About me

I am a psychodynamic counsellor, accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and work with adults on a short or long-term, weekly basis.

I have many years of professional experience supporting people who may be struggling with different aspects of life and relationships. This includes people with different diagnoses and who identify as neurodivergent.

How I work

My therapeutic approach is based on listening deeply and openly to what you bring, helping you make connections between different aspects of your life. The aim of this is to help you develop your understanding of yourself and others, supporting you to make sense of what might be troubling you, or of what is otherwise on your mind. 

I welcome whatever you bring to sessions. This might include specific situations, dilemmas and relationships you’d like to work on, and dreams, thoughts, feelings, or anything else that comes to mind. Together, these can help bring to the surface what might have been previously unknown thoughts, feelings and beliefs. In doing so, it is possible to uncover unhelpful and possibly self-destructive unconscious narratives, as well as access your own wisdom about what you might want and need. Ultimately, my aim is to help you to live your life, without feeling held back by conscious or unconscious ways of being that may no longer serve you.

I incorporate mindfulness, breathwork, psycho-education, mentalisation and coaching approaches, where appropriate, depending on what might be most useful for you at any given time.

Professional standards

As well as being an accredited member of BACP, I am also a member of the British Psychological Society and hold an up-to-date enhanced DBS Certificate.

I work in accordance with the ethical framework of BACP, engage in regular supervision, my own personal therapy and frequent professional development activities, to ensure I offer the most appropriate, competent and ethical service.

Training and professional development

My initial counselling training involved qualifying with a Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling (Chelmsford Counselling Foundation) and MSC Psychology (University of Essex). Continuing professional development since then has included the following topics:

·      Complex trauma and dissociation

·      When the body comes to therapy

·      Suicidality and self-harm

·      Autism and psychoanalysis   

·      Working with burnout

·      Diversity, intersectionality and equality

·      Breathwork coaching

·      Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (a 16-week psychodynamic therapy for anxiety and depression, approved by NICE for NHS Talking Therapies)

What else I do

As well as having a private practice, I work part-time as a clinical manager within an NHS funded psychotherapies service and provide low-fee counselling within a community based charity, which includes working with people referred by local mental health services. I also facilitate reflective practice groups, training and other learning activities for counselling students and qualified professionals, and offer breathwork coaching for individuals and groups. Please get in contact if you’d like to explore this further.

My background

Before becoming a counsellor, I trained professionally in drama, film and dance, working for nearly two decades to help increase equality, diversity and accessibility within the arts. This ranged from facilitating workshops with different communities, working co-creatively to produce performance pieces, through to leading programmes and organisations across different geographies. I was often working in education, health, social care and criminal justice settings. More recently, I have been a Principal Researcher and Consultant. This role included researching and evaluating services (such as health, social care and arts programmes), consulting to organisations, co-designing and facilitating professional development activities for practitioners, organisational leaders and consultants, studying and working in the field of group relations.  

This background has given me a deep insight into different life and work experiences and the challenges we can all face in trying to live a fulfilling and meaningful life. Building on my own life experiences, it also reinforced for me the understanding that people who face multiple barriers can face the most challenges when navigating everyday life.