I am based in Tiverton, Mid Devon and I have experience in helping with a number of issues, and especially with loss and bereavement, including complicated grief. I am also particularly interested in the area of trauma, historical abuse and survivors of abuse and of false accusation.
My career as a therapist began quite late in my life, having previously identified as a watercolour artist for many years. I still paint – I practice self care and this is my own therapy! There is an example of my work shown below. I am inspired to paint images which represent journeys in some way. My own experience of loss, which promoted the need to explore my emotional responses, led me eventually to move into counselling. I feel that an increase in self awareness together with self compassion can provide opportunities for an almost unbelievable improvement in the experience of life.
I am a member, Registered and Senior Accredited, of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS), until recently the National Counselling Society, which means that I am on a voluntary register of counsellors and psychotherapists that has been accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, and which is held by the NCS as well as other professional membership bodies. By being on this register I can demonstrate that I work to an acceptable level of ethical standards and have suitable training and expertise. The NCPS has a robust complaints procedure should there be a need for this, but in the first instance it is always best to talk about the issue first and my aim is to provide a collaborative and open therapeutic relationship.
Through regular further training and continuing professional development, I am able to bring other specific interventions into my work, such as Mindfulness, and Solution Focused Therapy, which is a model for brief therapy and which can work really well for most areas of concern. In the area of trauma and abuse, I have trained in the emotional and somatic impact of trauma memory. Through continuing professional development, I have trained in the Human Givens approach to psychotherapy, which brings together an over arching model of meeting the psychological needs of all human kind, through the use of guided imagery, relaxation and education, in simple, jargon free language. Because I originally trained eclectically, I can draw on a number of models as each session and issue suggests, but my overall approach is Humanistic which is an umbrella term for an approach which has the client at its core – with Person Centred Counselling, Gestalt and Transactional Analysis as the main models of therapy within my basic training.
I work intuitively, often feeling the need to explore in some depth the past as well as the present, and some of this work can be quite challenging. However, you will always be in control of the pace and depth of the work, and will discover more about yourself as we progress, including how many of your own resources you can uncover and begin to use. This can be really empowering and can give you a much more positive sense of who you really are. I feel it is important to regularly review the progress of therapy and to be open to change in all aspects of the work.
It is vital that all therapists undergo regular clinical supervision, through which is often gained a different perspective of some of the issues being presented by clients. It is an obligation in order to maintain membership of the NCPS, and is the same with all other membership bodies. Supervisors are very experienced counsellors and psychotherapists themselves, sometimes with some specialist knowledge and specific supervision training. Confidentiality is a very important aspect of this work.
The counsellor’s role is not to give advice or to make judgements, but to be there to support and assist in whichever direction you wish to go, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss with you what you hope to gain from counselling, and for us to decide if I can help in the way which seems appropriate for you. You can email or phone, and if I am not able to immediately respond, I will do so quickly and with discretion.
“THERE ARE NO CONSTRAINTS ON THE HUMAN MIND, NO WALLS AROUND THE HUMAN SPIRIT, NO BARRIERS TO OUR PROGRESS EXCEPT THOSE WE OURSELVES ERECT”.
Ronald Reagan, 40th US President
Find me in Psychology Today
I am also listed in Find Your Counsellor.
I am also listed in the UK & Ireland Counsellor Directory
(You will find articles by me on the Find Your Counsellor directory and on the Counselling Directory.)
