About Me

My Background

I am a fully qualified and experienced therapist, working as a counsellor since 2011 and in private practice since 2015. I was also a therapist and assessment counsellor at PF Counselling Agency for ten years. I originally trained as a teacher and taught modern languages in secondary schools and English to speakers of other languages. Counselling and psychotherapy has helped me navigate my own crises and challenging situations, and this led me to train in psychodynamic and person-centred counselling at Edinburgh University. I continue to learn, through training, from my mentors and from my clients. I know what it is like to be “in the other chair” and pursuing my own therapy and personal development is part of my commitment to my clients.

After qualifying as a counsellor, I found that when working with people experiencing chronic stress or trauma, ‘talk therapy’ alone did not always resolve people’s issues. I therefore undertook extensive training in Embodied and Somatic Trauma Therapy, an approach which works directly with the feelings and sensations held within the body. This can help in cases when it is not possible to make conscious sense of our experience. This is not separate from talking therapy in the psychodynamic modality, but it is another resource to deal with deep-seated trauma.

I also became aware of the limitations of a strictly rational or intellectual approach to psychological problems, and interested in the power of the symbolic imagination to unlock new insights. I have undertaken extensive training in Dreamwork, as a way of engaging with my own powerful dream experiences and helping clients who bring their own dreams. The symbols we encounter in dreams can help us see the “bigger picture,” and connect with deeper meaning and mythical dimensions in our lives, which can be transformative and life-enhancing.

My Qualifications and Training

• PgDIp Counselling (Distinction) – Edinburgh University
• Certificate in Somatic Trauma Therapy – Babette Rothschild
• Certificate in Somatic Trauma Therapy – School of Holistic Therapy
• Certificate in Embodied Psychotherapy – Institute of Embodied Psychotherapy
• Certificate in Essentials of Dreamwork – Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education (CCPE)
• Certificate in Advanced Dreamwork – Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education (CCPE)
• Diploma in Relational Mindfulness – Karuna Institute

Memberships and Professional Bodies

• British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP): I am an accredited member of the BACP and I abide by their Code of Ethics.

• ICO registered
• Fully insured with Public Liability and Professional Indemnity