About me

I am a counsellor, psychotherapist, supervisor and trainer working in York.  The aim of my practice is to support people to learn about themselves, overcome difficulties, improve their relationships, and grow in confidence.

Who I work with

I offer counselling to individuals aged 18 and over.  I have worked with:

And just to be clear: who I don't work with

All the above are specialisms for which I am not trained/qualified.

The kind of counselling I do

I am an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist.  I tailor my approach to each individual who asks for my help, doing my best to explain things without using jargon.  I invite you to tell me regularly how counselling is working for you (or not) so that we can make changes if we need to.

I'm responsible for the process of counselling - contracting, reviewing, timekeeping - but you are responsible for the content, so in each session, once we have concluded any necessary "business", I hand over to you to say what you'd like to talk about.  In this way we make sure we are using the time to explore the topics you choose. 

For those who are interested in theory, you may like to know that I use elements from:

Did you know that anyone can call themselves a counsellor? 

Even people who have had no training in counselling, or who have never experienced therapy themselves!  

There is more on this in this BBC podcast https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07wx9hw (you will need to sign in/register to listen).

I am happy to tell you what brought me into counselling and about my training, qualifications and experience, and produce my certificates on request.  

My BACP Therapist Directory listing can be found here. 

Professional membership, accreditation and registration 

A bit of my history

I came to York to study at the University of York and graduated BA (Hons) in Linguistics and Education.  I then worked in Poland for several years teaching English as a foreign language.  On my return to York I worked first as a support worker for adults with learning disabilities, and then spent 10 years in the field of community mediation as an administrator, mediator, trainer and service manager.  As a volunteer I helped establish the York branch of the Alternatives to Violence Project in 1994 and for several years ran conflict resolution workshops as part of a team of facilitators. 

How I got into counselling as a profession

I've done a lot of group work but have always loved working with people on a one-to-one basis.  My own experience of having counselling was life-changing and I wanted to offer the same opportunity to other people.  So I was delighted to be offered a place on the Graduate Diploma in Counselling at York St John University in 2004 and I graduated in 2006. 

My experience as a counsellor

I have 16 years' post-qualification experience and have completed over 5000 clinical hours with clients.

I have held voluntary and paid counselling roles in a number of organisations in and around York. 

I established my independent counselling practice in 2011, offering counselling and psychotherapy to individuals and psycho-educational workshops to the general public. 

I qualified as a supervisor of counsellors and psychotherapists in 2013 and offer clinical supervision to trainee and qualified counsellors.  I am a member of Yorkshire Supervisors Forum.

My qualifications and ongoing training

My counselling qualifications are:   

It is a requirement of my registration and accreditation with BACP that I undertake regular Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to keep my skills and knowledge up to date.  (Plus I love learning!)  My recent CPD includes:

And these are the books I've been reading over the last 2-3 years:

As a member of BACP I work within BACP's Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.  As part of my ongoing accreditation and registration requirements I attend supervision on a monthly basis which I view as an essential and valuable way of safeguarding my clients and developing my practice.

I hold Professional Liability Insurance and am registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioner's Office, as part of my commitment to holding and processing personal information about my clients and supervisees in line with the law.