Experience & Training

I have achieved Professional Accredited status with the National Counselling Society.

I received my PG Diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy from Leeds Beckett University in 2015 - a BACP accredited course including a minimum of 100 client hours, qualifying me to work as a counsellor and psychotherapist.

My placements were at Craven College and at Aire Valley Counselling (now AWC Counselling supported by the Cellar Trust), for which I continued to work as a freelance counsellor.

Prior to this I completed a PG Certificate in Interpersonal & Counselling Skills from Leeds Metropolitan University.

Before I became a therapist I was a costume designer and I still enjoy performance, art and dance. I bring creativity to my work as a therapist, whether it is suggesting a new perspective on an old issue, or offering art, sand tray or movement interventions to process difficult relationships and stuck feelings, for clients who would like to work in this way.

Continuing Professional Development

I attend clinical supervision monthly to reflect on and discuss my client work. Besides being an essential element of ethical practice as a therapist, I find this a powerful resource in increasing my understanding and skill with clients and tending to my own self care.

I attend trainings, listen to podcasts and read therapy books each year to ensure the quality of my practice and to follow my areas of specialism. Some of the most impactful training courses have included:

  • Autism Masking, Lisa Cromar, Counselling Tutor CPD, 2023

  • Taking Therapy Outside - Understanding Therapeutic Practice in Outdoor Natural Spaces, The Centre for Natural Reflection, 4 day intensive, 2021

  • Certificate in Online & Telephone Counselling, Counselling Tutor, 2020

  • A Practical Introduction to Focusing, Alan Tidmarsh, Accord Services, 2019

  • Understanding menopause - Why it Matters in the Therapy Room, Diane Danzebrink, BACP Private Practice Conference 2019

  • Masterclass on sleep problems and addressing them with clients, Ruth Webb and Emma Pipe, BACP Private Practice Conference 2019

  • Working Therapeutically with Psychosomatics, John Hill, AWC Counselling, 2018

  • Trauma, Dissociation & Recovery, PODS (Positive Outcomes for Dissociation Survivors), 2016

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Specialist Areas

Difficulties in relationships

I specialise in relationship difficulties, whether it be romantic (heterosexual or LGBTQIA+, monogamous, polyamorous or other), family relationships, friendships or work-based relationships. This includes communication problems, feeling rejected, falling out of love, anger, resentment, jealousy, affairs and betrayals, sexual difficulties, separation and divorce, parenting, parenting children with SEND, postnatal depression, fertility issues, abuse, bereavement, loneliness, feeling left out, separation anxiety, being a carer, feeling emotionally drained by others, bullying, and much more. I have also worked with a lot of women who are exploring how they have felt in social contexts throughout their lives, in the context of perhaps being autistic.

abuse, neglect and trauma

My specialism includes past or current emotional, physical, sexual or financial abuse, neglect, relational trauma and traumatic events including rape and assault.

parenting and being a carer

I can work with you on issues surrounding pregnancy, fertility, adoption, IVF, wanting a child when your partner doesn’t, miscarriage, bereavement, traumatic births or illnesses, parenting, attachment, parenting separately, children with additional needs, and more.

If you are a carer for an elderly, ill or infirm person, I can work with you on issues including grief and burn-out and support you in working on self-care.

your relationship with yourself

A crucial, life-long relationship to prioritise. We can work on self esteem, confidence, critical self-talk, self-care, empowerment, getting to know and express the real you, and more.

Other

I am also trained and experienced in working with adult clients on a full range of difficulties including anxiety, panic, depression, low mood, loneliness, anger, bereavement, stress, low self esteem, feeling sad, health issues, health anxiety and more.