"Earth Mother Holding Space"
My clients have told me that the experience they value most on their therapeutic journey with me is the power of being held, allowed and accepted. They feel confident in the space I provide to voice all their deepest feelings and concerns, the trust we build together and the benefits of being fully heard.
Professional QualificationsCertificate in Counselling Skills (
The City Lit, 2000)
Diploma in Practitioner Counselling (
The City Lit, 2002)
Accreditation with the
BACP (2007) and I abide by their code of ethics. I am a member of the UKRCP.
Articles Authored by MeWhat is
Abuse?
What is
Depression?
What are
Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety Symptoms Explained
Anxiety CounsellingAreas of SpecialismI have experience of working with many issues. I have also worked with people from wide ranging backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities and ages. I feel each of us is truly individual in terms of our life experience, culture and how we respond to issues which means to me that each of us requires our own special form of therapy. I have developed particular skills in working with the impacts of psychological, physical and sexual abuse as well as depression, disability, post traumatic stress disorder and relationship difficulties. I also specialise in work with creative people who struggle to share and show their talents in public as a result of issues such as low self-esteem or confidence or other psychological blocks in accessing their full emotionally expressive potential.
Personal ApproachI work as a humanistic counsellor and psychotherapist. The core of my approach is the
person centred model , however I will bring in other approaches within my experience and knowledge as and when I feel it may be useful to each individual client. The way I see it we collaborate to develop the therapeutic approach that will work for you. I have experience and training in
working with images, experientially and at the level of the
transpersonal. I have also used some exercises from
Penny Park’s Inner Child Therapy in my work with clients. Recently I have incorporated the new Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (
ACT) into my work; it fits well with the ethos of my therapeutic way of being.
I provide a warm, holding, compassionate, open and receptive space for you to voice all you feel you need to express and will contain us both in that space for as long as you require for our work together and the part of your journey with me. I offer you empathy, acceptance, genuine care and understanding from a wealth of personal and client experience.
I feel the key to successful therapy is the quality of the relationship we build together, which in turn enables you to build a good, close or in touch relationship with yourself and hence with others.
Writing as TherapyIn essence therapy involves the deepening of your relationship with yourself. Writing can be seen as a kind of therapy too. Each of us is the expert on ourselves and writing can be helpful in both recording and processing your learning from your sessions with a therapist and also in helping you reach different experiences and understanding than would necessarily come out in communication with another person. I have found journal writing and creative writing extremely therapeutic and rewarding for me. It may be writing or another art form that works for you. It is my belief we are all creative beings and as you gain confidence to express your feelings so your creativity will grow also.
Television and Theatre as TherapyOne of my passions is television and theatre drama. I love to lose myself into the world of the TV show or stage play, connecting with the characters and their experiences, learning through their journey because I identify with it in some way and through them maybe also find my own catharsis. I enjoy both gritty, real-life shows as well fantastical shows. The latter may be set in another world of the writer's imagination and yet the experiences of the characters can somehow feel even more real to us with that distance from our own reality. One such show is Doctor Who and if you would like a free copy of my piece
The Tao of Who relating some of the shows concepts to psychotherapy and personal experience please
email me a specific request.