About Me

Experience

  • I have over 30 year’s experience working in health and social care settings.
  • I began my career working in NHS administration and management before joining the voluntary sector, working for charities providing adoption support, bereavement support and advocacy. I began my counselling training at the University of Birmingham in 1992.
  • As a counsellor & psychotherapist I have experience working in general practice, adoption support, palliative and life threatening illness support. My experience includes the management of a Family Support Service in palliative care and the setting up of a specific service to work with children and young people.
  • Until 2014 I worked part-time in palliative care, life threatening and life limiting illness support, where I managed and held the clinical responsibility for a BACP Accredited Counselling Service. The service is the only BACP Accredited Counselling Service situated in a hospice in the UK.
  • I am a Registered Senior Accredited Member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. I am also a BACP Senior Accredited Practitioner in Supervision. Information about the register and the various grades of BACP membership is available here http://www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk/about-bacp/bacp-register-information.  I gained my initial BACP Accreditation as a Counsellor/Psychotherapist in 2007 and my Senior Accreditation in 2011.
  • I have an Enhanced Certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (this replaced the CRB).

Qualifications

University of Worcester

  • Master of Science in Counselling (MSc) – passed with Merit

University of Birmingham

  • Certificate in Counselling Skills
  • Certificate in Counselling Studies
  • Diploma of Higher Education in Integrative Counselling

Awarding Board Consortium (ABC)

  • Post Qualifying Diploma in Counselling Children and Young People

Sherwood Institute

  • Diploma in Supervision

Association for Family Therapy & Systemic Practice

  • Certificate in Family Therapy & Systemic Practice

Further Training

In order to maintain my accredited status with BACP, I am required to undertake and evidence a minimum of 30 hours continuing professional development each year.

Examples of training undertaken includes:

  • Elder Abuse
  • Working with Spirituality in Counselling & Psychotherapy
  • Psychosis Awareness Training
  • The Adoption & Children Act 2002 Implementation Workshop for Managers & Practitioners
  • Child Protection Level 1 & Level 2
  • Working with Children’s Grief
  • Mental Health Capacity Act 2005 – Awareness Training
  • Brief Focal Therapy
  • Understanding, Living & Working with Eating Disorders
  • The Development of Gender Identity
  • Carers Awareness Training
  • Teaching Mindfulness Skills to Clients
  • Say the unsayable – Talking about Death and Dying
  • Creating Supportive Environments for People on the Autistic Spectrum
  • Equality and Diversity
  • Working with People who Lack Motivation
  • Extensive training in adoption issues, attachment and the impact of early life trauma
  • Focus Group – Integrative Counsellor Training – Working with Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Clients