The way I work is informed by my own personal work and extensive professional training.

Here’s a bit about me.

• I have a big family – I have two boys, a little girl and a big step son all living together. I’ve got my own step parents too and real ones, and siblings. I have a lived understanding of complicated family dynamics.
• I have lived a lot in my 43 years. I’ve experienced a big range of experiences, ups, downs and round-abouts, there’s not much that phases or shocks me.
• I have a strong, honest, loving and fairly conflictual relationship with my husband. We tend to get locked in a constant battle for supremacy which is sometimes fun, sometimes not.
• I was a bit of a wild teenager and twenty something’er for that matter. It was a lot of fun and similarly, a fair amount of not fun.
• I swear… especially when talking about emotions. I’ve thought about trying to stop but I don’t really want to. I lived in Scotland for 10 years, I blame that.
• I moved around a lot growing up, I know what it feels like being an outsider.
• My attitude is very relaxed – clients often comment that this helps them feel relaxed so that’s good.
• I call a spade a spade, subtlety is not my strong point. In the counselling context, I do this sensitively, generally clients value my direct approach.
• I’m happy to share information about myself if it is helpful for people I’m working with to hear it or it is especially relevant to their situation. I do not however bang on about my stuff, I have my own therapist/supervisor for that.
• I’ve tried quite a few different careers (more than I admit to on my CV) before finding this work. Thank god I did, I was exhausted by the search.
• Workplaces and all the human dynamics, power plays, fun and pain that goes on fascinate me and I love visiting to provide services, I’m not so skilled at working within them.
• I love people and really embrace the diversity we all bring. Because of this, I enjoy and respect the differences in my clients and feel truly honoured that they share their humanity with me.
• I’m really honest and I love a lot.
• I have a good sense of humour and share the good times as well as the bad with people I work with.
• I feel this work is a real honour and a privilege. As a result, it keeps me grounded and in constant awe of the extreme humanness we all share.
• I know self development is a constant process and one that I am committed to.
• I get overwhelmed, stressed, shout at the kids and all that jazz. Being a therapist doesn’t stop me being human.
• I own my stuff and really enjoy supporting others to feel safe enough while they do the same.

Think we are a good fit?

If you think that maybe we’re a good fit, but you’re still not entirely sure, feel free to contact me and we can have a chat.

What about my training?

No problem. My primary psychotherapy training is in Gestalt Therapy which you can read about here. This training was life changing for me. It involved four years of group therapy, along with individual therapy and of course the theory and techniques central to the Gestalt approach. I am wary of any therapists that have not sat in the client’s chair themselves and I would encourage you to share that concern.

I trained as a Mental Health First Aid facilitator and gained lots of knowledge about mental health problems generally and experience in working with this subject matter with groups within workplaces during my time running these training sessions.

I follow my interests, and approaches that have really helped me in terms of additional training. I have trained in Family Constellations, an experiential way of working with families and groups of people – this work can also be done individually. After working with numerous clients with extensive trauma history, I really needed a ‘tool’ in my ‘tool kit’ to help support recovery and felt I was lacking in this regard. I found and studied Depth Enquiry which is a powerful modality based on EMDR and the Gestalt philosophy of phenomenological awareness. I’m loving this approach at the moment, not only for trauma but also anxiety and phobias.

On the advice of a trusted mentor, I am trained in the group action learning coaching process which is a fantastic approach for enhancing skills development whilst building team cohesion and working on deep problem solving of a current, active problem. Further advice led me to Growth Edge coaching training which is based on the Adult Developmental model of Jennifer Gervey Berger.

As well as official trainings, I am passionate about professional development, stand out sessions for me included Blue Knot’s Trauma informed care, Kristen Neff’s self compassion mindfulness, Gestalt approach for working with couples and various presenter skills workshops. This year I am studying my Masters in Gestalt Therapy, specialising in working with couples.

Here is a list of my qualifications. If you have any questions, of course, you can get in touch!