About Me
I am a person-centred therapist and a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I originally trained as a Chartered Accountant and worked in industry for a number of years before deciding to train as a counsellor. This new direction enabled me to develop my interest in working 1-2-1 with individuals, supporting their personal growth. Now I work therapeutically with adults (individuals and couples) and young children. I also continue my interest in wellbeing in the work place and engage with businesses to support their employees, either through 1-2-1 sessions or group workshops.
What I Offer
I work with clients using the ‘person-centred’ approach. This means that the work we do together will be tailored very specifically to your needs as an individual, balancing cognitive and emotional exploration in order to address the challenges you are facing. We will collaborate to identify the areas of your life that are affecting your wellbeing and explore and reflect on these challenges together. The aim is to work towards increased self-awareness and self-acceptance, which in turn helps develop confidence and trust in oneself so that future challenges are easier to manage.
When working with children and younger clients I use ‘therapeutic play’ and offer creative tools that facilitate the exploration of feelings in a manner that is consistent with person-centred philosophy. Therapeutic play recognises the important developmental role that play has in helping children explore and process their emotions and is essential when working with younger children who are still developing their emotional literacy.
Training & Qualifications
I studied for my MA Clinical Counselling at the University of Chester and developed my practice on placement at the Simeon Centre Counselling Agency in Bolton which works closely with the NHS. I continued as a counsellor there for several years post-qualification and continue to support the charity as a trustee and treasurer.
After completing my MA, I joined the highly-regarded national children’s mental health charity, Place2Be. I worked for 2 years as a counsellor in a primary school and completed further training to obtain their Level 4 Certificate in Counselling Children.
More recently, my interest in the family dynamic has led me to build on my skill set with training in Person-Centred Couples Therapy (Post Diploma CPD). As well as enabling me to work with couples, it has also informed by individual work where relationships challenges are at the centre of the presenting issue.