Professional Qualifications
Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling (Distinction)
Accredited and Registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists
Certificate in Couple Counselling
Certificate in Telephone and Online Counselling
Areas of Specialism
I have worked with adults of all ages on a very wide range of issues including many of the most challenging areas of life - abuse, addiction, bereavement, depression, relationship difficulties, suicidal thoughts amongst many others.
I particularly focus on mindfulness and meditation as a way of gaining some distance from the stresses of life. This can help you to get in touch with a part of you that is untouched by the external struggles of life and can give you a greater sense of perspective and self-empowerment. I have been practicing and leading guided meditations for over twenty years.
I am also interested in helping people to get in touch with their inner creativity - this might take the form of encouraging an artistic talent you may have, or helping you to find the right career or simply enriching your personal relationships.
Couple Counselling
I have a great deal of experience in working with couples. Couple counselling can be a very helpful way of improving communication between each other. Healthy relationships are based on trust and on being able to express one's own needs whilst at the same time respecting the needs of your partner. My role is that of a facilitator - helping you to listen to one another more deeply and respectfully; acknowledging the difficulties in the relationship whilst at the same time building on the things in the relationship that work well.
Personal Approach
I am trained in the person-centred approach as advocated by Carl Rogers. This means that I respect and encourage your right as an individual to express yourself and change in the way most natural and appropriate for you. My role is to be a witness, to reflect back to you my thoughts and ideas about your life situation and to help you to build a greater sense of self-worth and belief in your own inherent ability to find your way through life. This might seem difficult, even impossible, at the beginning of the counselling process, but I am a believer that positive change is always possible where there is a willingness to be open to new possibilities and ways of being.
I will not just sit back and let you tell your story. My way of being is to try to be as present as possible for you - to build a relationship based on mutual respect and trust. It can be a creative and life-affirming process; sometimes painful and difficult but also joyous and meaningful.