About Me
My interest in counselling began back in 1980 when I worked with both the Anorexia Counselling Service and MIND in Leeds for a number of years, offering both individual and group counselling.
After this I spent 25 years as a qualitative market researcher, specialising in running focus groups.
Searching for a more fulfilling career, I then returned to counselling and psychotherapy later in life when I undertook a 5 year training in integrative psychotherapy at the Metanoia Institute, widely recognised as one of the leading training institutes in the UK, in partnership with Middlesex University.
I have experience working within the NHS, both in GPs' surgeries offering short term, solution-focussed counselling and within a specialist personality disorders unit at Oxleas NHS Trust in Woolwich, Southeast London. Here I worked predominantly with borderline personality disorder patients on a one-to-one basis for a year at a time and I also co-facilitated a number of mentalisation-based workshops for patients with a recent diagnosis of a personality disorder.
I have also worked in private and low-cost counselling services, offering both short and long-term therapy and I now have my own private practice in Dulwich, Southeast London.
I have recently undertaken a training in Infant Loss counselling and have experience helping those who have suffered miscarriages, still births and neonate deaths.
I believe that the most important aspect of therapy is the relationship between the therapist and the client and I therefore prioritise establishing a safe and supportive environment so that we can work well together. I am warm and approachable and genuinely love working collaboratively with people to help them understand their issues and ultimately change whatever is bothering them.
Qualifications
I have a Diploma in Integrative Psychodynamic Counselling from the Metanoia Institute
I am a registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (MBACP), the UK's largest professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists.
I regularly attend courses, lectures and workshops run by professional bodies to fulfil my Continuing Professional Development requirements.
Click here for the BACP website
