for us all to reach a feeling of wholeness. For everyone to feel less restricted, more empowered, experience more love in their life and feel happier inside their own skin. I've been working in this way with people since 1999. A friend of mine tells me that I've done this forever, just calling it different things and using different modalities.
I consider myself as a tour guide, showing you routes to potentials and possibilities you might not have acknowledged yet. If you can put your therapy 'walking boots' on and make the journey with me, we can find your personal outcome, or at the very least, a realisation of what that looks like when aspecs of life can be changed. For couples who have a mixed agenda of what they want from therapy, they are often surprised at finding that they want the same things when they felt themselves to be at the end of the road.
A few highlights and specialities of my work:
Of course, couples work is a deeply specialised area of work, individuals have deep needs too.
I am a trauma-informed counsellor and have taken several specialist advanced training courses to equip me for this work.
I also have academic and lived experience of working with Neurodivergence.
One of those unexpected developments in my professional life has been the privilege to work deeply with ethical non-monogamy; its quite unusual for clients for this aspect to work with a therapist who doesn't practice this life choice.
I work with referrals from a specialist in sex and porn addiction. I work in support of the partners, to help with the shock, the realisation, processing 'what next'. This is not interactive, neither therapist reports back to the other, we work with the individuals completely separately.
Here is a lot of academic, technical information about qualifications and theories. It is relevant and important to many people seeking help. I'm happy to discuss this, I won't be asking quiz questions about about it though, so skip it if its meaningless to you.
I hold a Masters Degree with Distinction in Relationship Therapy from The University of Hull via the Relate Institute (2015). This is a Level 7 qualification. This course was BACP Accredited, and had an integrative stance, blending psychodynamic theory and systemic theory on a person-centered platform.
> I am Relate couple counselling trained and qualified, and worked for Relate in Leeds for 7 years until they closed their doors. (This service has re-opened recently under a different structure, I have not returned to work with them).
> I hold a University Advanced Diploma in Couple Therapy from the University of Hull via the Relate Institute (2012). This is a Level 6 qualification.
> I hold a University Certificate in Integrative Counselling from the University of Leeds (2001). This was an integrative training blending person centered and psychodynamic theory. This is a level 6 qualification.
> my Cognitive Hypnotherapy training was with the Quest Institute in London in 2007/8, and I hold their diplomas in Cognitive Hypnotherapy and Neuro Lingusitic Processing, and the NCFE Level 4 Diploma in Hypnotherapy.
